Page 58 of Burn Her They Said
“Think you can walk?” Varic asks, and I open my mouth to tell him I have no choice when he casts his magic higher to support me. “We need to go speak with the Emperor.”
His pulse pounds heavier in the protection he weaves around my skin, and my cheeks heat from his attentiveness. I rise in answer, with the will to fight him no longer present, taking the lead with the support of his magic as we move through the expansive space which has become crowded. I avert my eyes as best I can from the piles of beings undulating on and around various plush surfaces.
We shift as one past their moving forms on our way to our target, having spotted his silver hair when we rounded the corner. My pulse pounds louder the closer we move toward His Majesty, and heart hammering with fear, I reach for Varic’s arm to stop him.
He drops his gaze to the unconventional contact I am making by holding his bicep as I lean in to whisper, “He must be so drunk at this point. It is not wise for us to interrupt him.”
He drops his head to whisper, “Perhaps his being drunk will work in our favor, then.” He straightens, and a hazy white film closes in from the edges of my vision.
“Hendry would have never sought him out, nor would he have ever dared to request anything on my behalf,” I blurt, and retract my hand from his arm to clasp before me.
Varic turns to face me, glancing over his shoulder to check the Emperor isn’t watching. “I understand it may be challenging for you to adapt to my style of leadership.”
Lars scoffs and then coughs to try to disguise it.
“And while I cannot bring Hendry back,” Varic says, and my throat tightens, “I will do what I can to ensure you are rested.”
A tingle creeps within the heat growing beneath my cheeks as he winks at me before turning back to address the Emperor, who remains, as ever, under the watch of his Guards standing on the opposite side of the group engaging with His Majesty.
“Your Majesty,” Varic says, and the Emperor spins to stare at him, pupils wide from luss essence, naked aside from the ever-present goblet of wine clutched in his fist. “Thank you for hosting this incomparable celebration in honor of my appointment.”
I grimace, first from Varic’s formal wording, then from the resounding smack of the Emperor’s hand on my Lead Guard’s back.
“You’ve certainly earned it,” Emperor Aldritch says, shaking Varic aggressively.
“Would it serve Your Majesty to dismiss Imperial Grand Witch Tasch for the night?” Varic asks.
The Emperor’s gaze darts over to me, narrowing.
“Of course, my little witch.” He steps closer, and a shudder rocks through me when his hand snatches my chin in his oily fingertips. I stifle a gag as he forces my head to tilt back. “Go. Get some rest. You’ll need your strength for what I have planned.”
The knot in my throat drops to the depths of my stomach once he releases me, and I suppress the need to wipe my skin clean.
A gentle hand circles my upper arm, leading me to my bedchamber. I let out a breath of relief and smile at Cirrin as his magic does its best to heal the cavernous need within me. One which only seems to grow, no matter his strength.
Though a temporary fix on a crumbling bridge is better than nothing, I suppose.
“Thank you, Cirrin.” His answering smile contains a power all its own as I swear it heals me in a way no magic ever could. “Your compassion means more than you could ever know.”
Chapter Twenty
Night
Drusilla fixes her gaze on Varic as we silently approach my chambers, only breaking her study once she bows to me before she turns to enter through the opening doors.
Varic seems not to notice her existence as his own attention roves over each of the Guards holding the doors open, then over to me as we near the threshold.
I hold my breath the moment Varic enters the space for the first time as my new Lead Guard, matching my cadence as we walk in to begin this new era of uncertainty, side by side and for as long as we both shall live.
Despite this distinct awareness, I cannot help but scan the room in search of any sign that Hendry might be here somewhere, simply waiting for us to return so he can command us around or engage in his favorite pastime of making Fray squirm.
Varic stares at me as I come to a halt, overcome with a heaviness settling in the center of my chest—this thing we recognize as grief being such a strange experience.
Lars and Varic flank me on the way to the closet, and a different sort of heat blooms beneath my skin the closer we move to the place where my attendant will strip me naked in the same room as my new Lead Guard—a situation which may have less of an effect, had I not regularly fantasized about the same, only with he and I being the only ones present.
Varic averts his eyes, staring at the opposite wall, yet his ears burn crimson the second Drusilla releases the first of the buttons running down my back. His fingers course through his hair before he sways in place, wrapping his arms around himself and adding a dose of levity to the situation.
Drusilla grips the front of the dress and pulls it down as gooseflesh prickles everywhere the chilled air touches. I cross my arms while she steps away and then climbs on top of the tufted footstool to hold a black silk nightgown over my head. I help to draw it down my body, eyes widening once it becomes apparent the garment does not need to unfurl any further, because my attendant has selected a short design I was unaware existed. Its hem lies across my upper thigh, leaving me more exposed than I am used to, having only ever worn floor-length nightgowns before this.
