Page 212 of Of Masks and Fury

I’d never told him how much he meant to me. Warriors didn’t need such words, I’d thought. They knew. But now he was dead, and I’d never have the chance.

Except he’d seen me in the parlor, my blades at my hips and my weight balanced on the balls of my feet, and he’d said I built something remarkable. Maybe that was enough. Maybe that was the only way either of us knew how to say it.

Trew didn’t offer empty platitudes or meaningless comfort. He held me, stroking my hair, while I broke apart and shared stories from the man I’d loved like a father.

“I think he knew this would happen,” Trew said, his voice rough. “Warriors like Thorne always know.”

The words cracked my chest open. “He saved Addie, and I couldn’t help him.”

“We honor him by completing what he died protecting.” Trew’s arms tightened around me. “Twenty-three innocent lives. Your sister’s life. The truth he helped you uncover. That’s how we can pay the debt.”

I nodded against his chest, my tears soaking his tunic. We shared this grief, his partly mutual respect between two warriors, both of us feeling the guilt of surviving when Thorne didn’t.

Eventually my tears slowed. My body felt limp, exhaustion catching up now that I’d finally let grief have its way.

He rose with me in his arms and started toward the door.

“I can walk.”

“I want to carry you.” His golden eyes met mine, fierce and tender. “Let me?”

I snuggled deeper into his embrace.

Inside his chambers, the familiar space became a refuge. He helped me out of travel-stained clothes with tender hands, washing away grime with warm water and a soft cloth. The intimacy was comfort rather than desire, though awareness lingered in each touch.

He helped me dress in another of his tunics, the soft fabric carrying his scent. Claiming and comfort woven together.

When he finally took me to bed, I curled into his chest while he settled the blankets around us. Pherin and Gavelle huddled together on a perch near the wall, equally exhausted, grieving in their own way.

Trew’s arms formed a protective circle around me, and for the first time in days, I felt safe enough to truly rest.

“Sleep, Minx,” Trew said, stroking his hand up and down my spine. “Tomorrow we’ll head to Caldrith to break out those prisoners.”

My lips curved. “Just another day in our lives.”

His quiet huff of laughter soothed my soul. “Precisely why we’ll never be bored.”

“Five days to rescue twenty-three people without dying during the effort,” I whispered into the darkness.

“We’ll save them.” His voice rumbled through his chest beneath my ear. “Then we’ll destroy whoever’s controlling the Skathes.”

“And find our friends.”

“And find our friends.”

We were making promises in the dark we might not survive to keep. But the alternative was despair.

I refused to surrender to that.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

ISI

The next day, dawn light filtered through the corridor windows as Trew and I made our way to the healers’ wing. My body still ached from all we’d been through over the past few days, but I needed to see Addie before we left.

Pherin perched on my shoulder, unusually subdued. Gavelle flew ahead then waited, scouting to ensure the passage was safe.

The healers’ wing smelled of medicinal herbs I couldn’t name. Meren looked up from her desk as we entered, her expression softening when she saw us.