Page 104 of Of Masks and Fury

The minxpip settled on Isi’s shoulder and pressed her small body against Isi’s neck. Pherin positioned herself like a living shield, her wings spread to cover as much of Isi’s peripheral vision as possible.

“Good.” I kept my voice steady. “Now, Minx, we’re going to climb around to the other side of the tower and then down together. I’m going to guide you. You have to trust my voice.”

“I’ll…try.” Her words barely made it past her lips.

“Good. There’s a groove on your right. Feel for it.”

She shifted her hand, but it snapped back again to its original position. Her eyes pinched shut.

“Right hand,” I said by her ear. “Do it.”

Her hand moved. Found the groove.

I noticed her labored breathing, but there was a flicker of determination in her eyes as she held on. It was a small victory, enough to bridge the moment and let me gentle my words.

“Now step straight down, maybe the length of a foot. There’s a ledge. Once we reach it, we can move out of view of the windows.”

She glanced up before moving again, trembling but stiffening her spine.

We eased around the tower until we were lost from view, then descended like that, bit by painful bit. I memorized every handhold, every foothold, sharing them with her while rain made everything slick and treacherous. My heart rammed against my ribs every time her hand slipped, every time thunder crashed and she froze.

But she kept going, fighting through her fear because I was asking her to do this for me. Because she trusted me even when she wasn’t sure she could trust herself.

Lightning split the sky again. Her foot slipped, scraping across wet stone.

Before I could speak, I saw her independently correcting her grip, finding the hold again.

“You’re stronger than this storm,” I said. “Conquering this will help you face your father and the prisoners relying on our survival.”

She kept climbing.

Light burst out from one of the windows.

“Freeze,” I hissed.

We pressed ourselves flat against the tower wall, barely breathing. Torchlight spilled across the ground to my left, and I sensed someone leaning out.

My hand found Isi’s, skin to skin. I squeezed, trying to pour every ounce of steady confidence I had through that contact.

Thunder crashed directly overhead.

Her fingers spasmed in mine.

I squeezed harder.

The person above muttered something and the torchlight retreated.

Voices drifted around us from above, too low to make out words, but close enough to make my skin crawl. Below us, I caught muffled voices suggesting occupied chambers.

“Keep going,” I said quietly. “We’re not stopping now.”

Her breathing came in short, sharp gasps that wouldn’t give her enough air.

I scanned the wall below us and spotted a strip of stone jutting out from the side, maybe ten feet down along the tower's curve. Barely a foot’s width wide, it was about twenty feet of lateral climbing to an open window from there.

“See that ledge below us?” I kept my voice calm despite the urgency clawing at my chest. “We’re going there. Just focus on that. One move at a time. I’m going to map the route for you from there to the window. That will give you something to focus on besides the storm.”

“I don’t think?—”