Page 187 of Of Masks and Fury

Derren and Lexie fanned out, covering our flanks. Kerralyn stayed close, her hand on her blade but her expression soft with understanding.

The door opened, and a woman stepped out, slowly crossing the open patio area in front of the building with small steps. She stopped on the top of the wide stone steps, shielding her eyes, looking our way.

Petite, she had long dark curly hair falling past her shoulders. She was thinner than I remembered from before she and Fenmark left on their doomed mission. Her face held a wariness that spoke of suffering most would never survive.

Shock flooded her features, followed by joy so bright it hurt to see, followed by fear that dimmed the joy to something desperate and urgent.

Isi made a sound I’d never heard from her, strangled, broken, and full of every emotion she must’ve been holding back since she discovered her sister might be alive.

My hands fell away as she ran forward.

“Addie!” The name tore from her throat.

Addie met Isi halfway across the path. They collided with enough force that I tensed. But they held each other up, arms wrapping tight, both of them crying and laughing and saying things too fast for me to follow.

My chest felt too small to contain all my emotions. Like my ribs had shrunk and my lungs didn’t fit anymore.

This is what I almost died for. Seeing her whole again was worth every wound.

Gavelle’s satisfaction mirrored my own.

Lexie sniffled. Derren cleared his throat. Kerralyn’s eyes sparkled with tears.

Isi pulled back enough to cup Addie’s face. “You’re alive. You’re really alive.”

“So are you.” Addie’s laugh came out wet and broken. “I thought Father would—I was so afraid he’d?—”

“He tried.” Isi’s voice hardened. “But I had help.”

Addie’s gaze shifted past her sister’s shoulder to find me. Recognition sparked in her dark eyes, followed by something that looked like gratitude.

“You kept her safe, Trew.”

“She kept herself safe.” I stepped forward, close enough to be part of the conversation but not so close I intruded on their reunion. “I just provided the dragons.”

Addie’s mouth quirked up on one corner. “That’s not true. You’re insufferably protective of your people.”

“Fenmark. Is he?—”

“Alive.” The word came fast. “I don’t know where he is.” She rubbed her chest. “But I know in my heart he’s alive and somewhere in the wasteland.”

Isi gripped her sister’s hands. “We read your journal and Commander Thorne’s message about where to find you.”

“Thorne.” Addie’s expression softened. “He saved me. Got me here when I thought I’d die in the tower.” Her gaze moved to me again. “Your cousin nearly did die. The torture was horrific. He was taken away before Thorne came for me. I have to find him.”

Addie’s attention shifted back to Isi, taking in the blood on her face, the exhaustion carved into her features, and the way she swayed on her feet. “You look terrible.”

Isi smiled through her tears. “And you’re too thin. When did you last eat a proper meal?”

“When didyoulast sleep?”

They stared at each other, then burst into the kind of laughter that came from relief too big to contain in any other way.

“Come inside,” Addie said, taking Isi’s hand and urging her toward the front door. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

ISI