Page 157 of Of Masks and Fury

She reached the tree line. For a moment, I thought we’d lost her. Then I saw movement between the trunks, a flash of red hair as she stumbled.

She was tiring. Finally.

We crashed into the forest. Branches whipped at my face. Roots tried to trip me. But I’d grown up running through these woods, and I knew every path and hollow.

Ahead, the woman’s breathing came in ragged gasps. She glanced back, fear flashing across her features.

I put on a final burst of speed, eating up the distance between us. My hand closed around her arm as she tried to dart between two close-growing oaks.

“Got you.” I yanked her back, spinning her to face me.

She fought like a cornered beast. Her hand came up, and she raked her nails toward my eyes. I blocked her with my forearm, then swept her legs out from under her.

We went down together. I pinned her wrists above her head, my weight holding her in place. A burst of my magic created bindings that pinned her four limbs to the forest floor.

Isi arrived a heartbeat later. Pherin landed on her shoulder, her feathers still bristled. If there was room, I sensed she’d shift into her firecat form again.

Gavelle swooped down to perch in the tree above us, his eyes fixed on the captive.

“Who are you?” I growled. “Who sent you?”

The woman’s mouth twisted into something that might’ve been a smile. Up close, I could see the lines around her eyes, silver threading through her red hair. Sixty, maybe older. But she’d run like someone half her age.

“You’re too late,” she said.

Her accent sounded strange. Not Syllavar. From one of the other courts, perhaps.

“Too late for what?” I shifted my grip, making sure she couldn’t break free. “Answer me.”

“The weave is already corrupted.” Her pale green eyes fixed on Isi. “She can’t stop what’s coming. Neither can you. They have a new anchor now.”

“New anchor?” Cold slid down my spine. “What do you know about the weave?”

“More than you’ll ever discover.” She tried to buck me off, but I held firm.

Footsteps crunched through the underbrush. Derren burst in first, Dare at his heels. Lexie and Kerralyn followed seconds later, both breathing hard from the chase.

“Is she—” Lexie started.

“Alive,” I said.

The woman’s smile widened. “Not for long.”

Foam appeared at the corners of her mouth. White and thick, it bubbled past her lips.

“No.” I grabbed her jaw, trying to force her mouth open. “No, you don’t get to?—”

Her body convulsed, and she went still beneath me, her pale green eyes staring sightlessly at the canopy above.

“Fates.” Isi dropped to her knees beside us. “What did she take?”

I felt for a pulse, already knowing I wouldn’t find one. Her skin had gone cold too quickly, the life draining from her faster than should be possible.

I released her magical bindings. We didn’t need them now.

Nobody spoke.

We’d run the length of the palace. We’d chased her through the forest. I’d had my hand around her wrist. And she’d still won. Whatever she’d heard in that corridor, whatever she knew about our plans, our people, our next move, was gone with her.