Page 48 of Of Masks and Fury

At the corner of the fence, Trew paused, checking the street one more time before gesturing for me to follow.

I approached the back door, my chest tight with the fear of being discovered. “There’s a loose stone in the wall. Third from the bottom, left side.”

Crouched, I ran my fingers along the base of the house until I found it. The stone shifted under pressure, revealing a small hollow behind.

My fingers closed around the key.

“Got it.” I straightened, fitting it into the lock.

Before I could push the door open, Pherin landed on my shoulder.Me first.

She launched, slipping through the gap I’d created and disappearing into the darkness beyond.

“She insists on going first,” I said.

Trew’s mouth quirked. “Your companion has a healthy sense of her own importance.”

“As a firecat, she’s entitled to it.”

We waited while Pherin scouted the interior. I felt her presence through our bond, her tiny form exploring rooms with all the confidence of a creature ten times her size.

Safe. Empty.

Shouts erupted from the street beyond the fence. Men’s voices. “Search the houses!”

“Fates,” Trew hissed. “Inside. Now.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the doorway. We stumbled into the dark kitchen, and Trew eased the door shut behind us with barely a whisper of sound.

The lock clicked home at his touch.

Outside, boots pounded on packed dirt. More shouts, closer now.

My heart leaped up into my throat.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ISI

We rushed to the front room and pressed ourselves against the wall beside the window, keeping our breathing shallow as we peered through gaps in the shutters.

A man sprinted down the street, his shirt torn, his face pale with terror. Behind him, three members of the village patrol gave chase, their clubs raised.

They disappeared around a corner.

My shoulders slumped with relief, and I turned from the window. The house was dark and silent, holding whatever secrets Thorne had left behind.

“We need to search fast,” I said.

Trew nodded, already moving toward the doorway on the right leading deeper into the house. “Stay behind me, Minx.”

I shook my head even as I let him take the lead. His need to protect me was both infuriating and comforting in equal measure.

The main room opened off the kitchen, a simple space with handmade furniture and pretty curtains. Embroidery still hung on the walls, delicate flowers stitched with patient hands that would never create again.

Trew’s magic rippled outward, invisible threads seeking any trace of recent power.

“Someone was here within the last week,” he said. “The traces are faint but present.”