Page 264 of Of Masks and Fury

Until it no longer did.

By dawn, green shoots had started to push up through cracked earth where evil had reigned too long. I blinked, certain my tired eyes were tricking me, but the transformation continued as we flew. A stream that had run black with rot now flowed clear, catching sunlight like scattered diamonds. Wildflowers bloomed in clusters where nothing had grown for years.

The land remembered what it had been and was choosing to return.

Through our bond, I felt Trew’s wonder matching my own. Pherin trilled from her perch on my shoulder, her small body vibrating with joy as she studied the renewal of magic in the world below. Nim let out a musical cry that the other companions echoed. Addie and Fenmark rode on his back, while my other friends rode their companions.

“Our world is healing,” I whispered.

Trew’s arm tightened around me from behind. “Because you and Addie healed it. With the veil sealed, natural magic can return.”

Vines climbed over dead trees, their leaves unfurling in fast motion like they were racing to reclaim lost time. The pattern reminded me of how Trew’s magic and mine had woven through each other at the breach, separate threads becoming something stronger and whole.

Finally, Syllavar Castle rose ahead, its towers catching the late afternoon sunlight. As we descended toward the aerie, I spotted people gathered in the courtyard, their faces turned skyward. Word had spread. They were waiting.

We landed our dragons in stalls. Trew swung down and caught me when I slid off Wairen’s back, holding me in his arms until I steadied my legs.

“Love you,” I whispered.

His eyes held that look I’d come to recognize, the one that said he’d cherish me forever. He pulled me close, his voice dropping low enough that only I could hear. “I watched you reweave reality itself, Minx. Nearly lost you doing it. I’m going to touch you every chance I get and be grateful for the privilege.”

We left the aerie with our friends, taking the path through the woods and entering the castle through the back entrance.

When we reached the foyer, a crowd surged toward us. Friends and people I’d only seen in passing clapped me on the back. Kitchen staff pressed close with teary smiles. Even Grayson approached, his perpetual eye twitch almost gone as he nodded with approval.

“The veil is sealed,” he said. “You succeeded.”

“Permanently,” Trew said. “The Skathes are gone.”

A cheer went up, and I found myself passed from hug to hug, accepting congratulations I didn’t know how to receive. I’d spent years as the Lady of Mercy, dispensing death while wearing a mask. Being celebrated for helping bring life back to our realm felt foreign and right all at once.

My sister and friends took the congratulations with varying degrees of acceptance. My sister looked stronger already, the veil-sickness purged from her system. Fenmark kept one arm around her waist, as if he was afraid she might disappear.

I knew the feeling.

Through the celebration, Grayson waited with the hand-wringing patience of someone about to deliver bad news. When the enthusiasm finally waned and people went back to what they were doing before, he stepped forward again.

He gave us a bow. “About the war.” His face remained neutral, but his hands trembled. “They’ve nearly reached our northern border. They’re approximately five thousand strong, and they’re towing siege equipment. They appear to have enough supplies for a prolonged campaign. They’ve stopped their advance but show no signs of retreating. The wasteland is visibly healing in front of them and…” His scowl deepened. “King Cyril has joined them.”

I exchanged a glance with Trew. Even after he’d had time to think, my father had still marched to attack Syllavar. Retreat would mean agreeing he was wrong about magic, about everything.

Men like him never retreated.

“How long until they attack?” Trew asked.

“Unknown. They’re holding position as if waiting for something.”

I suspected they were waiting for me. I’d run from my father’s court, escaped a forced marriage, then returned to publicly defy everything he’d built his power on. He wouldn’t let that stand unanswered.

Pivoting, I started back toward the aerie. “We need to get there before his patience runs its course.” I met my sister’s eyes, seeing my own determination reflected there. “He won’t stop until I face him.”

But confronting him meant walking into the jaws of five thousand soldiers who’d been taught to see me as a traitor. Men and women who’d known my family forever, now turned against me by my father’s lies.

“There has to be another way,” Strain filled Addie’s voice. “We could retreat. Gather more allies. Come back when?—”

“While he burns every village between here and Syllavar?” I said. “While he executes anyone with magical abilities?” I shook my head. “No. This has to end now, or it never will.” The weight of that truth settled in my bones. My father would hunt us across realms if necessary. He’d rather see the world destroyed than admit he’d been wrong.

Her chin lifted. “Untilweface him, you mean. I assume he still believes I was murdered by Syllavar Court?”