Page 208 of Burn Her They Said
Regret fills my abdomen, and I choke back bile rising up the back of my throat.
I should have manipulated him into staying. I should have used my magic to save him.
Fray stares out the window, hands braced around my middle, preparing to grab me should he need to fly us away.
Cirrin checks his watch again. “Thirty minutes.”
Malin inches closer to the door before turning back to me with his brows furrowed. “Something small is approaching.”
“Don’t.” Lars reaches for Malin when a bone-rattling scratching sounds.
My heart lurches—knowing those talons—hearing the same every time they scrape over the Emperor’s shoulders.
Malin’s hazel eyes lock on mine as his face falls. “They’re here.”
Lars and Malin step back when the door swings open, and Fray forces me to stand behind him as we all turn and glare at the Emperor striding in.
“My little witch, you disappoint me.”
I step to the side and bow in atonement for whatever perceived misdeeds he is accusing me of. “Your Majesty.” I bend into another, deeper bow as he storms over to grasp my chin in his clammy fingers.
He clicks his tongue in disdain as his eyes rove over my face. “Where is your Lead Guard hiding?”
“He went in search of you,” Lars says with confidence, striding closer.
“Interesting, since we did not cross paths.”
“He assumed your Guards would not take you to your assigned suite.” Lars clears his throat. “He planned to search for you with stealth, rather than making himself an easy target.”
Emperor Aldritch narrows his eyes and announces, “We leave tonight!”
Cirrin opens his mouth, then slams it shut when the Emperor drops his hand to clamp his cold fingers around my neck so hard my pulse punches back.
Cirrin closes the distance, offering me the cool comfort of his healing. “Is that truly necessary, Your Majesty?”
The Emperor ignores him. “You did well, my little witch. You must have surmised our purpose was not to find whether Annovia orchestrated the attacks.” Saliva pools in the back of my throat, threatening to choke me while the urge to spit it at the Emperor grows stronger by the second. “We came to find their weakness.”
Of course. So you can exploit it in order to get what you really want—their spell books. Recipes needed to make spells and incantations. Secured by the very power he means to steal.
Lars and Malin close in with purple mist circling the Emperor’s wrist, studying us carefully when the tyrant pulls me close enough that the tips of our noses touch. “Your performance with the Prince led us straight to it.” His cheeks draw back in deep-set lines. “You.”
My face falls, and his fingers tighten. Suspicion roils in my abdomen, and I pull in a breath to try to use my magic with the need to know if he is lying, since this claim was made with less conviction than he uses with anything he believes in.
His sulphur and wine scent invades my senses when I send him a tendril of curiosity, returning more anxiety, apparently forgetting he cannot hide his deceit from me. Yet all he gains is an empty attempt at shaming me—so I draw from my guilt at allowing Varic to leave and let him think it is due to what he claims.
“At least your hair has returned to its natural color.” He holds up a now dark brown tendril, then releases his hold on my throat. A sneer rises as his lips curl back, and he spins around so fast, his cape ripples in the moonbeams cast through the window. “We leave now.” His command hangs in the air as the rest of his Guards turn and follow him into the hall.
I turn and make eye contact with each of my Guards before stepping forward, taking my time while wishing to grab hold of Cirrin’s watch so I might know exactly how much time we have until Varic is meant to return. My heart hammers as I near the threshold, knowing there is no way to stall for what remains of the hour before Fray is expected to leave with me. I struggle to pull in breath, as the likelihood of Varic knowing where to look for us dwindles the farther we move from this room.
Yet I cannot stall forever. His Majesty pauses to glare back at me when I stop just outside the suite, head swiveling as I seek any sign of Varic.
Yet no one is there.
Until something moves out of the corner of my eye, and I turn?—
Varic?
No. I release a breath when it is just another empty hall.
