Page 203 of Of Masks and Fury

“We’ll still come here.” Lexie lifted her chin. “A week will give you time to rescue the prisoners and us time to search.”

Pherin’s wings brushed my cheek.

Not like,she said in my mind.Friends become monsters.

“You’re right,” I whispered back. “But is there any other way to save Fenmark and my people?”

Pherin settled, not happily, but accepting.

We debated details. Trew explained how his disguise magic worked, the limitations, and the dangers. Addie described the Skathe encampment layout, the hierarchies she’d observed, and the patterns of movement that might help them blend in.

My stomach twisted tighter with each passing moment. We were sending our friends into the most dangerous place imaginable, wearing the skins of monsters, to save a man who might already be beyond saving.

“It’s decided then,” Trew finally said, his voice heavy. “We’ll leave for Syllavar as soon as possible. You three will search for Fenmark, then meet us here in a week.”

“A week,” Derren said. “No matter what.”

Pherin made a distressed sound before launching from my shoulder to land on the table near my friends, looking up at them.

Be safe,she told me to tell them, which I did.

The gesture was so tender it made my throat close.

“I need to prepare the transformation,” Trew said, rising. “It’s…not easy to craft a disguise that will last that long. Gather what supplies you’ll need.”

“You can’t take anything,” Addie told my friends.

A frown knit Derren’s brow. “We know Skathes suck power, but do they eat as well?”

“From my research, I learned that they occasionally will.” Kerralyn winced. “Decaying carcasses. Each other if one’s down but not yet dead and turned to ashes. Whatever they find in the swampier parts of the wasteland.”

“I can disguise packs as well,” Trew said. “Gather some dense, nutritional food to bring with you, enough for a week.” His gaze sought Addie, who nodded.

“I have some provisions in my stockroom.” She also got up, bracing her palms on the table to keep herself steady. “And flasks that will magically purify water.”

“I’llhelp them,” Commander Thorne told her. “You need to rest before you leave with Isi.”

Addie’s eyes widened. “I thought I’d stay here and wait for him.” Her shoulders fell. “Which I can’t do, of course, if it’s not safe.” Tears swam in her eyes. “I feel so useless. I can’t rescue the man I love. I can barely walk across the room.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said. “They hurt you.”

She sighed. “That doesn’t make it any easier to bear, but thank you.”

“Can you explain why they forced you to travel?” Kerralyn asked, taking notes in her journal. “You said something about widening the breach in the veil?”

“Think of the veil as a massive door that was accidentally cracked open,” Addie said. “The controllers don’t have the key or specific bloodline to manipulate it, so they forced me to try to break the edges, hoping they could then rip the door off its hinges forever.” She pulled in a breath and released it. “I fought them, but they hurt me. When they started torturing Fenmark, I did as they asked, though I only broke small bits of the edges, not the large chunks I was capable of.”

Kerralyn’s eyes had gone wide. “That’s…incredible.” She ducked back over her journal, scribbling quickly.

What could any of us say after that?

As our friends left with Commander Thorne to prepare, Trew’s eyes darkened with worry, lines deepening around his mouth. He caught my gaze and reached for me, his fingers brushing my cheek.

“Sending them into danger tears me apart,” he said softly. “But the choice has to be theirs.”

I leaned into his touch. “None of this has been easy.”

He cupped my face, staring into my eyes. “I would burn cities to keep everyone from harm, but I can’t build a world worth living in if I deny others their right to fight beside us.”