CHAPTER FORTY-ONE ISI
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
ISI
We gathered in Trew’s council chamber early the next morning, a big breakfast spread out on the wooden table between us. The room smelled like fresh bread and strong tea, though the worry simmering beneath our casual meal had nothing to do with food.
I sat beside Trew, our chairs close enough that our knees touched beneath the table.
Lexie sat on our right, spreading jam on a slice of bread, with Derren on her left, methodically working through a plate of eggs and roasted vegetables.
Kerralyn had claimed the seat on Lexie’s left, and she had her journal already open beside her plate.
Our companions were with us, perched on the backs of our chairs, our shoulders, or they had settled on the table to eye the food.
While we ate, we reviewed what we’d discovered the night before.
Then Kerralyn flipped to a marked page in her journal. “There’s more we should discuss. Things I found about veil-sight abilities.”
My attention sharpened. Pherin shifted behind me on the back of my chair, her talons clicking on wood.
“The gift runs in blood,” Kerralyn said, reading from her notes. “You’re either born with it or you’re not. No amount of training can create the ability if it isn’t already there.”
“What else?” Trew leaned forward, his focus on her.
“There were once people called guardians of thresholds.” Kerralyn’s finger traced down the page. “Ancient veil-seers who could perceive the weave of magic itself. They were systematically hunted. The texts don’t say why, and some sections about them were torn from the books.”
Unease skated across my skin. “Someone wanted that information destroyed. To maintain their pretty lies and operate in the shadows, the controllers would’ve had to systematically eliminate anyone who could see the truth or they’d be revealed.”
“And listen to this part,’ Kerralyn said, tapping a faded diagram. “It says the guardians weren’t just observers. They were the ‘Needles of the Weave.’ But to stitch a tear in existence, the seer needs an elemental anchor.” She looked up. “Not sure what that means.”
We looked at each other, none of having anything to contribute. So obscure. So difficult to figure out.
“The execution records were also altered,” Derren said. “And everything else that might reveal the truth.”
“The few references I could find mentioned that veil-seers can detect corruption in the weave.” Kerralyn looked up at me.
The words resonated in my chest, an echo of something I’d always known but never had language for.
“That wrongness I feel when I examine wards,” I whispered. “The way some magical structures look twisted or pulled too tight.”
“Isi’s ability to break wards could be veil-sight,” Lexie said. She’d abandoned her breakfast, and her eyes had brightened with the kind of intuitive leap she was known for. “You’re able to see the structure of magic clearly enough to find the weak points.”
“I’ve studied with ward-crafters and scholars,” Trew said. “Few can see through protections.”
“Which makes you valuable.” Derren met my gaze. “And dangerous to whoever’s involved in all this.”
No one spoke for a moment.
I’d spent my entire life feeling like something was wrong with me.
Like I perceived the world at a slight angle from everyone else, saw things others missed, felt things that had no name.
My father had called it weakness. My tutors had called it distraction.
I’d called it nothing, because naming it felt dangerous.
It had a name.
Veil-sight.
And someone had been systematically killing everyone who had it.
Pherin made a sharp sound behind me, her feathers bristling.
What’s wrong? I asked her.
Not sure.
I reached back to stroke her spine, feeling the strain vibrating through her small body.
“There’s something else.” Kerralyn hesitated, her pencil hovering over her journal. “The texts mentioned that bonded companions can sense when their person perceives corruption in the weave. Pherin might know when you’re detecting something wrong in the magical structure around you.”
Yes, Pherin said in my mind. Feel it. Know it.
Trew’s jaw clenched. “If Addie inherited this ability from your mother, it could explain why she was tortured in that tower. They might’ve discovered what she could do with her magic.”
The thought made my stomach turn. My sister, subjected to who knew what horrors because she could see things others can’t.
“We still don’t know how the ability actually works,” I said, forcing myself to think past the rage building inside me.
I shifted in my chair, trying to ease the tension making my muscles ache. Something felt off. Not the magical wrongness I’d learned to recognize, but a deeper unease that made my skin prickle. It was the same feeling I’d had late last night, lying in Trew’s arms while sleep wouldn’t come.
“One more thing.” Lexie unfolded a second piece of parchment.
“The courts weren’t always enemies. Until about three hundred years ago, Syllavar and Caldrith intermarried for generations.
Then it stopped, right around when the Day of Mercy began and the philosophical split happened.
One court embraced magic. The other declared war on it. ”
She looked between Trew and me.
“Which means you two could be the first alliance between them since.”
That landed in the room differently than everything else we’d discussed. Not as a horror or a warning but as something that felt, against all odds, like possibility.
“Someone orchestrated that split,” Derren said. “And they’ve been maintaining it ever since.” He leaned back in his chair. “The destruction of historical records. The creation of the Day of Mercy.” His voice hardened. “This wasn’t random. It was planned.”
“Veil-seers can see through magical manipulation,” I said, thinking out loud. “If someone was using magic to control people or events, veil-seers would be able to detect it.”
