Page 150 of Of Masks and Fury

Kerralyn closed her journal, tucking it carefully under her arm as she slid off the bed. “We can reconvene in the morning. Compare notes with what Trew finds in his maps.”

“My council chamber before dawn,” Trew said. “We’ll have breakfast while you tell me anything else you discovered.”

Derren stood, helping Lexie to her feet. Dare uncurled from his spot by the bed, shaking himself awake. Levar hopped off the bed and waddled after them as they moved toward the door.

“Try to get some sleep,” Lexie said, but her eyes danced with mischief. “Both of you.”

“Out,” I said, fighting a smile.

They filed through the door with their companions.

Kerralyn paused at the threshold, glancing back. “Thank you for trusting us with all of this.”

“Always,” I said.

The door clicked shut behind them, leaving Trew and me alone in the suddenly quiet room.

Pherin remained on the headboard, watching us with knowing eyes. Gavelle still occupied the windowsill, his occasional chirps the only sound besides the crackle of the dying fire.

I became acutely aware of Trew’s warmth at my back, the steady rhythm of his breathing, the weight of his hand along my side.

“I have too many questions and not enough answers,” I said quietly.

I turned in his arms, shifting until I could see his face. The firelight cast shadows across his features, making the strong lines of his jaw more pronounced. His golden eyes studied me with an intensity that made my breath catch.

He lifted his hand to cup my face, holding me gently. “We’ll find the answers, because you don’t know how to quit.”

“Neither do you.”

His lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “We’re well-matched then.”

We sat like that for a long moment, the weight of everything we’d learned settling around us.

Trew’s jaw clenched, and I felt the shift in him. The guilt he carried, plus the responsibility and the fear that he’d fail to protect the people who depended on him.

“You’re not alone in this,” I said, covering his hand with mine. “I’m here with you.”

Heat and need flickered in his eyes, a hunger that had nothing to do with the abandoned food on the tray.

The fire had burned low. Outside, the castle had gone quiet.

He looked at me for a long moment, and I watched decide to set it all down, if only for now.

“I’m surprised you came to your own room tonight,” he said, his voice dropping to a lower register. “Instead of mine.”

The sudden shift in conversation made my pulse quicken. I found a challenge in his eyes, a playful edge that meant he was putting our burdens aside to focus on now.

“I assumed you’d want time to process what you discussed with your council,” I said.

“Time.” He said the word like it was foreign. “Away from you?”

“You might need to think. Plan. Brood dramatically while staring into the fire.”

His eyes darkened with emotions that made flames lick low in my belly. “The only thing I want to do with a fire is watch the light dance across your skin while I make you forget every worry in that clever mind of yours.”

Words deserted me.

“Oh,” I finally managed to say.