Page 103 of Façade

“Quite impressive, isn’t it? To be clear, I only missed because I chose to.”

His unparalleled skill and ominous warning effectively captured my attention. “If you’re not here to kill me, then what do you want?”

He was back to playing with his dagger, twirling the hilt expertly between his fingers. “I wager you’re astute enough to guess I earned my name by remaining elusive. Darkness is ideal for making kills, so I only venture from the shadows when there’s something I need.”

I’d heard as much from the rumors, the same elusiveness that made it impossible to capture him. “And I can give you what you desire?”

He nodded, somewhat reluctantly. “It’s quite inconvenient to be forced to rely on my target, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

What could he possibly want desperately enough that he’d forsake his mission? I’d no sooner wondered this than the truth of his intentions settled like a pressing weight against my chest: he had no intention of setting aside his mission; the moment I no longer proved useful, he’d fulfill it.

“It’d be foolish to strike any bargain with a man who’s repeatedly intended me harm.” I glanced towards the fallen assassins.

“Who,thesemen?” The Shadow glanced lazily towards them. “I have nothing to do with them.”

“Are you truly claiming it’s mere coincidence you appeared immediately following their attack?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “It appears my reputation has suffered defamation if you believe I’d choose to work with such incompetent amateurs.” He cast a rather disgusted look towards the fallen assassins…only to pale and hastily look away with a slightly squeamish look that left me puzzled.

It’d taken all our strength to fight those men off, whose skill the Shadow deemed mediocre at best, a testament that should he choose to attack us…there’d be no hope we could win.

“If they don’t work for you, then who are they?” Silas demanded.

The Shadow shrugged. “I have my suspicions, but informing you of them is the role given to the decoy.”

My heart leapt at the mention of her. “You know about her?”

“Oh? You wish to speak of the one chosen to die in your place?” Up until now, the assassin had maintained an almost conversational tone…but at this change in topic his entire manner hardened.

I flinched. “I…I never asked her to—“

“Irrelevant, considering that’s still the role she’s been assigned.” He took several steadying breaths until his previous cold composure returned. “I suppose the situation deems it fitting to speak of her. My assignment to eliminate the Estorian crown princess required me to get close to her; she’s a feisty thing.”

This time, his slip in emotion came from the sudden softness filling his voice and previous indifference, leaving me curious as to what had transpired between him and the decoy back at the palace.

“I’ve actually come to know the decoy quite well, along with her own mission. You seek the very information the decoy must present in order to secure her freedom…and if I give it to you now, she’ll have nothing to bargain with.”

“Why would you care about her freedom?”

“I don’t.” But his voice hitched, betraying his lie. The fact that the Shadow assigned to eliminate the Estorian princess shared some sort of camaraderie with the decoy didn’t bode well.

“You speak as if you’re convinced of my identity, but it appears that for all your skills you’re not infallible: I am not the princess you’re looking for.”

Despite my attempt at confidence, he only laughed. “Now, now, now, that’s not going to work on me. Games aremyarea of expertise; I won’t allow you to try and play one with me. No matter how much you attempt to deny it, I know you’re the true princess…the very one I’m charged to kill.”

His triumphant gleam confirmed he wasn’t bluffing. Still, I ached to continue denying it, even as I knew the effort was futile.

“I know you’re the princess,” he continued smoothly, silencing my burning protests to the fact. “Just as I’m certain that the one chosen to masquerade as you is nothing but a fake. She put up quite a valiant performance, but in the end my superior skills exposed the secret. Luckily for her I found her quite amusing, else she’d be dead too…or perhaps not, for we were almost evenly matched and she won her own share of our battle of wills. One would think I wasted my time, but to my own surprise I’ve quite enjoyed my assignment, definitely my most entertaining by far.”

He chuckled to himself, as if enjoying a private joke, but his amusement vanished in an instant to return his focus to the matter at hand.

“As invigorating as the topic is, I’m not here to talk about Blair; I have a much more important matter to discuss.”

Blair…that must be the decoy. Somehow knowing her name deepened my aversion to the thought of her dying in my place. This assassin had not only come to discover the truth about the decoy but had uncovered her name, a secret undoubtedly as heavily guarded as her identity as a fake, leaving me even more curious about the events that had transpired between them.

“Considering you took great risk in exposing yourself, I assume it’s for an important reason.” I couldn’t even begin to wonder what such a dangerous man would want from someone likeme.

The mask covering the lower half of his mouth did little to lessen his smirk. “I admit initially thatimportant reasonwas to kill you, something I fully intended to fulfill upon my arrival, considering I have yet to spare a target.”

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