Page 166 of Burn Her They Said
Sharp pain radiates when the tips of my nails pierce the center of my palms when I try, and fail, to send Varic my love. Shattering my heart when the tendril slams into his wards. Walling himself off to keep me from overusing my magic, when I want nothing more than to help him with it.
Prince Auden turns his attention back to me now that he has appeased his audience.
“What dance?” I ask.
“Ours.” The Prince steps closer, until we are nearly chest to chest with each other.
Tears prick my eyes as Varic’s distress grows so vast that I risk immeasurable consequence by ignoring everything around me to focus on drawing as much of his sorrow as I can choke down. I try to prevent him from having to scar himself further while cursing the Emperor for causing this.
Prince Auden explains there will be a band assembling when Varic’s power pulses higher. I share a wobbly smile with the royal and pull on the recent moments when Varic helped me feel safe. I collect the calm he brought me in each, then send them to him with the hope it will reach him and temper the rage blasting from his palms.
I nod to the Prince, as my main focus remains on tracking Varic’s emotions, feeling as if I will lose consciousness if this goes on much longer. Allowing my gaze to flick over to him, I release a breath when the amber sparks mercifully dissipate.
Yet the relief is short-lived as my whole body shakes and it feels as if I could cry—or faint.
The Prince must assume my reaction is in response to him as he grins when returning from the back wall, where the band is assembling. “You may select the song.”
A tingling warmth spreads from the soles of my feet and swirls around my legs. I feel it all tenfold with the intensity of the moment, which seems to make my skin more sensitive to Varic’s shield. I clench my muscles when it tickles around the swell of my hips and in the dip of my waist. Then I clench my jaw to cage in a squeal as it seals in the center of my chest and back, before cascading down from my shoulders to cover all the way to my fingertips. My cheeks tremble with emotion while I revel in Varic’s possessiveness, effectively preventing the Prince from having any real contact with my body.
The Prince seems amused by my stalling as he grins and offers me his hand.
My gaze flicks to Varic before meeting the Prince’s, and my hand rises on its own to lie over his.
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from recoiling, while his movements prove just as graceful as he leads me to the center of the dance floor. I smile and send a tendril of my magic inside the Prince’s chest, then hold my breath as I wait to determine if he can detect my influence. Yet his demeanor remains unchanged as his mood returns a mix of focus, anxiety, and a fair amount of lust.
“Soren’s Concerto Number 2,” I say with confidence. The song has a mournful tone and is one that should impress the Emperor, since the Prince will be made to spin me in broad, showy circles.
“An interesting choice,” he states with a wink and gestures for a server.
He repeats the name of the song in a low voice, then returns with a specific sort of heat contained in his expression. My heart slams against my ribs with the torture Varic must be enduring in observing this, while my own distress at having to go through with the act is surprisingly minimal by comparison. My typical disdain is replaced with compassion. Or maybe it’s the safety of being held within Varic’s protection.
My Guards spread further out, creating a wide circle for us to perform each of the dramatic flourishes.
Varic’s gaze sears a trail over my skin as the Prince’s hand presses against the small of my back. The royal shifts and brings us closer together as Varic’s anger and concern spiral out from him in a thick spectrum of ribbons. Dark blue, red, gray, and black all tangle together as his body loses the ability to contain it all.
Prince Auden clears his throat. “The band should be ready any moment.”
I nod and meet his gaze for a split-second before feigning interest in the crowd around us. He prattles on about his most recent excursion, and I look beyond him where amber sparks glow from the center of Varic’s palms again. My heart constricts while I make minimal conversation, smiling and nodding while the Prince carries on talking about himself. I secretly siphon every heavy emotion Varic expels from his being, refusing to leave him alone in this while needing to alleviate as much of the pain as I can for him.
“How interesting,” I say, hoping it matches whatever the Prince most recently shared with me.
The royal narrows his eyes, and I raise my brows in contest, yet he simply smiles and guides our limbs into position to properly begin this dance.
I bend my leg and slide my foot behind me as my back arches to the extreme, braced by the Prince who has no way of knowing he’s holding my Lead Guard’s impressive magic instead. He beams a grin at me as a wave of anger, longing, and loss slam into my being, halting my breath with the colorful tendrils swirling out from Varic’s chest.
His impossibly bright brown eyes pin mine, and he shakes his head, almost imperceptibly. But not too imperceptibly for me. Because I cannot help but notice every detail when it comes to Varic.
His throat bobs, and he fails to ward against my magic. So I take advantage and yank on the anger he tried to block from me and digest his concerns until I gather up and send him my love. Though I shouldn’t.
His eyes well with tears, and the tension in my chest relents when the amber blasting from his palms finally vanishes, and his emotions no longer burst from his body, despite the Prince smiling at the way I relax in his grasp.
My attention drifts with the heavy pulsing of Varic’s force-shield over my skin, intensifying the tingling warmth covering me from the collarbone down, encouraging a heady and intense sensation, requiring far more labor to pull in a breath than usual.
I send Varic a look of pure pleasure, hoping he understands that whatever he is doing is bringing me immense amounts, so he can stop before the Prince gets the wrong impression.
My magic consumes it all with voracious hunger as his gaze blazes a trail everywhere the Prince tries to make contact with my body.
The first notes of the song rise as the Prince tips me to the opposite side, where I arch my back while Varic’s force-shield sends a cascade of tingles down my skin. I hazard a look in his direction, and my heart twinges with the self-satisfied smile he wears now.
