Page 69 of Of Masks and Fury

The mask was cracking.

Soon, everyone would see who truly lay beneath.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

ISI

Iwoke confined to my room, my choices, and my father’s cage. But Mae’s heavy look when she arrived with my ladies told me I wouldn’t be alone in this fight.

“You look like you wrestled a storm last night,” Lexie whispered as she fluffed the pale-yellow morning gown lying across my bed.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

My ladies murmured sympathy.

While they were busy, Lexie slipped a small piece of folded paper into my hand. I hurried into the bathing chamber, closing the door behind me and leaning against it, opening the note.

Trew’s handwriting.Your Highness, the gardens report no unusual activity this morning. Remain vigilant; strength lies in patience.

On the surface, this was a bland guard’s update. But I read the hints woven between the lines. “Remain vigilant” meant he was watching over me. “Strength lies in patience” told me that we’d endure this separation.

The words wrapped around my heart like a promise. Knowing he was here for me made it much easier to face the day ahead.

After tucking the note into the back of the linen closet, I washed and returned to my bedroom.

My ladies helped me into the gown, fussing over the laces and folds. Mae hovered near, her touch almost maternal as she smoothed my hair.

“You need proper rest, Your Highness,” she said, concern etching her brow. “Perhaps a nap this afternoon?”

“I’m fine but thank you, Mae. I have too much on my agenda today for anything like that.”

After the others finished pinning my hair into an elaborate confection on the top of my head, I turned to them with a smile. “That will be all for now, ladies. I’ll take breakfast here. Lexie, please ensure it’s brought to my room and that there’s plenty. I may not have slept well, but I am hungry.” Not truly, but she’d get the message.

Two of my ladies started toward the door while two others quickly started putting things away.

I walked into the sitting room and over to the window. The sun was struggling to poke its beams through misty clouds. It had rained last night, and speckles covered the window.

Gavelle, perched on a branch, dipped his beak my way.

“And Lexie,” I called out as the outer door opened again. “Would you ask my bodyguard, Blain, to come inside for a moment?”

“Of course, Princess.”

I heard her tell Trew that I needed him, plus a guard grumbling something I couldn’t understand.

When Trew stepped inside, his gaze sought mine. He carefully shut the door.

“We’re alone,” I whispered. “Not for long, though.”

After crafting wards, he pulled me in hard, his arms banding around me, his face pressing into my hair. He said nothing. Just held on, his chest rising and falling against mine, his grip tight enough to tell me everything words couldn’t.

When he finally loosened his hold, his hands settled on my waist, stroking the sensitive skin above my hip bones through my gown. Heat pooled low in my belly at the simple touch.

“I’ve been thinking about you all night,” he rasped. “I was worried. I wanted to hold you, make sure you were alright.”

“I am now, with you here.” I remembered how he'd cupped my face last night, demanding I look at him. He showed the same intensity now, but softer and full of longing.

His gaze dropped to my mouth, and his jaw clenched. “I want to kiss you properly. I want to show you exactly how much you mean to me. But if I start, I won’t be able to stop, and we don’t have time for what I need from you.”