Page 213 of Of Masks and Fury

A curtain had been pulled around Addie’s bed.

“How is she?” I whispered.

“Improving.” Meren rose, gesturing for us to follow her over to the bed. “The treatment is working. Her body is accepting the healing magic even better than I’d hoped.”

Meren pulled back the curtain, and I came to a halt, tears prickling in the backs of my eyes. Addie slept and it looked like a peaceful one.

Her silver drake curled protectively at her side, his scales catching the morning light. The creature’s eyes opened as we stepped closer, and I caught a touch of warning in his gaze.

He’d protect her as fiercely as I would.

I reached out my hand, and the drake sniffed my fingers before dropping his head back onto his outstretched front limbs.

Addie’s breathing appeared deeper than yesterday, and her skin no longer held that translucent gray that had horrified me. Color had returned to her cheeks.

“A week or two until she’s herself again,” Meren said from beside us. “She’s strong like her mother was.”

Meren stepped away, striding into the adjacent room, leaving us alone.

Trew cast a ward to keep our conversation private.

Addie’s eyes fluttered open. For a moment, she looked disoriented, then her gaze found mine and her eyes widened.

“Isi.” Her voice came out rough. “You’re here.”

“Where else would I be?” I sat on the edge of the bed, taking her hand. Her grip on mine felt stronger than yesterday, and I had to swipe away the tears that were determined to fall.

“Fenmark.” The name came out desperate. “Did they find him? Is he?—”

“Our friends are searching,” I said. “They’ll bring him back.”

“I hoped you might’ve heard.” Her eyes closed, tears slipping down her temples. “I can still feel him. He’s alive, but he’s in pain.”

Trew stepped closer, his hand finding my shoulder. “On my crown and my life, I swear we will.”

Addie’s gaze shifted to him, studying his face with the same intensity she’d always used when evaluating people’s sincerity. Whatever she saw there must’ve satisfied her because she nodded.

“You’re leaving soon,” she said in a low voice. “To rescue some of our people.”

“In a short while. We have four days before the Day of Mercy. It’ll take a full day of travel to fly there, leaving a few more for the infiltration and escape.”

“Take me with you.” Addie tried to sit up, but her arms trembled. Her drake chirped in alarm. “I can help. I know the castle, and I know?—”

“You can barely lift your head.” I pressed her gently back against the pillows. “You’re staying here where Meren can keep you alive.”

“While you walk into a fortress and risk everything.” Her jaw set with familiar stubbornness. “I should be there.”

“You should heal so when we return to meet up with our friends and Fenmark, you’re strong enough to actually hug him instead of collapsing at his feet.”

Addie’s expression crumpled, grief and frustration shifting across her features.

“I hate being weak,” she whispered. “I hate that you’re doing this without my help.”

I wrapped my arms around her and held her like I’d done after our mother died. “You survived torture, veil-sickness, and a wasteland full of Skathes. You need time to recover from being impossibly brave.”

Her laugh came out wet with tears, and she gripped my hand. “Promise me you’ll come back. Both of you.” Her eyes found Trew. “Promise me I won’t lose you too.”

We both knew the rescue could go wrong in a thousand ways, that my father’s forces might overwhelm us. That a traitor could be waiting to spring a trap.