Page 189 of Of Masks and Fury

I nodded, acknowledging the warning. The same protectiveness surged through me every time someone approached Trew with anything but a friendly demeanor.

Pherin fluffed herself up, tripling in size despite remaining tiny, and launched from my shoulder to hover between me and the drake. Her voice rang in my mind.Mine. Hurt mine? Die.

The drake lowered his gaze first, making a chirping sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

Pherin returned to my shoulder, vibrating with satisfaction.

“It appears our companions have reached an understanding,” Addie said, her voice fond but strained.

Tremors ran through her hands, subtle, but constant. Bruise-like shadows ringed her eyes, and her gaze periodically went unfocused as if she was seeing something beyond our realm. Her fingers appeared to flicker, becoming briefly translucent before solidifying again.

“You’ve been crossing the veil,” I said quietly.

“Not by choice.” She took a steady breath. “He discovered what Mother could do. What I could do.”

“By he, you mean our father?”

She frowned, and her head tilted as if she was gazing inward. “I…” Her eyes cleared. “He discovered what I could do. What our mother could do. They turned me into a pack animal, moving supplies from one location to another. Skathes too.” A shudder ripped through her.

I swallowed and met Trew’s gaze. Why couldn’t she confirm or deny our father’s involvement?

“Hediscovered you could open doors between realms and locations,” I said. The ability I also may have inherited.

She nodded, wincing as if the movement hurt. “He made me open what he called pathways. Again and again, until my body started to unravel.”

“I’ll fetch tea and something to eat while you talk?” Thorne asked. At our nods, he dipped forward in a small bow and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I returned to sit beside my sister, taking her hand and holding tight, as if that would keep her from slipping through the veil and never returning.

Trew sat beside me in the chair, his forearms braced on his knees. “How did you discover the breach?”

Addie’s gaze went distant, her fingers tightening around mine. Then she blinked, and when she refocused, her voice steadied. “The disguises Trew created for us were perfect. We looked like Skathes and moved like them. We even smelled like them.” She glanced at Trew. “Your magic is remarkable. We infiltrated their camp and spent days gathering information. Learning their patterns, their hierarchy.”

“But something changed,” Trew said, his voice steady but his eyes sharp.

“I felt a pull.” Addie’s hand went to her chest. “Like a thread wrapped around my ribs, tugging me deeper into the wasteland. I tried to ignore it, but the sensation grew stronger each day.”

I leaned forward. “What kind of pull?”

“Irresistible. Like my blood recognized something out there and demanded I find it.” Her eyes found mine. “Fenmark didn’t want me to follow it. He said we should return to Syllavar with what we’d learned. But I couldn’t hold myself back.”

Lexie shifted in her chair, Levar adjusting his position on her shoulder. “What did you find?”

“A clearing deeper in Skathe territory. And in the center…” Addie paused, her breathing becoming shallow. “A tear in reality. The breach in the veil.”

I quickly told her about our grandfather’s writings, about how he’d documented his ability to travel between realms and the terrible cost it exacted.

“His journal revealed more after I found it,” I said. “New text appeared. He wrote about accidentally tearing the veil when he forced his way through. About teaching his daughter to walk between realms.” I squeezed her hand. “That daughter was our mother. Velacross was her father, our grandfather.”

Addie’s eyes widened, then filled with tears. “That’s why Mother always seemed to know things she shouldn’t. Why she could be in one room and then appear in another without anyone seeing her move.”

“She was a traveler,” I said softly. “And she passed that ability to us.”

“To you too?” Addie’s gaze searched my face. “You can also see the weave?”

“I don’t know if I can travel, but I can see wards. Unravel them. Break through magical barriers that shouldn’t be passable.” I pulled out the pendant from beneath my tunic, letting it catch the firelight. The crescent moon glowed softly, the pale blue stones matching our eyes.

Addie stared at the pendant, her hand rising. “May I?”