Page 155 of Of Masks and Fury

“Everything’s connected,” Derren said.

Trew paced to the window, staring out at the courtyard below. “They’re preparing for something.” He turned back to face us. “We need to move faster than they’re expecting.”

The wrongness in my chest intensified. I pressed my hand against my sternum, trying to ease the pressure.

“Isi?” Trew crossed to me in three long strides. “What is it?”

“That feeling I mentioned before.” I met his gaze. “It’s stronger now. Like something’s watching us even through your wards.”

Pherin launched from my chair, spiking around the room. Gavelle joined her, both companions clearly disturbed.

“I wove these wards carefully,” Trew said, but doubt flickered in his eyes. “No one should be able to penetrate them.”

“If someone can see the structure of magic itself,” Kerralyn said. “They might be able to find weaknesses even in strong wards.”

The implications of that crashed through me. If there was another veil-seer, someone working against us who possessed some of the same abilities I had?—

A sound in the hallway made us freeze—followed by a muffled curse.

Pherin and Gavelle’s chirps turned to shrieks as they flew toward the door, battering against the wood with their wings.

Trew yanked the door open and bolted into the corridor.

I was right behind him, my heart slamming up into my throat.

The hallway stretched out on our right, torches burning in their sconces. At the far end, near the turn that led to the main staircase, a figure sprinted away.

A woman, her long red hair streaming behind her as she ran.

“Stop!” Trew’s voice echoed off stone.

She rounded the corner and disappeared from view, with Gavelle and Pherin not far behind.

Trew broke into a full run. I matched his pace, my shorter legs working to keep up. Behind us, the others rushed from the council chamber, their footsteps joining ours.

We reached the corner and skidded around it. The woman was halfway down the next corridor now, her red hair catching torchlight as she fled. She moved with the kind of speed that spoke of training. This wasn’t a servant or a random intruder. She knew where she was and where she was going.

Gavelle and Pherin flew at her, raking at her head. She flung a bolt a bolt of magic so bright it left spots in my vision, and they blasted backward.

Trew put on more speed. I pushed myself harder, my breath coming in sharp gasps. The distance between us and the fleeing figure began to close.

She flicked her hand, and the air between us shimmered with magic.

“Isi.” Trew grabbed my arm and yanked me to the side as magic exploded outward from where the woman had been standing.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

TREW

The force of it slammed into the wall on my left, cracking stone and sending debris raining down around us.

We rushed after her.

The red-haired woman hit the stairs at full speed, her hand barely grazing the railing as she vaulted down, three steps at a time. Magic crackled in her wake, leaving scorch marks on the stone.

I poured everything into the chase, my boots slamming on the floor as I closed the distance. Behind me, Isi’s footsteps matched my rhythm. The others followed, their companions shrieking warnings that echoed through the corridors.

“Stop,” I shouted again, though I knew she wouldn’t.