Page 53 of Of Masks and Fury

ISI

We slipped out the back door. I locked it carefully, replaced the key in its hiding spot, and we navigated back through the narrow streets.

Shouts echoed in the distance. The patrol, still searching for the man they’d been chasing earlier?

We kept to the shadows, Pherin scouting ahead. When we reached the marketplace, I spotted Lexie and Derren almost immediately.

Lexie moved through the crowd with my grace, wearing my face like she’d been born to it. Derren maintained the perfect distance behind her.

Four guards surrounded them still, seemingly oblivious.

I pulled my hood up higher and bumped into Lexie as she passed a fruit stall.

“Pardon me,” I said.

Trew and I slipped down an alley, circling around to approach the tea shop from the rear entrance. We stepped into the dim interior.

The shop was still empty, and we settled in the back room to wait.

Time stretched out. My heart thudded against my ribs, each beat counting down until someone discovered the deception.

Finally, the front door opened. Footsteps approached.

Lexie and Derren appeared in the second doorway, already shedding their pendants. Magic rippled across their features as they returned to themselves. They handed the charms to Trew, who stuffed all four into his pocket.

“Well?” Lexie asked. “What did you find?”

“Addie’s alive,” I said. “Thorne has her. They’re heading south, past Syllavar.”

“Into the wasteland?” Derren’s brows drew together.

“To my mother’s place, apparently.” I pulled off the cloak, handing it back to Lexie. “I didn’t know she had property there.”

Lexie and I switched positions, her adjusting my gown while I smoothed her hair back into place, the familiar ritual of women helping each other prepare, even if the preparation was part of an elaborate deception.

“The guards?” Trew asked.

“Completely convinced,” Lexie said, smugness clear in her voice. “Though a lord tried to intercept us near the fountain. I had to pretend interest in his hunting stories for ten excruciating minutes.”

“One of my suitors.” Lord Alfred, perhaps. My lips twitched. “Thank you for your sacrifice.”

“You owe me.” She adjusted my pearl necklace, her fingers gentle. “I’ll see you in your suite in a bit.”

I nodded.

Trew and I left the tea shop. Our guards stepped in to surround us, and we aimed for the castle. I maintained my composure and kept my spine straight, my expression serene, but my mind spiraled through everything we’d learned.

Your sister lives.Relief threatened to crack my careful mask, yet rage burned beneath my skin as images of Addie in the west tower, kept there, tortured, flashed through me. Pherin shifted on my shoulder, puffing up bigger than ever, my anger feeding her fury.She sent thoughts of pecking out my father’s eyes, then setting the castle on fire for good measure.

Later,I said.We’ll do it together.

She ruffled her feathers.Bite off head.

Only if I don’t get to him first.

One guard shot us a suspicious glance, his eyes narrowing before he looked away, spurring us to quicken our pace.

We passed through the upper part of the village, where afternoon shadows stretched long across the cobblestones. Fewer people watched us now, most having gone to their homes to prepare their evening meal. The notices announcing the Day of Mercy still hung on posts and walls, cream parchment stark against weathered wood.