Chapter Seventy-Eight #4
His words stoke the fire in my chest until it’s running up my neck, blazing higher and hotter than before. “Oh, come on. You can’t possibly expect me to believe you have gotten me to straddle your lap and allowed you to restrain both of my wrists by coincidence.”
“A happy coincidence, yes.” His tone is playful, yet he can’t hide the grit as his weight presses into me from the way Minea curves in a wide arc.
He lets out a groan as he shifts himself, and I suck in a sharp breath, too close to his ear to sound pleasant.
Time passes too quickly, and we finally reach my balcony, feeling wholly unprepared for this to end when Minea slows to a halt, pumping his wings to hover as close to the gray marble railing as his wingspan allows.
A familiar sinking feeling settles in beneath the stony stare of the Emperor’s statue boring into me. The statue of the tyrant looms outside the wall of the citadel, increasing that sense of dread contrasted with the sparks scattering down my neck from Varic’s lips grazing the edge of my ear.
“I’m going to release myself first,” he says, and I shake my head. “I will drop down to the balcony, then I will have you slide down Minea’s side where I will catch you.”
I give in and nod, as there is no real way to refuse this plan.
My muscles clench when he nudges the horn to loosen the restraints around his legs and our arms, pressing all four pulses before releasing my hand.
The corner of my mouth rises in a small smile as he unbuckles the belt with the hand he extracted from my own before he draws back to set it on the other side of the harness.
He takes his time to relinquish my other hand, trailing his fingers down over my arm until he sits upright, keeping those impossibly bright brown eyes trained on me the entire time.
The most vibrant smile overtakes his face, while a slight flush spreads across the peaks of his cheeks and nose.
He pats my hip before slowly unwinding my leg from where it has been braced around his waist and gently guides my boot to rest with my other.
His whole body pivots as he tips his chin before descending off the side of the Dragon.
My lungs freeze mid-breath as I strain to hear the soles of his boots meet the stone. Needing to know he’s made it safely down. To know that he’s okay. That he’s simply waiting for me.
His boots plod down, and I release a breath.
“Alright, Tasch, if you will—”
Frustration rises, boiling my blood. “I don’t need you to explain how to extract myself, Imperial Lead—”
“Please, don’t,” Varic groans.
I pause, heart hammering as I wait for him to tell me what he needs.
“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.