Chapter Sixty-Seven
Alight
Prince Auden thrusts his hand in my face, and since I have no ability to refuse his demand, I raise my hand as Varic’s shield glides to the tips of my fingers just before I dutifully take hold of the Prince’s.
I lock my gaze ahead when Prince Auden stares at me with a prideful smile rather than paying any attention to where we are stepping.
Our collective protectors follow closely behind as he guides me across the dance floor without incident.
We halt once we reach its center and Varic’s jaw feathers when the Prince leans in to whisper something I can’t quite hear.
My gaze flicks down to my Lead Guard’s hands to make sure there are no lightning bolts making an appearance.
Tension still ripples along Varic’s temples, and the best thing I can do is send him a thread of my love. My pulse pounds heavily until the ridge of his mask lifts, just before more warmth imbues my heart when he sends me the same back in response.
My chest flushes brighter than ever as the noble guests crowd in, obscuring the view from the citizens made to stand on the ground, only able to see between the esteemed guests’ legs where they might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of me and the Prince.
“Look how she flushes,” a witch in a deep navy dress titters.
“Wouldn’t you if the Prince looked at you that way?” the witch in a lighter shade retorts.
Prince Auden seeks my eyes, so I give in.
Though my focus is on tracking my Guards within my periphery while they form a wider five-pointed star around us.
My heart hammers against my ribs as the Prince’s guards maintain the same distance.
While something about this feels unsafe, I cannot name what it is.
The Queen stares over, wearing an unreadable expression from where she reclines upon her silver throne.
The Emperor stands to her left, with his Guards behind him, all of whom seem to be enjoying this far more than my own.
My brow furrows as I scan that side of the dance floor, curious as to where Wyrth, his Guards, and Imelda might have gone.
Varic’s shield warms my skin as it glides upward, tingling and almost biting in its intensity as it sluices over my chest and rises higher still.
A smile breaks across my face in triumph from the way Varic lays claim to me. Ensuring no one else can hold me, no matter what they think.
Gratitude for his protection swirls in my chest as Prince Auden aligns our bodies, clasping our hands together on one side while his other slides down and over the thin veil of amber, claiming the small of my waist. I shudder as he curls his fingers, a reminder of what I would feel fully were it not for the shield preventing it.
He guides my free hand to rest over his shoulder, and his hazel eyes darken, then mine widen in realization that I have failed to subdue the waves of pleasure rippling from my body.
The Prince acting as if he assumes it is his proximity causing my response, when the effect is unique to the beat of Varic’s heart pulsing between us.
The Prince leans down to whisper, “I’m afraid you will not be able to select the song, as we will be dancing to the traditional one played after we perform the sacrifice.”
“I was wondering if that term could be revised.”
“Scared you, did we?” His mouth lifts in a grin, and I shudder.
“Yes.”
He chuckles, twisting my stomach. “We believe that burning the fields is an act of sacrifice.”
A deep breath fills my lungs as I stall, having nothing constructive to say in response.
He holds tight to my back as he angles us properly. “Are you ready to begin?”
I swallow my honest answer and force a smile, wishing I could get lost in his eyes, needing something to distract from my Lead Guard.
A soft trilling melody plays, and my skin sings with sensitivity as Prince Auden leads us through simpler moves than the first time we danced together. The Prince and I glide over the floor with ease, despite the distinct heat of Varic’s gaze searing a trail over my body.
Muffled commentary becomes a near-constant murmur around us—
“So good together.”
“They move as one.”
“So tragically beautiful, that one.”
Prince Auden looks down on me and sighs. “Ignore them.”
I nod, then a high-pitched ringing fills my ears.
Bright white fills my vision.
Then heat of a different kind stings my skin when Varic’s shield vanishes.
The Prince’s hands wrap around my arms as we rise from the ground—catapulted by a blast of force propelling us sideways.
“Varic!” I scream.
Pain pierces my side, along with splintered wood as we land, hard and fast.
Smoke and dust are so thick I cannot make out the Prince before me.
“Varic!” I scream again. Needing him. Here. Now. Fast. Please.
Tears stream down my cheeks as I blink, while the high-pitched ringing fully obscures my hearing.
I scan the area as well as I can through pillars of billowing smoke. But the thick haze of dust darkens everything, and the fairy lights no longer shine from under the tent’s cover.
