Page 242 of Burn Her They Said
Varic holds his hand out before my chest, as if to stop me from stomping toward them. “I will abide by the vow I made to protect Imperial Grand Witch Tasch.”
“Very well,” His Majesty sneers, sending a wave of his power, halted by the wall of amber. “Lower your shield, Euclid.”
Varic doesn’t move a muscle.
Raki lifts off to hover directly overhead when Malin steps before me and turns to Varic. “What is your plan here, Leader?”
Emperor Aldritch reforms his magic into tiny shards, as if readying to pierce through the shield surrounding us, as he sneers at me, “I should kill you now.”
Time slows as the needle-tip bits of force magic fly toward us.
Varic lunges to block me from the tyrant’s sight while holding his arm out to the side.
We collectively glower at the ruler whose magic is proving ineffective against Varic’s, yet the Emperor refuses to back down so easily as he screams, “Ivo, Danor—now!”
Deep purple sparks fill Ivo’s hands as dark red mist emanates from Danor, all of which they send with the Emperor’s dark gray in an arc, spreading up and over the shield surrounding us.
Varic turns with a smirk rising on the side of his face. “Tasch, Malin—remember what happened on the driveway in Annovia?”
I nod. “The way you siphoned his power?”
“Watch.” He tilts his head back and curls his hands into fists.
“Careful, Leader,” Malin warns. “This is an unreliable new skill you’ve learned.”
Cirrin steps closer, shaking with anxiety. “What do you surmise the risks might be?”
Malin shrugs, instilling none of us with confidence.
“Cirrin, will you?” I gesture toward his leader as he sends him a wave of blue healing, imbuing him with energy when Varic’s body begins to tremble.
I grab hold of his shoulder and squeeze, but he doesn’t relent. “Varic, please.”
The tendons in his neck protrude as he continues to pull on their power without any indication he’s heard me.
I turn to Malin, who shakes his head. My lungs sting as I pull a breath in and take hold of Varic’s hand to squeeze four distinct pulses, laying claim to this sorcerer determined to keep us all safe at an unknown cost to himself.
Yet he only seems to draw more of their power inside himself as Ivo sways to the side, and Danor’s eyelids droop, while Mille propels his magic into the tyrant whose eyes appear to dull as he pulses his own power toward us.
“Varic,” I try again. But he’s lost to me. Hidden somewhere behind a veil. Though nothing can keep him from the witch who brought him back from the depths of the worst he’s ever felt. No, if anyone is capable, I will be the one to pull him back from this.
“Lars.” I pivot to look back at the son of a scholar. “If you will not tell me the meaning of the terms Varic uses for me, will you please tell me how to say ‘my heart’ in the ancient tongue?”
His mouth quirks in the corner. “Mei caerd.”
“Mei caerd,” I say, drawing Varic to turn and lock eyes on mine, though they’re unfocused. “What about ‘my soul’?”
“Mei swul,” Lars says. “But if you mean something closer to soulmate, it’s mei gema.”
“Mei swul. Mei gema. Please.” My voice breaks, squeezing Varic’s hand with more tension until he blinks with some of the light returning behind his irises.
His mouth curves up in the corner. “Using the ancient tongue against me is manipulative, you know.”
I choke out a laugh as he tightens his fist over my thumb—just once. Just to let me know he’s here. He’s back, and he won’t overdo it.
“Shit,” Kosta cries, using his speed to grab hold of Ivo before slowly lowering the unconscious Guard to the ground.
“You didn’t kill him,” Malin says. “I can still sense magic within his chest.”
