CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE ISI
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
ISI
We flew straight, only stopping briefly, and arrived at Syllavar Court the next day.
The castle’s towers pierced the twilight sky, their familiar silhouettes rising like sentinels from the enormous lake.
Mountains cradled the island fortress, their peaks still touched with snow despite the season.
I felt relief that we’d finally arrived, but exhaustion and grief had hollowed me out until even coming home felt wrong.
My arms ached from holding Addie against my chest, her head lolling with each beat of Kyreth’s wings.
Her breathing had grown shallower over the past few hours, her skin so translucent I could trace the blue veins beneath.
Wind had scoured my face raw and made my throat burn from an almost continuous flight with very little rest. Every muscle in my body screamed.
I kept seeing Commander Thorne, lying dead on the ground. The Skathes watching us as we flew away. Our friends disguised as monsters, walking out into the wasteland. The ticking countdown to twenty-three executions.
Pherin huddled against my neck, unusually subdued.
Lakast led our descent to the dragon aerie, Kyreth, Wairen, and Levar flanking us. The dragons moved with the same bone-deep weariness. They were worn out from the brutal pace we’d maintained.
Stable hands rushed into the stalls as we landed, their movements blurring in my vision. I dismounted, and my legs buckled the moment my boots touched stone. Only Trew’s steadying hand kept me upright while I supported Addie’s limp weight.
“I can take her.” His voice rasped from wind and grief, and his touch remained gentle as he eased Addie from my arms and into his own. Her head lolled against his shoulder, and my heart lurched. She looked small and much too breakable.
Gavelle landed beside us. The other companions joined us when we strode out into the hall, their grief mirroring ours.
Trew shifted Addie’s weight, one arm beneath her knees, the other supporting her back. “We’ll take her right to the healers.”
We slowly made our way through the darkness along the path to the castle, using the back entrance. Each step through the corridors felt like I was walking through deep water. My limbs could barely move. Pherin’s tiny claws dug into my shoulder, her body vibrating with distress.
Sister sick, she said. Too sick.
I nodded, unable to drag up enough energy to speak.
The healers’ wing smelled of herbs and magic.
Meren looked up from her desk, her sharp eyes taking in Addie’s condition. Other healers joined us in the open room, but she dismissed them quickly, pointing to one of the empty beds. “Here.” As Trew laid Addie on the surface, Meren rushed to gather supplies.
Trew smoothed my sister’s dark curls from her face. I sank onto the edge of the bed, taking my sister’s hand. Her skin felt paper-thin and cold despite the room’s warmth.
Meren performed a quick, thorough examination, her magic flowing over Addie in waves I swore I felt. Her gaze lifted to study Trew and me after. She searched our eyes, her expression carefully neutral before she schooled it away.
“I’ve only seen this condition once before,” she said, her attention returning to Addie.
My spine stiffened despite my exhaustion. “Who?”
“I believe you know her.” She hurried to a bench lining the far wall to prepare treatment.
“She had your eyes and your sister’s hair, and she was half-gone by the time she found me.
The veil had been eating her from the inside for months.
” A pungent aroma filled the air as she crushed herbs in a stone mortar.
“I brought her through. I’ll bring Addie through too. ”
My mother, then. I wouldn’t press her while she was helping my sister, but I was grateful she knew how to treat this condition.
I sagged with relief. Trew threaded his fingers through mine in support.
Meren worked quickly, her magic flowing into Addie in steady pulses. Light gathered around my sister’s form, seeping into her skin, chasing away the deathly pallor. She lifted the steaming cup of medicine she’d prepared, supporting Addie’s head while coaxing the mixture between her lips.
Addie grimaced but swallowed, her throat working weakly. Gradually, the tightness eased from her face. Her breathing deepened, steadied. For the first time since we’d found her in the valley, she looked peaceful instead of haunted.
“She’ll sleep now,” Meren said, covering Addie with a blanket. “It’ll take time for her to heal completely, but the worst danger has passed. You can leave her with me. I’ll stay with her tonight.”
Grief rushed through me, and I ached to sob, but I couldn’t break yet. Not until everyone was safe.
Trew’s hand tightened on mine as I stood. He always knew when I balanced on the knife’s edge of shattering.
