Page 134 of Burn Her They Said
His nostrils flare in irritation as he returns his arm to cross his chest, appearing almost aggressive in his defensive stance. Despite his standoffish demeanor, some unknown force pulls me to stand before the haughty sorcerer.
Pride lifts my chin in challenge as he uncrosses his arms so abruptly it’s as if someone severed the rope that bound them to his chest.
Varic rolls his shoulders back while I hold his previous posture, staring until he meets my gaze—then immediately regrets encouraging the action when the mid-day sun amplifies the brightness in his irises.
“I need to speak with you,” he grits, piercing my heart with the harshness in his tone. “Privately.”
I scoff and turn to our audience, shoulders dropping in relief now that Drusilla has apparently gone to find our traveling party. The rest of my Guards pretend to observe the lush forest trilling with birdsong, as if they are not listening to every word exchanged between us.
“Lead the way.” I gesture in the opposite direction of the Emperor’s carriage.
Varic storms past me to a small opening in the tall trees—somewhere we can speak in relative privacy while everyone else gathers for refreshments.
Cirrin, Malin, Lars, and Fray stand far enough away that they shouldn’t hear us, while still close enough to protect me, should I need it.
Varic pivots to face me with a pace or so of space between our bodies, though with the years of tension held between us, it might as well be a thousand.
“What do you need to say, Varic?” My pulse pounds hard, and I mindlessly rub my arms to try to ward off the sinking feeling that there might be something other than my Guards watching.
He huffs out a breath and rakes his fingers through his hair. “It’s nothing.” He shakes his head and avoids my eyes better than he ever has before.
“It’s not nothing. While your vows did not mention being honest with me, I happen to value?—”
Varic lunges forward until his forehead hovers just above my own.
“You claim to value honesty?” he asks through gritted teeth.
I lift up onto the balls of my feet and make the unwise decision of pressing my forehead into his, igniting a flame behind his irises, warming me everywhere—even my core. Flexing, I squeeze my thighs to try to simmer the way my body responds to his display of aggression.
“Then tell me, honestly, what it was you were thinking—” He tilts his head until his narrowed eyes are level with mine. “Tell me exactly what you were feeling when you stared at Drusilla’s hand clutching my own.”
I gasp and drop my heels back to the ground as my pulse pounds so heavily and loudly that it nearly drowns out all ambient sound.
“Huh.” One corner of his mouth rises, and that Godsdamned quirk in his cheek has me fighting off the monumental urge—the supernatural pull—to press my lips to that infuriating curve.
My refusal to give in takes every bit of resolve I have left to prevent my arms from rising, to keep my hands from caging his face and pulling him in so I might finally kiss that satisfied smirk off him.
“Jealous?” His smirk deepens and very nearly convinces me it is my sworn duty to remove it from his being.
“No.”
His brows furrow. “Yet you claim to value honesty.”
“I do.”
“So then why are you lying?”
“Because I wasn’t jealous.” He scoffs, and I pause with intention. “I was envious.”
A knowing look replaces his confident expression, decreasing my need to pull him into a forbidden kiss.
“Possessive.”
Varic raises his chin and takes in every ugly part I offer him.
I lean closer, erasing the space required for any semblance of restraint when I admit what I really feel for him. “Greedy.”
“Never greedy.” He lunges forward with such force that he must feel the frenzied beat of my heart with our chests pressed so close together. “It is not greedy to want what is yours, Tasch. Not when it is given freely.”
