Page 244 of Burn Her They Said
“How did you know?”
“Because, Your Majesty,” Varic says. “General Sal has always envied your connection with Imperial Grand Witch Tasch. He covets the reverence she holds for your leadership, and if he were to succeed in making you doubt her loyalty, it might cause you to value her less, affording him the opportunity to get what he truly wants.”
The Emperor’s expression turns sinister, and my feet shuffle beneath me in retreat, reacting strangely compared to other times he has induced this same fear in me. Yet I take comfort in the amber shield expanding with my movement, spanning from just before my Guards to a pace behind me when I come to a halt.
“You’ve all been fucking her, haven’t you?” the Emperor asks, shoving his way past Kosta and Jesin to glare directly at Varic.
I release a breath of frustration with his incessant need to control who touches me and how. Forbidden from ever seeking my own pleasure, while forced to use my magic to amplify the same in others. Making me vicariously experience what I was missing—the connection, the passion—everything. Just one more way he has exerted his control over me.
Varic charges forward, expanding his shield with him, as he bucks his chest into the Emperor’s. “Your Majesty, I respectfully request we continue this conversation another time.”
“She’s whoring herself to all of you, isn’t she?”
My heart lurches when I close the distance to stand behind Cirrin and Malin.
“How can I prove I am telling the truth?” Varic advances, slamming his chest against the Emperor’s again.
My knees weaken just before a cool mist disperses over my skin, settling the pounding pulse which threatened to take me down had Cirrin not intervened.
The Emperor straightens, bolstered by his own Guards, who glare over at Varic.
He is being too bold. Taking too big a risk, even if the Emperor can see reason and keep from harming him for fear of the caveat in the accords.
I send him a tendril of curiosity, then nearly drop to my knees from the rage and fear filling his chest cavity. A light blue spiral of calm unfurls from me to Varic, as I siphon his fears and replace them with focus.
Varic sneers at our ruler. “You have forbidden her from engaging in intimacy. A regulation you imposed upon her, which she has diligently followed.”
A satisfied smirk rises on one side of the tyrant’s expression. “You seem especially concerned with the control I exert over my little witch. More than I would expect from her Imperial Lead Guard, Euclid.”
My errant protector leers over His Majesty, and my heart feels as if the amber lightning sparking from the center of his palms has struck me instead.
Malin sends a coil of his magic made solid to tap Varic on the side two times. His leader heeds the request and lifts his amber shield up from the floor to allow the heavy mist of purple to swirl outward. It rises to form manacles over the wrists of His Majesty’s Guards, avoiding their notice until it solidifies to hold them in place. A small smile curves up the side of my lips to see them chained the same way I have been. Malin sends another tendril to tap Varic on the shoulder twice, to which he nods in acknowledgement.
“It seems you have a vested interest in me granting her any leniency.” Emperor Aldritch leans in until his forehead touches Varic’s. “It seems you would love to take advantage?—”
A growl tears from Varic, and the Emperor casts a dark gray force-shield between them when amber bolts emit from Varic’s fingertips.
My eyes widen at Varic’s blasting ability as it pierces through every bit of magic between them, displacing the Emperor’s shield as well as his own. Varic takes several careful steps back until he stands shoulder to shoulder with the rest of my Guards, threatening His Majesty with the force of his power sparking inches in front of the Emperor’s chest.
Malin continues to hold the restraints around each of the Emperor’s Guards while His Majesty stares down in disbelief at the golden hue of Varic’s blast energy.
A new fear presses against my ribs, because no matter how much I want this—no matter how much I long to witness the sorcerer who was forced to grow his magic and suffer the deaths of everyone in his unit, no matter how much I want him to obliterate the ruler who ultimately gave the order, and to revel in the moment Varic ensures vengeance for all of us—I can’t.
I cannot allow them to finish this.
Not when we are outnumbered so heavily. Not with countless witches and sorcerers who want us dead, or worse. Who are just as ignorant of the caveat in the accords as we had been. We cannot finish this without a safe escape from it. Not if we mean to avoid Varic having to revisit his worst nightmare of needing to kill every being who might try to stop us—most of whom serve our Empire under threat of harm—as we must.
Malin looks down the line. “We need to move closer.”
We all follow suit as Cirrin turns to capture Varic’s attention. “We need in.”
Varic uses his blast magic to dissipate His Majesty’s shield lower down. “By his feet.”
A purple cloud flows toward the tyrant to climb up and wrap around his form while Cirrin’s blue healing crawls up and into his stomach, causing his eyes to fall shut while Malin’s magic holds him up. The dark gray shield disappears, unable to wield his power once his consciousness has faded.
“What are you doing?” Mille asks.
“Helping to calm him.” Cirrin holds his hands out defensively. “This situation is stressful, and his heart could give out.”
