Page 51 of Of Masks and Fury

“Your,” he read. “The beginning of something.”

“I need to find the next pattern.” I moved back to the sitting room, Trew following.

My mind raced, sorting through years of training. Which form came next in Thorne’s teaching sequence? What would he expect me to remember?

Fifth Form offense.

I scanned the room, looking for… In the corner, a training dummy had been positioned at an odd angle, turned to lean toward one side.

The third strike position in Fifth Form’s offensive sequence.

“Fifth shelf,” I said, already moving back to the bookcase. “Third book.”

Fifth Form had eleven basic strikes.

Page eleven.

Sister.

“Your sister,” Trew said softly by my ear. “He’s telling you about Addie.”

My hands trembled as I reached for the next book. Second Form basics. The first thing Thorne ever taught me, the foundation of everything that came after.

Second shelf. Second book. Page four.

Lives.

“She’s alive. Addie’s alive.”

Trew’s hand settled on my back. “Keep going, Minx. What else does he say?”

I blinked the tears away, forcing myself to focus. There might be more patterns and clues hidden in the furniture arrangements throughout the house.

A distant shout echoed from the street, like the chase we'd seen earlier. My heart jumped. Trew yanked me down behind the shelves, shielding me with his body until the voices faded.

“We have to hurry,” he whispered.

I nodded and found them methodically, my training taking over. Each form Thorne had taught me corresponded to a shelf, a book, and a page number. Each held a single underlined word that built into a message meant only for me: West tower.

Trew watched me work. When I pulled out another book, his hand covered mine for a moment. “You’re brilliant,” he said, and the awe in his voice made heat flood my cheeks.

“Thorne was brilliant,” I said, but my voice came out breathless.

“You recognized it. You understood what no one else would’ve seen.”

I returned to searching.

Seventh Form appeared three times in the furniture arrangements. Thorne repeated forms to emphasize importance during training, the critical strikes that could save a life.

“He's emphasizing this—why?” Trew asked.

First instance: Kept.

Second instance: Her.

Third instance: There.

“Fates,” I hissed. My father had hurt my sister badly enough that Thorne must’ve felt he had to get her out of the castle before I could arrive.