Page 164 of Of Masks and Fury

I nodded, watching as his fingers traced the symbol’s outline.

The moment his skin made contact with the ink, the design flared with light, golden and bright enough to make my eyes water.

Trew jerked his hand back, but the glow didn’t fade. “It got hot.”

“Fates,” I breathed, not quite daring touch it myself.

The margins began to fill with new text. Not in the strange language this time, but a clear script I could read. Words appearing as if an invisible hand was writing them just for us.

The mark of those who pierce the veil. The symbol of corruption’s end.

More lines appeared beneath the first.

Two bloodlines converge. Two flames unite. What was torn asunder shall be made whole.

My hands trembled as I gripped the edge of the desk. “Trew?—”

“I see it.” His voice had gone tight.

The writing continued, spooling out faster now.

The weave screams its warning.

As abruptly as it had started, the light faded. The journal went still, the new text settling onto the page like ink drying.

I looked up at Trew and found him staring at the words with an expression I couldn’t quite read. Shock, yes. But beneath it, recognition.

“Your father knew about the symbol and veil-sight,” I said.

“Perhaps. He kept extensive notes about all sorts of things.” He slid his hand across my lower back, tugging me near. “I found them after he died, but I was young. Grieving. I didn’t understand most of what he’d written.”

“We need to look at those notes.”

“Yes.” His gaze met mine. “I’ve kept everything in a cabinet inside my office.”

If his father had documented information about the Skathes, this symbol, and about whatever connection existed between the wasteland and our parents’ deaths, it could make a huge difference in figuring this out.

“The new entries are a warning,” I said.

“We have a traitor.” His jaw clenched. “Someone close to us.”

“Someone we trust.” The thought made my stomach turn. “We need to find out who it is and end this.”

Before they ended us.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

ISI

“We’re twin flames, remember?” Trew said. “We burn together or not at all.”

I tilted my head up, closing the distance between us until our lips met. The kiss was brief but potent, tasting of promises and shared determination. When we pulled apart, I felt steadier. Ready.

“Your office,” I said. “Then we fly south.”

We left my room and made our way through the castle corridors, past servants doing morning chores. A few curious glances followed us.

He unlocked his office door, and we stepped inside. Neat stacks of papers covered his desk, and maps had been pinned to the walls alongside lists written in his precise hand.