Page 134 of Of Masks and Fury

No Kira, but she could be elsewhere.

Lakast’s talons touched stone with barely a whisper of sound, the landing so smooth that Isi didn’t even shift against me. Kyreth landed nearby, and Lexie’s relieved sigh carried across the courtyard.

The gathered crowd remained still, waiting for me to dismount. Protocol. Tradition. The careful dance of court life that suddenly felt suffocating.

I climbed off Lakast’s back, then reached toward Isi as she slipped down the enormous beast to the ground. Her hands gripped my shoulders, and I lowered her carefully to the smooth stones.

She stood beside me with Pherin on her shoulder, her chin lifted, her expression composed despite the exhaustion I knew she must feel. She still wore my tunic, and her hair was tangled from flight.

My Minx looked like a warrior returning from battle, which is exactly what she was. She looked perfect.

As the dragons took off to fly to their aerie where they’d find warm stalls and plenty of food and water, Grayson stepped forward, his face creased with relief. “Your Majesty. We’re glad to see you returned safely.”

Coralee stood nearby. Her gaze shifted to Isi, then back to me. “We thought perhaps Kira had joined you on your…journey.”

The implication hung in the air, that I’d abandoned my kingdom for a romantic escape with a woman many assumed incorrectly was my lover.

“You’re saying Kira hasn’t returned from Silverstream?” I asked.

She blinked but recovered quickly before shaking her head. “No. Did she remain behind?”

“Yes, she did.”

Kira had said she wanted time to think. While there was no rushing someone who needed to contemplate things, she should’ve returned by now.

Grayson must’ve noted my irritation because he stiffened. “I’ll send someone to Silverstream immediately to inquire about her whereabouts.”

“Yes, do that.”

He lifted his hand and a guard strode over. They spoke quietly for a moment before the guard strode away.

“You assumed I’d leave Syllavar during a crisis to gallivant across the continent?” My voice came out sharp enough to make my aunt flinch. “While Skathes mass at our border?”

“No, Your Majesty, I only meant—” She fumbled, her usual composure cracking. “We received word you’d traveled north. Since Kira was missing at the same time, we thought perhaps she’d accompanied you to provide advice and security. Instead, you were with a recruit.”

The dismissal in her tone made my blood boil. Isi’s hand tightened around mine, but she didn’t flinch or look away from my aunt’s scrutiny.

“Isi is a warrior.” My voice dropped to something dangerous. “She earned that title in the Rite of Bonds.” I lifted my voice to make sure everyone in the vicinity could hear. “Bow down to Princess Amarissa of Caldrith.Allof you.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Coralee sucked in a breath, her gaze flickering between Isi and me. “She can’t be.”

“You’d think the color of my eyes and my appearance, so much like my mother, would give me away,” Isi said. “But maybe you lack proper observation skills.”

Coralee dipped into a tiny curtsy. “Welcome…Princess Amarissa.”

Cries of joy echoed in the courtyard as news spread of who Isi was. Bows quickly followed.

Isi stepped forward, her gaze sweeping across the gathering. “I came to Syllavar a stranger. I completed the Rite of Bonds, bonded with my minxpip, and I became one of you. I was born Caldrith. I am now Syllavar.”

Cheers erupted, slowly dying down as Isi returned to my side and took my hand, squeezing it.

“As for why I was gone, I was attending to important business,” I told my advisors.

Tension crackled through the courtyard. Grayson shifted his feet, his owl hooting softly. Malcolm’s expression remained neutral, but I caught the slight narrowing of his eyes as he assessed the situation.

Isi squeezed my hand again, a gentle reminder to breathe. To think rather than react. Antagonizing my advisors in front of the court would put them on guard and undermine the authority they would need when I traveled.