Page 232 of Of Masks and Fury

Trew’s gaze shot to my father, his golden eyes as cold as winter death. Violence radiated from every line of his body.

Gavelle launched from his shoulder, shifting mid-flight. Where a bird had been, a massive firecat transformed. He landed hard, shaking the cobblestones.

The crowd screamed and scattered.

Pherin answered from above, her own cry a piercing defiance, reminding me we weren’t alone in this fight.

“Release Isi,” Trew growled. “Or I’ll show this court what a true harvest looks like.”

His words sliced through me, raw and possessive, the kind of vow that made my knees weak.You’re mine,he’d growled not long ago, claiming me with his hands and heat. Now he claimed me with threats of ruin, his love a weapon honed for my protection.

He approached the prisoners. “This ends today.” His voice carried the authority of a king. “Those who wish to live, who refuse to drink poison dressed as mercy, can come with me.”

Twenty-four prisoners surged toward him. Guards moved to block them, their swords raised.

“Touch them, and I’ll show you what mercy truly looks like.” Trew said, his voice cutting through the cries of the crowd. His gaze fixed on my father with pure rage. “Step away from Isi. Now.”

Father moved fast. His arm locked around my shoulders, and he pressed the sharp edge of his blade against my throat.

“Leave,” he snarled at Trew. “Or I’ll kill her.”

The temperature in the square plummeted. Frost formed on the cobblestones radiating out from where Trew stood.

Guards shuddered, their breath misting, while villagers shivered. He’d unleashed a winter storm for me alone. My own magic surged, a counterpoint to his ice, binding us even as Father’s grip tightened.

Trew’s magic erupted, no longer controlled. It blasted out from him, the pressure of it driving people to their knees.

Trew’s voice went deathly quiet. “The moment that blade cuts deeper, your heart stops beating.”

He wasn’t bluffing. I could feel his magic coiled like a serpent, ready to strike. Could feel Gavelle’s fury through our bond. And beneath it, Trew’s fear for me.

I’d shatter realms before losing you,he’d vowed, his voice rough with need. That promise whispered between us, unbreakable.

Father felt it too. The blade trembled against my throat.

“She’s corrupted,” he said, but his voice shook. “The corrupted must die. It… It’s always been this way, and we cannot change what the fates decide!”

“You decide, not the fates,” I snarled. “End this now, father.”

He growled at Trew. “You twisted her. My beloved daughter, who had no hint of magic in her bones.”

“That’s not true,” I cried out. “Mother had magic and so do I. It’s not forced on anyone.”

“She’s my bonded,” Trew said, the words ringing across the square. “My match in all things. A woman who will stand strong against any foe. She’s no longer your daughter to hurt or destroy.”

The blade bit into my skin. A trickle of blood traced down my neck.

Pherin circled overhead, crying out.

I caught Maddox moving out of the corner of my eye, herding the prisoners away from the stunned elders as planned. A cluster of guards rushed him, and his axe lifted, singing through the air.

“No, wait, stop,” Father cried out.

I drove my elbow up into his ribs, using the momentum to twist free. The blade scored my throat, but I was moving. Blood trickled across my skin. Pain bloomed, but so did triumph. My training flooded my veins like liquid fire.

Father recovered and lashed out, striking me in my shoulder. I spun, but he’d already anticipated the move, and he struck out with his leg, nearly knocking me to the platform floor. Combat training showed in his every movement. He was good. Perhaps even better than Commander Thorne.

“You were always weak,” he said, driving the blade toward my chest.