Page 206 of Burn Her They Said
She leans in until her breath courses over my skin in a most unwelcome sensation.
“We will support you however we can, but you must heed my warning—you need to take her far, far away from him, and as soon as possible.”
Dread pools in my stomach, aching like a poison as the concern in her gaze is unmistakably genuine. This is no deception; instead, it is that of a witch who has lived with a high level of threat and danger. One who recognizes when a situation has become untenable. My instincts scream with a panicked sense of urgency already growing too big to fit inside my body.
I nearly forget my place and bow to her far later than would otherwise be considered proper.
Then, when I straighten, the Queen’s brown eyes open wide to pierce mine with meaning as she forcibly grabs hold of my wrist before pressing a small metal vial to the center of my palm.
“You may need this before we see each other again,” she says, just under her breath. “It is of the utmost importance you understand its purpose, as it detects?—”
“The essence of influence,” I whisper, before adding, “in anything which can be ingested.”
She nods and releases me before turning to disappear within the same doorway from which she entered.
I discreetly place the object in a pocket near my waistband and walk through her chambers, the guards stationed at the enormous sliding doors granting me passage. A heavy breath leaves my chest once the grating locks click behind me.
The chain on the pocket watch rattles as I pull it from the compartment and hold my breath as I raise it and read—releasing it when there are still fifteen minutes before Fray would begrudgingly take Tasch to the unfamiliar Dragon den.
A renewed sense of energy bursts through my veins as I storm down the hallway, hoping the loud clomping of my boots does not encourage anyone to try to stop me from going to her. Because I need to find her waiting in that room so I can pull her to my chest and breathe her in.
My heart lurches once I reach the door and pause, turning and checking that the hall is empty in both directions while my stomach ties itself in knots.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand when I pull out the watch, confounded by the need to stall as it should be too early to worry that they could have left already. The hands confirm this with over seven minutes to spare. I double-check that the hall is still clear, then pull in a breath and crack the door open.
Moonlight casts an eerie glow over the furniture—and nothing else.
Every hair on my body stands on end.
Where in the fuck did they go?
I tear through the room and scan my eyes over every inch to make sure the light isn’t tricking me—that I’m not somehow missing them. That they are in here somewhere. Until the bathing chamber is the only place left to check, and I shove the door open.
My heart drops to my stomach. It’s just as empty as the rest.
Did I make a mistake and look in the wrong suite?
I take one last glance, then check the room next door, heart hammering when I confirm they are nowhere within it either.
Then I shove the door to the suite on the opposite side open. And the next.
But there is no one inhabiting any of them.
My body moves faster than my mind can track, turning knob after knob until I’ve verified that every guest room along this hall is void of occupants, heart slamming harder against my ribs with every failure to find them.
This cannot be happening. Where in the fuck are they?
Panic steals the air from my lungs as I tilt my head back, which only makes it worse.
“Look at me.”
Tasch’s voice sounds as if she’s right here beside me.
“I am,” I tell her, though she isn’t there. Not physically.
Ocean blue eyes—aquamarine. That one dark freckle over her lip.
“You’re all I see,” I choke out, tears forming.
