Page 118 of Of Masks and Fury

“And you’re my dragon king, arriving in a blaze of fury and flames. My heart pretty much stopped when I saw you striding down the aisle. And when you told the world who you are, I nearly swooned.”

He snorted. “You, swoon? I’m surprised you didn’t gut Lord Alfred.”

“He ran away. Self-preservation was driving him when nothing else could.”

“He lost, and we won.”

“We did.” I peered around. “Where are we going?”

“Home.”

The place where I could be myself. Where magic wasn’t a crime. Where I could stand beside this man and build something real.

The sun climbed higher, painting the sky in shades of gold and peach. Lakast’s wings beat steady, carrying us south and to whatever future awaited us there.

War. Danger, for sure.

But also choices.

And love.

I leaned back against Trew’s chest and smiled.

Let my father bring his war. Let him try to cage me again.

I’d meet him with fire and steel. With the magic he’d tried to suppress. With Pherin at my side and friends who’d risk everything.

And with the king who’d walk into certain death to protect me.

I wasn’t running away, I was running toward everything I was meant to be.

Crown princess of a kingdom that feared magic? Not any longer.

Queen of one that embraced it? Yes, that felt right.

Distance and clouds swallowed the castle.

And I didn’t look back again.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

TREW

The sun had set hours ago, leaving us suspended between the earth and stars. Isi had fallen asleep against my chest sometime after we’d crossed into neutral territory, her body finally surrendering to exhaustion after our escape.

I’d felt the exact moment she’d stopped fighting sleep. The pressure had bled from her shoulders, her breathing had deepened, and she’d gone soft and trusting in my arms.

That trust gutted me in the best way.

Her hair whipped in the wind, tangling into impossible knots I’d gladly spend hours working free with my fingers. One of her hands curled against my chest, the other resting on my thigh. Even in sleep, she touched me. Held onto me.

Mine.

The word echoed through my chest with every beat of Lakast’s wings. I’d proven it today in front of her entire court. Let her father choke on that truth.

Pherin dozed on Isi’s shoulder, the little minxpip’s head tucked against her neck. The bond between them had strengthened during our time at Caldrith.

Gavelle sent a surge of fierce protective love that mirrored my own.