Page 119 of Crown of Briars
I blink and stare at him. Something about his voice doesn’t sound right.
I jerk violently, and Varius vanishes, his heavy weight and warmth disappearing. The vision before me fades, and I am yanked back to reality.
I startled awake, gasping, my pulse still racing from the events of my dream. Varius’s hands gripped my shoulders, his eyes full of panic.
“Varius, what—” I froze as I noticed a gemstone in his hand. The shade of amber was unmistakable.
Horror tightened in my chest as I noted the dark shadows streaking along the walls. “What the hell happened?”
Varius lifted the glowing stone, his eyes sharp and full of accusation. “You tell me.”
My brows knitted together. “Tell you what? I’ve been asleep! Why are you holding one of my gemstones?”
“It… called to me.” His voice sounded uncertain.
“Called to you,” I repeated. “How?”
For some reason, he averted his gaze from me, his lips pressing into a thin line. “I—I heard your voice, Sybelle. It was coming from this stone.”
I sat up, clutching the blankets against my chest. I was achingly aware of my rather revealing nightgown, especially considering the wildly inappropriate dream I’d been having. The space between my thighs was wet and hot, and I prayed to every god I could think of that Varius couldn’t scent my arousal.
“I followed the sound into the bathing chamber,” Varius went on, still not meeting my gaze. “The stone was glowing. Only when I touched it did the light vanish. Then, I heard your voice in my head.”
My mouth went dry. Shit… What did this mean? The amber stone was used to communicate with Azure.
So, why was Varius hearing me speaking tohim? Azure could only talk to me when we were both touching the stone.
My hand flew to the necklace at my throat. Normally, I could only hear Azure’s voice in my head when myfingerswere touching the stone. I was never entirely sure why it worked that way—Azure didn’t need to touch it with her claws. As long as she wore the jeweled collar around her throat, it worked just fine for her.
I could access magic from other gems by touching them with other parts of my body. The diamond tiara, for instance.
Was it possible the amber stonecouldbe used to communicate with others, even if my fingers weren’t touching it?
“Sybelle,” Varius said, startling me from my thoughts. “Can you explain this?”
I licked my lips, and his eyes darted to my mouth. That unbearable heat between my legs only intensified as I realized we were both sitting very close to one another on the bed.
I scooted backward, trying to keep my movements subtle. Clearing my throat, I said carefully, “The amber stone allows me to… communicate with others. Mentally.”
Varius frowned, then glanced at the necklace. “Who have you been communicating with?” His voice was laced with suspicion.
I flinched.Stones, what do I do?If I avoided the question, he would assume I was feeding information to the Earthen Court.
But I couldn’t tell him about Azure.
Or could I? He already knew about my gemstone magic.
No,I thought firmly.Azure is not my secret to tell. I can’t betray her trust. I can’t tell Varius about her unless she gives me permission to do so.
I had to think quickly. Varius’s eyes were narrowing with distrust.
“I wear this necklace for sentimental reasons,” I said. “It brings me comfort when I’m alone or afraid. In the Earthen Court, I used it to speak with my best friend.”
“Does thisfriendalso have an amber stone?”
“Yes. But the magic doesn’t work from this far away. I’m not able to communicate with anyone in the Earthen Court.”
Varius stared at me, his expression hard. I stared right back, fully aware that everything I uttered was the truth.
