Page 236 of Burn Her They Said
“Can we just be us for right now? No titles? Even if you’re mad at me?”
“If you can trust me to complete a task I am perfectly capable of performing.”
He expels a breath so loud I can hear it over the flapping of Dragon wings.
I pull my arm free from the loop furthest from him, then tilt to make eye contact with the sorcerer whose fear has stolen the warmth from his skin.
“I’m sorry.” He shakes his head. “Of course you’re sensitive to being directed.”
“And you are simply looking out for my safety.”
Varic is silent as I extract my arm closest to him, and I startle with Lucrea’s distinct call alerting us to the fact that Malin will be arriving soon.
I grab the handlebar to steady myself as I look over the curve of Minea’s side.
Varic braces his boots between the spindles of the balcony’s railing while holding his arms outstretched to catch me.
“I trust you,” I reassure him. “You would never drop me.”
He nods tersely as I scoot forward, feeling as if I am about to fall rather than intentionally drop lower. My chest expands with a deep breath to help me prepare to jump from a hovering Dragon.
Varic thrusts his arms up while I hold his gaze and nod before pushing off—and feeling weightless as I fall—until I come to a jolting halt as his hands grip beneath my arms. His shield dissipates, allowing me to feel his touch while he steps back to give me space and lowers me down over the marble.
I smile up at him when he closes the ribbon of distance between us by enveloping me in the tightest hug I’ve ever received—from him, or anyone.
Tears well faster than I can blink, obscuring the sunlight casting through the clouds while a vibrant green Dragon casually pumps his wings while awaiting us to bid him farewell. I’m unsure where this emotional release is coming from, aside from the intensity with which Varic holds my body in his arms, his embrace conveying just how much he needs me to be okay. How much he needs to know I am safe.
And I think I need the same.
We hold each other and settle into the steady beat of our hearts until we startle from the bang of my bedchamber doors bursting open.
Varic casts his amber shield around my skin as he takes a step, and my veins burn with fury when the Emperor sends a cloud of his dark gray magic straight to Varic’s chest, hurtling him back until his hips collide with the marble railing.
Chapter Seventy-Nine
FUCK
My heart jolts as Minea screeches and careens around the balcony to hover just behind Varic. His pointed tail swipes through the air above the railing and nearly clips the Emperor’s ear as he dares to glare at the emerald eyes of an apparently irate Dragon.
Magic burns in my veins, searing as it pulses out and into my muscles, preparing to protect my heart living outside my body—the sorcerer with the impossibly bright brown eyes which remain pinned on mine, communicating every bit of emotion trapped inside him.
‘Don’t,’ he mouths, as a wave of caution and calm rolls from him. Apparently forcing himself to feel each one in order to share them with me.
Though he should know better than to try to keep me from saving him.
I take one cautious step closer, needing to do anything I can to lessen his distress as he’s pressed against the railing, hundreds of feet above the same ground where Hendry met his death. And while I cannot guess at this fucker’s intentions, I will not allow him to take Varic from me. No matter how weak my magic.
Cirrin and Fray burst through the doors behind the Emperor’s Guards and rush to my side.
“What in the fuck is going on?” Fray whispers with his eyes fixed on the Emperor.
“His Majesty caught us embracing after Varic ensured I was safely on the balcony.”
Cirrin and Fray each huff out a breath as they sneer at our erratic leader.
“You.” The Emperor points a finger in Varic’s face as Raki leers from the same shoulder. “Leave us.”
My magic bursts forth, spiraling through the Emperor’s wards, forcing him to feel a sense of jubilation and excitement, confusing his fury enough to keep him from acting even more irrationally.
