CHAPTER FIFTY ISI
CHAPTER FIFTY
ISI
“Ineed to check the perimeter,” Thorne said, rising and setting his empty tea cup on the tray. “Your ward breach may have been noticed.”
After he left, I poured more tea for everyone, noting how Addie’s hands shook too badly to manage it herself.
“Tell us how you broke in,” she said. “Mother’s wards were impenetrable, even to those with the right bloodline, if they didn’t know exactly how to approach them.”
“They were beautiful,” I said, remembering the intricate lattice I’d seen with my veil-sight. “Three layers, each more complex than the last.”
I described the wards with my hands, tracing out the patterns in the air. “The first was a simple barrier, designed to repel. But the second fought back, creating a defensive line that tested intent as much as ability.”
Our friends leaned forward, caught by my description. Even Trew, who’d held me while I worked, appeared mesmerized by hearing it from my perspective.
“As you must know since you breached them yourself, the third was the most elegant,” I said. “A blood ward, a handprint of magic that could read lineage.” I smiled, remembering the moment it yielded. “It sang when it recognized me.”
“Like bells,” Addie said softly.
“Yes. Crystal bells.”
Trew watched me with undisguised pride, his golden eyes lit with admiration. “My fierce queen,” he said, the words meant only for me but carrying enough for Addie to hear.
Her eyebrows rose, and a smile played across her mouth despite how tired she appeared.
Lexie whispered something to Derren, who nodded. Kerralyn scribbled in her journal, no doubt recording details of veil-sight abilities for future study.
“What happened in the tower?” I asked gently. “What did they do to you?”
Addie’s face twisted, her mouth opening to respond before her breath caught. Her entire body went rigid, as if invisible hands gripped her throat. She tried again, only to flinch back with a cry of pain.
“I can’t—” She swallowed hard. “It’s right there in my mind, but when I try to speak of it, something blocks me.”
I glanced at Trew. “Could someone place a ward on or tamper with another person’s memories?”
“It shouldn’t be possible.” He paused, his jaw tightening. “But the magic I felt in there wasn’t natural. Someone built something inside her mind that behaved like a ward.”
“We’ve seen many impossible things lately,” Kerralyn said, frowning.
Addie tried again, her frustration building.
“I remember arriving at the castle. Him coming to me, forcing me to travel through the veil where I…” A frown took over her face.
“I can’t remember. All I know is that—” Her words choked off again, and she slammed her palm on the sofa cushion beside her.
“It’s right there, but I can’t reach it! ”
Trew straightened. “I might be able to help. I can see memories. Not just view them but enter them.”
“You can do that?” Addie looked to me for confirmation.
“He saw my memory of Mother’s death,” I explained. “It’s intimate. If you let him do this, he’ll be inside your mind, seeing what you saw. But he’s gentle about it.” Absolute trust came through in my voice.
Addie didn’t hesitate. “Do it. Please.”
Trew knelt in front of her, raising his hands toward her temples. “Try not to fight me.”
When she nodded, he touched her.
His power swept through the room, making my skin tingle and the others shift in their chairs. I placed my hand on his shoulder, lending whatever strength I could as he concentrated.
Lines appeared between his brows. His jaw clenched. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he pressed harder against whatever barrier he’d found.
Addie grimaced but held still, her eyes locked on his.
Finally, he dropped his hands, shaking his head. “It’s like hitting a wall but not. It does feel like a ward but that shouldn’t be possible inside someone’s mind.”
Our gazes met, silent communication passing between us. Whoever had done this possessed forbidden magic. Warping someone’s mind wasn’t just cruel, it had to be a violation of a person’s very self. Something like this would be as outlawed as using bloodfire bonds, which fit with the controllers.
“If it’s a ward,” I said, “maybe I can break it.”
Trew’s face darkened. “This could hurt you.”
“Everything hurts lately. I trust you,” Addie said, reaching for my hand. “I’ve always trusted you.”
Trew moved aside but stayed close enough to catch either of us if we fell.
Lexie, Derren, and Kerralyn formed a protective circle around us, their companions alert and watchful. Pherin flew down between me and Addie, bridging the small gap between us.
Help sister, she told me as I placed my fingers on Addie’s temples. Help together.
I closed my eyes and reached for my magic, letting it flow through my hands into Addie’s mind. This wasn’t like viewing a memory. I was entering her thoughts, becoming part of the weave so I could either break it or find a way through to the other side.
“I see it,” I said, my voice sounding distant even to my own ears. “Sickly green-black. It could be bloodfire magic.” A shudder ripped through me. “It reeks.”
The ward was a grotesque distortion of natural magic, wrapped like a parasite around Addie’s mind. I could feel Pherin’s power flowing through our bond, making my hands tingle and my eyes burn beneath my closed lids.
I was dimly aware of Trew watching, his hands clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with the effort of not interfering. His protectiveness was a tangible force, but he held himself back, respecting that this was something only I could do.
The ward resisted as I pulled at its threads, recognizing me as a threat. Pain lanced through my skull, but I pushed harder, unwilling to yield. This violation of my sister would end today.
“Red hair,” I gasped as the ward collapsed and the first memory broke free. “A woman with red hair.”
“What else?” Trew asked. “Is it Kira?”
I strained to see. “I don’t… She’s turned away.
I can’t see her face.” I pushed past her, seeking more, and images and sensations flooded through me, including the torture chamber in vivid, horrific detail.
Cruelty blazed in burning scarlet threads, while desperation manifested as gold strands that refused to break.
Fenmark was there, his love for Addie a fierce barrier between her and their captors. He told them he alone had the information they wanted. He took blow after blow meant for Addie.
The love between them shone through everything in golden threads that the torturers couldn’t sever despite their best efforts.
Addie’s scream became my scream. Her pain became mine.
Blood ran from both our noses, twin streams of crimson. But I couldn’t stop now. I was too deep in the weave, too invested in seeing it dissolved. And it clung to her mind much too hard.
With a final, desperate twist, I tore through the corrupt magic.
We both collapsed backward, gasping, clutching each other like drowning women finding a raft. Blood covered our faces, and our bodies trembled as reality reasserted itself.
Trew was there, steadying us both, fury and protective rage radiating from him. Our friends surged forward, but his raised hand stopped them, silently asking them to give us this moment to process what had happened.
“What else did you see?” Addie whispered, her face bone-white beneath the blood.
Horror crashed through me as the pieces fell into place. The plans I’d glimpsed in Addie’s stolen memories aligned perfectly with what we’d found in the west tower and with the attempts on my life back in Syllavar.
I looked around at everyone I loved, realizing how close death had come to claiming us all.
Pride and fierce satisfaction blazed in Trew’s golden eyes. I’d broken through impossible wards, torn apart mental barriers that shouldn’t have yielded to anyone, and he was looking at me like I’d conquered kingdoms.
“My veil-seer,” he said quietly, his low voice making my pulse race. “Did you see who he was?”
I met his gaze, dropping the word like stones into still water. “Lord Alfred.”