Page 190 of Of Masks and Fury

I lifted it over my head and placed it in her palm. She traced the engraving on the back with trembling fingers. “To my fierce star. Shine bright. Mother always wore it.”

“Father gave it to her.”

She looked up at me. “This wasn’t a gift from Father.”

My breath froze in my lungs. “What?”

The fire crackled in the hearth. A tree branch brushed against a window. I heard every small sound in the silence that followed.

“Mother once told me when I was young and asked about it. She said it came fromherfather.” Addie’s eyes blazed. “She said he gave it to her before he left, to keep her safe when he couldn’t. And they used it against me. I think the pendant helped guide me close to the veil.”

My chest constricted. “You could see it?”

“Every thread and every distortion in the weave. When I approached the breach,” Addie stared down at the pendant in her hand, “the stones began to glow. Brilliant blue-white light pierced through our disguises.” Her voice cracked. “My body started to flicker. I couldn’t control it, and our magical disguises collapsed.”

Had Velacross enchanted it somehow to protect our mother, to mark her bloodline, to ensure those who came after would be recognized?

Trew shifted forward in his chair. “The pendant triggered your traveler abilities?”

“I don’t think that was it. I believe the veil did that. But the pendant’s blaze revealed who we truly were.” Addie’s hands shook. “The breach isn’t a natural tear. From what you’ve told me, Velacross created it. But someone has modified it. Warded it. Those wards were designed to detect Velacross’s bloodline specifically.”

Horror crawled up my spine. “It was a trap.”

“I realized too late.” She pressed the pendant back into my hands. “Wear it for now. I’ll take it back if I need it.”

The phrasing struck me as odd. “What do you mean?”

She frowned, and the distant look crossed her face again. “I’m not sure.”

Trew and I exchanged glances. Something was deeply wrong here, beyond her veil-sickness.

“What happened after the wards broke my spells?” Trew asked gently.

“Skathes surrounded us. Dozens of them, closing in from all sides.” Addie’s voice went flat. “Fenmark and I fought. He killed three and wounded more. I took out two myself. But there were too many.”

“He told me to run.” Her jaw clenched. “Screamed at me to go while he held them back. I refused. I couldn’t leave him.”

Derren leaned forward, his expression grim.

“He grabbed me and shoved me toward the tree line.” A tear tracked down Addie’s cheek. “He turned back to face them. He’d picked up a stick, and he swung it. I saw him go down beneath a wave of claws and teeth. They captured him.”

The silver dragon on the perch released a keening sound, mourning along with her.

“You were captured as well,” I said.

“A second group had circled behind us. They were waiting beyond the trees.” Addie wiped her face with the back of her hand. “They dragged me to a tent. Two figures waited inside.”

Trew went very still. “Describe them.”

“I…can’t.” Frustration and fear ground through her voice. “I remember a man and a woman. I remember them examining me, discussing my value. They looked at the pendant and confirmed something between them. But their faces…” She pressed her hands to her temples. “When I try to remember who they were, there’s nothing. Just shadows.”

“Memory tampering,” Kerralyn said quietly. “Someone doesn’t want you identifying them.”

“The woman performed a ritual before they transported me to Caldrith.” Addie’s voice went hollow. “She placed her hands on my temples and spoke words in a language I didn’t recognize. It felt like she was carving pieces out of my mind.” She shuddered. “Her last words were clear though, ‘Who needs to remember? Not you.’”

Rage burned through my chest. Someone had tortured my sister. Violated her mind. Stolen her memories to protect their own identity.

Trew’s hand found mine, squeezing hard enough to bring me back before I could spiral into fury.