Page 145 of Of Masks and Fury

“Should we go?” Lexie asked.

“No,” Isi and I said at the same time.

“Stay,” I said. “Share the food. Tell me if you found anything in the library.”

“Are you certain?” Kerralyn asked, though she was already eyeing the pastries.

“Positive.” I settled onto the bed and tugged Isi down onto my lap, wrapping my arms around her.

Kerralyn placed the tray between us.

“I want to hear everything,” I said. “And I want to watch my future wife eat while you tell me.”

The words hung in the air for a heartbeat.

Lexie whooped, Kerralyn clapped her hands, and Derren’s solemn face cracked into a genuine smile.

“Future wife?” Isi’s voice held laughter and love and a hint of exasperation. “You’re announcing this to our friends before we’ve even discussed details?”

“We discussed details last night in the hot spring.” I kissed her temple. “You said yes. The rest is just ceremony.”

She shook her head, but her smile was so radiant it stunned me.

I reached for a pastry and held it to her lips. “Now eat and tell me what you learned. We have a kingdom to save.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

ISI

The bed sagged under the weight of five people, all of us arranged around the tray Trew had brought, a meal for my own council meeting. Except council meetings didn’t typically feature roasted fowl and flower-decorated pastries or the kind of casual intimacy that came from shared danger and exhaustion.

Although, my friends had appointed themselves as my advisors, so perhaps thiswasmy first official council meeting.

Lexie leaned into Derren’s side, her shoulder tucked against his chest, her hand resting on his thigh. Kerralyn sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, already reaching for a second slice of bread that she topped with some roasted meat and cheese. I remained on Trew’s lap, his arms wrapped around me, one hand splayed across my belly.

Pherin and Gavelle had flown in through my cracked-open window right after Trew arrived. My minxpip now perched on the headboard above us, her eyes tracking every movement. Gavelle had claimed the windowsill, occasionally making soft sounds that Pherin answered with peeps.

Keek, Kerralyn’s sleek-furred mole kept sniffing the air, his gaze fixed on the food.

“I can’t believe he’s still eating,” Lexie said, amusement coloring her voice. “Maybe tell him he’s had enough? That’s a lot of food for a tiny mole.”

“Look at it as his avian form eating instead.” Kerralyn turned to face Keek, smiling. “No shifting in the room. You’re much too big.”

Keek nodded.

Dare, Derren’s moth-hawk lay curled by his feet, snoozing.

Lexie’s badger, Levar, waddled from the bathing chamber, where he’d gone to get a drink. He plopped down onto his belly in front of the hearth and sighed.

Trew traced absent circles on my belly in a rhythm that steadied something anxious in my chest. But beneath the casual touch, I felt tension humming through him. His breathing had changed since we’d settled here. It now came shorter, more controlled.

Like he was bracing himself for something.

“So,” Lexie said around a mouthful of bread and meat. “Are you going to tell us what happened in your council meeting, King Trewyn, or do we have to guess based on the tension radiating off you?”

“Trew for you. Always.” Trew’s chest rumbled with a low laugh against my back. “And am I that obvious?”

“You’re shouting worry like a beacon.” Derren shifted, and Dare stirred at his feet before settling again. “Any new plans?”