Page 218 of Burn Her They Said
“You will step forward and announce your failures!” He casts his eyes over the crowd.
My stomach churns, screaming for me to stop using my magic, needing a physical sensation to pull me out of the trance I enter when using my power to this extent. Yet even with the gentle touch of Malin supporting the back of my neck, and Cirrin and Varic healing me—darkness consumes my vision until no amount of blinking can clear it. Forcing me to rely on my power to determine the Emperor’s level of satisfaction with my work.
Blue and amber healing magic flows up and over my arms where it meets in the center between my shoulders, clearing my vision where my eyes cast downward. Varic rotates his pointer finger closest to me until purple mist flows down and around my body, casting a violet glow as Malin’s magic holds me upright. Yet my body still screams, with piercing pain driving into every muscle as my magic sputters, nearing the edge of being fully drained.
“You will explain every discovery you have made related to the attacks and assassination attempts!” My magic detects the Emperor is still experiencing agitation, meaning I cannot quit.
I cannot risk him learning I have become this weakened. His Majesty stares out at the sorcerers I am controlling by his command with a sense of unbridled glee bubbling up from his stomach now that he must recognize it’s working. So I push my power further, needing them to experience a semblance of trust toward their ruler. Encouraging them to tell the truth so we may all leave this room with our lives.
A garbled noise of distress tumbles from my lips as I begin to fade out of consciousness.
Enough. I shudder as the voice in my mind causes my magic to falter while a familiar warmth surrounds me, feeling the same as if Varic were hugging me to his chest, though not a single part of his body touches mine. Malin’s purple magic slowly recedes as Varic’s amber now holds me. Tears well, then spill down my cheeks when his influence penetrates to fill me with hope, and I fail to hold in a shuddered breath when he sends me an ember of his love.
The flush on my chest grows wider now that he is imbuing me with his care, then glowing lines snake out and into the crowd from Varic.
My own chest fills with pride and wonder—which I send to him—letting him know how I feel in witnessing this.
“You will answer to me, or I will have you kneel before her.” His Majesty gestures to me, and my own gaze flicks over to Danor, who thankfully shows no sign of sensing what Varic is doing, despite the level of power he is using.
Varic’s jaw feathers, and his hands remain clasped behind him while I stare over in wonderment at how he’s learned to control this magic as well as he has so quickly—no.
That morning when he left the tent to report for duty after I healed him—I swore it felt as if he had imbued me then. That deep amber-hued feeling—meaning that Varic may have been practicing influence long before he met me.
General Fah steps forward and kneels before the stage. “We have failed you, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Aldritch rounds the war table and jumps to the ground with the grace and agility of someone less than half his age. He glowers at the General before backhanding him so hard, he stumbles against the uniformed chests behind him. General Fah plays it off well, righting himself and replacing his look of shock with a neutral expression, behaving as if this is normal behavior from our leader.
“There is no excuse for our failure,” General Fah begins. “We have recalibrated our efforts in surveilling the border from the northernmost point to the southern. Our new strategies will prove impossible for anyone to bypass?—”
“Do you know how weak every failure has made us appear to the rulers of every other land on the Continent?” Spittle launches from the Emperor’s mouth and lands on General Fah’s cheeks and lips, and I stare over in awe at how well he hides any sign of disgust. “Do you understand the stain this will bring to my reign? Can you even begin to fathom how this period in Ampara Deicra’s history will forever be a blight? How every generation to come will look upon these years with shame once they learn how weak our Imperial Army must have been to allow such attacks to occur, only days apart.” He snatches hold of General Fah’s chin, pressing his pale fingers in. “Someone here will answer for this. Someone here will pay for this failure.”
Varic’s anger ripples through our connection, and I keep myself from taking any from him. Though my eyes keep flicking down toward his hands in concern.
Emperor Aldritch grabs hold of General Fah’s uniform, and Varic growls in frustration.
He breaks from my side to storm across the stage, and my eyes widen when he leans down to drop to the ground until he stands shoulder to shoulder with the tyrant.
Stars invade my vision as I chase after him, only pausing once Cirrin squeezes my arm twice. Tears prick my eyes with the reminder of Hendry’s missive he used to tap over my skin in affirmation, or at times when I needed to pay closer attention.
“Emperor Aldritch,” Varic begins as he steps around to face him. “I might have some insight to share on where the assailants may be gaining entry to our land.”
His Majesty glares back, and I show him no mercy, piercing his chest with threads of peace and trust I pull from the way I feel about the sorcerer addressing him. Intervening as well as I can to prevent him from hurting Varic. My heart skips a beat as I pulse my magic into him, already weakened, even after their healing.
“Go on,” the Emperor says.
Varic stares back with that same confidence I admire in him, though my pulse thrums low and slow in anticipation until he says, “The Yelm mountain pass.”
A collective gasp rises from the highest-ranking military leaders at the mere mention.
“Impossible,” the Emperor claims.
Varic leans in for emphasis. “Your Majesty, the firebombs which were set off?—”
My vision fades, and cold creeps up my spine as Cirrin’s magic courses under Varic’s force-shield, which he must have split for my healer to access. The energy he sends me helps to clear my eyesight, allowing me to stare at the sorcerers facing off before an audience, when Varic could have easily waited to mention this to the Emperor in private. Meaning he is up to something, and I wish we were telepathic so he could tell me exactly what.
“—someone has learned how to survive among the beasts,” Varic explains.
“General Sal said as much about the firebombs,” Emperor Aldritch says.
