Page 275 of Of Masks and Fury

I patted his arm. “You absolutely are.”

The other advisors joined us—a woman who’d been rescued from the Day of Mercy two years ago and now sat on the council as a representative for magic users, and a man from one of the southern villages who’d lost his entire family to Skathe attacks. Diverse perspectives, Trew had said when restructuring the group.

They discussed new trade routes and diplomatic initiatives while I half-listened, my attention pulled toward the balcony doors. The celebration pressed too close. There were too many bodies and voices.

I touched Trew’s wrist. “I need air.”

He gave me a warm smile and a nod.

I slipped through the crowd toward the balcony, dipping my head toward familiar faces but not stopping to talk. The night air hit me like a blessing when I stepped outside.

The balcony overlooked the gardens that had been recently planted. Moonlight painted everything silver, making the space look unreal.

A statue carved from marble stood in the center of the garden, Commander Thorne, captured mid-movement as he demonstrated a fighting stance to a girl who looked up at him with determination etched into every line of her form. The magically-enhanced sculptor had gotten his expression perfect, stern but not unkind, demanding excellence while believing absolutely in the student’s ability to achieve it.

Flowers bloomed around the base, thousands of them, each one representing a life lost to the Day of Mercy over the decades. White camellias for innocence stolen. Red roses for blood spilled. Purple irises for hope that had died with them.

I’d planted the one myself, whispering the name of the first woman I’d watched die when I was ten. Trew had planted one as well, honoring a child he’d been unable to save. Then Addie, ourfriends, and citizens who’d lost loved ones and wanted them remembered properly.

The garden had grown from there.

Footsteps echoed behind me. Of course Trew had followed. He’d probably excused himself from the conversation the moment I left the ballroom.

His arms came around my waist from behind, pulling me back against his chest. I leaned into him, letting his warmth sooth the pain in my heart.

“He would’ve loved the changes,” I whispered, staring at Thorne’s marble face. “The peace and the future we’re building.”

“He loved you.” Trew’s voice rumbled against my back. “That’s why he trained you. Not to make you a weapon, but to give you the tools to build exactly this.”

Tears burned my eyes. The grief for Thorne still hit me sometimes, leaving me raw and aching. But it no longer consumed me the way it had in the first weeks after his death. Time brought healing if nothing else.

Pherin and Gavelle landed on the balcony railing on either side of us.

We stood there for a while, staring out into the night.

The past three months had been a whirlwind of change and celebration, of building something new from what had been destroyed. But moments like this reminded me of the cost and the people who hadn’t survived to see what they’d fought for.

Eventually, warmth and music from the ballroom pulled us back inside.

Addie spotted us immediately. She wove through the crowd with Fenmark, both of them glowing with happiness. My sister wore our mother’s delicate Caldrith crown and the pendant our grandfather had given our mother.

She belonged at Caldrith. I’d always known it.

Fenmark had recovered from the torture. His body had healed faster than his mind, but I could see the change in him now. He stood straighter, with his shoulders back and his confidence restored.

“There you are.” Addie pulled me into a hug the moment she reached me. Her voice had regained its strength over the past months, no longer the fragile whisper of someone barely clinging to life. “We have news.”

Fenmark’s hand found hers. “We’re getting married. We’ll hold a spring ceremony.”

“That’s wonderful,” I said with a grin.

Addie’s eyes sparkled. “I’ve formally abolished the Day of Mercy. The last execution happened before you left to kill your king.”

“I didn’t try to kill him,” I said with a huff.

They all laughed.

“You’re such a tease,” I said.