One of my Guards should have found me by now.
“Varic!” I barely croak, throat tightening with terror.
I feel along the Prince’s chest and can’t tell if he’s still breathing.
I press my fingers to his pulse point, and my heart hammers with the expectation someone will find us.
I send tendrils of curiosity to try to recognize the signature of someone’s panic or confusion. Needing to know my Guards still live.
Lars should have been able to run to me without anyone seeing.
Stars crowd my vision, and my head grows heavier the longer I seek them. So I retract my magic, unable to chance losing consciousness with an unknown threat. Which could be anyone, anywhere, because of the thick blanket of gray and white surrounding us.
Fray should be grabbing me to fly away.
My hands quiver as I grab hold of the Prince’s shoulders and shake him.
“Auden!” I whisper while trying not to draw notice.
Because whoever set off the blast could be near. They could mean to take or kill me and the other Anomalies.
The coolness of Cirrin’s magic should be creeping over my skin, healing me after the explosion.
The air isn’t clearing, and I can’t feel my Guards with my magic, nor can I hear anything other than this incessant ringing.
I jostle the Prince harder to no avail, yet the fox mask slips from his face, and I rear my hand back and smack his cheek.
The quick movement disperses the dust enough that I see his eyes fly open, and he coughs so loudly I can hear it—and hope it doesn’t attract those who planted the bomb.
“What happened?” Prince Auden asks.
“An explosion. And no one has come for us—not even our Guards.”
He snaps upright and wraps me in his arms so tightly I can’t pull in even the shallowest breath.
I push against his chest as his magic lifts us.
“No, no, no.” My voice must be too low, because he doesn’t seem to hear me as he flies us high enough to clear anyone’s head should they be standing.
“Put me down!”
He hurtles us through dust and smoke, and I slam my eyes shut to find a memory holding a sense of complacency, then send him a tendril of it to try halting his urgency.
“Please don’t. I need to get us to safety, and you’re making it difficult.”
“Good!”
“Not good.” He shakes his head. “Not if I drop you somewhere and you get hurt.”
Since complacency was too much, I send him uncertainty.
“Please,” he begs, and I relent, failing to save myself, all because I did not think to use my magic before he left the ground with me.
He flies us past an area where the fabric roof hangs down in tatters, apparently seeking a different way out.
“Varic!” I scream, needing him to hear me.
To send his shield. To give me any indication—any proof that he’s still living.
That the explosion didn’t take him from me.
Please.
No amber, blue, purple, red, or gray appear. Nothing to convince me of my Guards’ survival, tearing my heart from my chest as I try to hold on to hope, though it feels impossible.
“Tasch!” I swear I hear Cirrin’s voice yell.
But the ringing in my ears is so loud, I cannot be sure I am able to hear anything that isn’t directly next to me.
It must have been more wishful thinking. Just my imagination playing tricks again.
“Stop!” I scream when moonlight casts over us, clearing the plume of dust and smoke as we leave the tent.
I peel my eyes open the higher we soar, the clear air offering a view of where the explosion must have been set, with only part of the roof burnt and caving in, while the dance floor was at least partially decimated.
Wind stings my eyes in the absence of Varic’s shield, so I slam them shut and clutch onto my newest captor.
“What are you doing?” I scream.
I tighten my hold around his back as I realize this could have been the plan.
How the Prince could have been told to fly me so high, I’d never survive the fall, should the explosion not kill me first. Wouldn’t that be the most effective way for the Prince of Annovia to save the Continent? To kill the Imperial Grand Witch by dropping her body from hundreds of feet in the air?
Fury burns in my veins as my heart works hard to remain conscious with the force of his speed and the frigid air.
But the Prince was in just as much danger with the explosion.
Regardless, what will the Emperor think when he learns the Prince has taken me?
Was this all part of his plan to get the Prince away separately?
Could he and Wyrth have colluded to set a trap for the royal?
Needing to learn what he knows, I give in and call him what he wishes. “Auden!”
He rears back to study my expression and halts our ascent. “This is what it took for you to call me by my given name?”
“That is your biggest concern right now?”
“No!”
A flash of something captures my attention, and I snap my head to the side.
My heart hammers as I squint, then widen my eyes at the light gray trailing behind a rapidly moving form.
Fray.