Page 197 of Burn Her They Said
“An explosion. And no one has come for us—not even our Guards.”
He snaps upright and wraps me in his arms so tightly I can’t pull in even the shallowest breath.
I push against his chest as his magic lifts us.
“No, no, no.” My voice must be too low, because he doesn’t seem to hear me as he flies us high enough to clear anyone’s head should they be standing.
“Put me down!”
He hurtles us through dust and smoke, and I slam my eyes shut to find a memory holding a sense of complacency, then send him a tendril of it to try halting his urgency.
“Please don’t. I need to get us to safety, and you’re making it difficult.”
“Good!”
“Not good.” He shakes his head. “Not if I drop you somewhere and you get hurt.”
Since complacency was too much, I send him uncertainty.
“Please,” he begs, and I relent, failing to save myself, all because I did not think to use my magic before he left the ground with me.
He flies us past an area where the fabric roof hangs down in tatters, apparently seeking a different way out.
“Varic!” I scream, needing him to hear me.
To send his shield. To give me any indication—any proof that he’s still living.
That the explosion didn’t take him from me.
Please.
No amber, blue, purple, red, or gray appear. Nothing to convince me of my Guards’ survival, tearing my heart from my chest as I try to hold on to hope, though it feels impossible.
“Tasch!” I swear I hear Cirrin’s voice yell.
But the ringing in my ears is so loud, I cannot be sure I am able to hear anything that isn’t directly next to me.
It must have been more wishful thinking. Just my imagination playing tricks again.
“Stop!” I scream when moonlight casts over us, clearing the plume of dust and smoke as we leave the tent.
I peel my eyes open the higher we soar, the clear air offering a view of where the explosion must have been set, with only part of the roof burnt and caving in, while the dance floor was at least partially decimated.
Wind stings my eyes in the absence of Varic’s shield, so I slam them shut and clutch onto my newest captor.
“What are you doing?” I scream.
I tighten my hold around his back as I realize this could have been the plan.
How the Prince could have been told to fly me so high, I’d never survive the fall, should the explosion not kill me first. Wouldn’t that be the most effective way for the Prince of Annovia to save the Continent? To kill the Imperial Grand Witch by dropping her body from hundreds of feet in the air?
Fury burns in my veins as my heart works hard to remain conscious with the force of his speed and the frigid air. But the Prince was in just as much danger with the explosion. Regardless, what will the Emperor think when he learns the Prince has taken me? Was this all part of his plan to get the Prince away separately? Could he and Wyrth have colluded to set a trap for the royal?
Needing to learn what he knows, I give in and call him what he wishes. “Auden!”
He rears back to study my expression and halts our ascent. “This is what it took for you to call me by my given name?”
“That is your biggest concern right now?”