“Or control Skathes?” Lexie said. “If you eliminate anyone who can see the corruption, you reduce the chance you’ll be exposed.”
Derren grunted. “Kill anyone who can wield magic, and you’ll ensure no veil-seers survive.”
“And if you harvest their magic, you get an extra benefit,” I said in horror.
“Fear is an excellent weapon for maintaining control,” Kerralyn said softly. “Convince people that magic is dangerous and that those who possess it are a threat, and they’ll willingly go their death or expose those who can wield magic.”
“You can justify anything if it’s done in the name of protection,” Lexie said.
The wrongness I’d been feeling intensified. I looked around the table, taking in our friends’ serious faces.
“What’s bothering you?” Trew asked.
“I don’t know. Something feels off. Like we’re missing a piece that should be obvious.”
“Your instincts have kept you alive this long,” Derren said. “Don’t ignore them now.”
Pherin went rigid behind me, her feathers standing on end. A low aggressive chirp escaped her throat. On Trew’s chair, Gavelle mirrored her reaction, his wings flaring.
“What is it?” I turned to look at her, but she was focused on the door.
A knock rang out. Trew rose, gesturing for the rest of us to stay seated. He crossed to the door and opened it.
Naveah stood in the hall. Shadows haunted her eyes, and her face was creased with concern. “Your Majesty. Forgive the interruption, but we have a situation.”
“Come in.” Trew stepped aside to let her enter.
Naveah’s gaze swept across the table, taking in the breakfast spread and the assembled company.
“I meant to mention that the armory was raided while you were gone,” she said. “Someone broke in and took clothing and weapons. The guard has been investigating.”
Trew’s entire body went still. “How much was taken?”
“Enough to outfit a full squad.” Naveah’s mouth thinned. “Whoever did this knew exactly what they were looking for. They bypassed the ceremonial pieces and took practical gear. Battle-ready equipment.”
“How did they get past the guards?” Derren asked.
“That’s what we’re trying to determine.” Naveah shifted, her discomfort obvious. “The ones on duty claim they saw nothing unusual. No one entered or left during their watch.”
“They disguised themselves with magic,” Lexie said quietly.
“Possibly.” Naveah looked at Trew. “Or it was someone with access who knew the guard rotations well enough to slip through unnoticed.”
“Thank you for the report,” Trew said, his voice neutral.
Naveah bowed and left, closing the door behind her.
The moment the latch clicked, Trew spun more wards around the room. The air shimmered with power, thick enough that I could see the threads of magic weaving through space.
“This could be connected,” Kerralyn said quietly. “If someone knows what Isi is and what she can do, and they’re preparing to move…”
“Everything’s connected,” Derren said.
Trew paced to the window, staring out at the courtyard below. “They’re preparing for something.” He turned back to face us. “We need to move faster than they’re expecting.”
The wrongness in my chest intensified. I pressed my hand against my sternum, trying to ease the pressure.
“Isi?” Trew crossed to me in three long strides. “What is it?”
“That feeling I mentioned before.” I met his gaze. “It’s stronger now. Like something’s watching us even through your wards.”
Pherin launched from my chair, spiking around the room. Gavelle joined her, both companions clearly disturbed.
“I wove these wards carefully,” Trew said, but doubt flickered in his eyes. “No one should be able to penetrate them.”
“If someone can see the structure of magic itself,” Kerralyn said. “They might be able to find weaknesses even in strong wards.”
The implications of that crashed through me. If there was another veil-seer, someone working against us who possessed some of the same abilities I had—
A sound in the hallway made us freeze—followed by a muffled curse.
Pherin and Gavelle’s chirps turned to shrieks as they flew toward the door, battering against the wood with their wings.
Trew yanked the door open and bolted into the corridor.
I was right behind him, my heart slamming up into my throat.
The hallway stretched out on our right, torches burning in their sconces. At the far end, near the turn that led to the main staircase, a figure sprinted away.
A woman, her long red hair streaming behind her as she ran.
“Stop!” Trew’s voice echoed off stone.
She rounded the corner and disappeared from view, with Gavelle and Pherin not far behind.
Trew broke into a full run. I matched his pace, my shorter legs working to keep up. Behind us, the others rushed from the council chamber, their footsteps joining ours.
We reached the corner and skidded around it. The woman was halfway down the next corridor now, her red hair catching torchlight as she fled. She moved with the kind of speed that spoke of training. This wasn’t a servant or a random intruder. She knew where she was and where she was going.
Gavelle and Pherin flew at her, raking at her head. She flung a bolt a bolt of magic so bright it left spots in my vision, and they blasted backward.
Trew put on more speed. I pushed myself harder, my breath coming in sharp gasps. The distance between us and the fleeing figure began to close.
She flicked her hand, and the air between us shimmered with magic.
“Isi.” Trew grabbed my arm and yanked me to the side as magic exploded outward from where the woman had been standing.