We’d barely left the healers’ wing when Grayson and Coralee appeared in the corridor ahead of us, their expressions grave. Grayson’s eye twitch had worsened, rapid pulses that betrayed his stress. Coralee maintained her formal demeanor, but concern softened the lines around her mouth.
“Your Majesty.” Grayson bowed stiffly. “We heard you were back.”
“Yes, we just arrived,” Trew said, his voice carrying an edge that warned against further questions.
Coralee studied us both, taking in our travel-stained leathers, our exhaustion, and the careful way we held ourselves. “We need to speak. There are matters that require immediate attention.”
Trew’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. “Send for Naveah. Council chambers in a quarter hour.”
They departed, leaving us in the corridor. I wanted nothing more than to collapse in Trew’s bed, but we needed to get the rescue mission settled first.
The walk to the council chamber passed quickly.
Pherin remained on my shoulder, leaning against my neck.
Gavelle flew ahead of us and into the room, equally subdued.
The other companions had peeled away when we entered the castle, maybe heading to wherever the beasts lived when they weren’t with their bonded.
The council chamber felt different now, tainted by the knowledge that one of Trew’s trusted advisors might be a traitor. I took the seat beside Trew’s at the head of the table. We were equals, not king and princess of a distant court.
Coralee and Grayson were already waiting, and Naveah arrived moments later, her face creasing with concern as she read the tension in the room. She took a seat across from Coralee, her clever eyes missing nothing.
Tension filled the room. Maps covered every surface, marked with troop movements and supply lines.
Grayson kept gulping. Swallowing hard. Coralee’s usual composed demeanor showed cracks, her hands trembling as she gestured to the defensive positions.
They’d been preparing for war while we rescued prisoners, and the weight of that responsibility showed in their faces.
“Where is King Cyril in his war preparations?” I asked.
“Our spies indicate his army hasn’t left yet, but when they do, he’ll be marching with them,” Coralee said.
Grayson grunted. “We believe he’ll march with them after the Day of Mercy.”
“That’s just like him,” Naveah said dryly. “He’ll kill some of his people before leaving to try to kill most of ours.”
I nodded, my face hot with the truth of it.
“We have battalions in place along the border, and we’ve evacuated our remaining villages who might be in the line of fire,” Grayson said. “Dragon fliers have been patrolling the north, keeping watch for any sign of mobilization among those living in the southern Caldrith territories.”
“They’re not patrolling too far north, I hope,” I said.
“They’re flying at night to avoid being seen.”
”I’ve consolidated supplies,” Coralee said, studying the paper lying on the table in front of her. “If need be, we can hold them off for at least a month here.”
“With those from the surrounding villages residing within our walls?” I asked.
She gave me a satisfied nod. “Yes.”
“Good.” As silence descended, I studied their faces. “Anything else about the war preparations?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“We have news,” I said. “We found Isi’s mother’s property in the wasteland, in a valley protected by wards, untouched by the corruption. She’d been researching the veil breach, the Skathes, everything.”
Coralee gasped. Grayson frowned and nodded. Naveah barely twitched.
I described what we’d discovered, using only broad terms, not mentioning Lord Alfred.
“There are multiple controllers,” Trew said, his voice hard. “At least two working together to command the Skathes. We found evidence of coordination, of planning that spans years.”
I watched each advisor’s reaction. Coralee’s expression remained neutral, though her fingers drummed on the table, a nervous tell I’d noticed before. She loved Trew; I’d seen it in how she looked at him. But she had the most knowledge about bloodfire magic. Could she be using it herself?
Grayson’s eye twitched faster, his hands trembling where they rested on the table.
He’d served Trew’s father for years before joining Trew’s advisor team.
I couldn’t imagine him commanding Skathes.
But assumptions were dangerous, and I’d learned not to trust my instincts about people’s capacity for betrayal.
Naveah sat quietly, absorbing the information with the same attention she brought to her leatherwork. She’d lived at Syllavar most of her life after fleeing Caldrith. She was trustworthy by all accounts, but that would be the perfect cover if she chose betrayal.
We shared what we could while hiding what we must, making no mention of our friends disguised as Skathes and how they were searching for Fenmark. They needed enough information to be helpful, but some truths were too dangerous to speak when a traitor might be listening.