Page 73 of Decoy

For a moment I could only stare, surprised Luke had managed to find it so quickly. I gave him a puzzled look.

“The shadows.” He reached towards the slinking grey forms shrouding the shelves and patted the nearest one as he would a pet, though his eyes were devoid of any true affection. “They assist me…for a price.”

I couldn’t let him pay it for me. “You only sought their assistance on my behalf, so I should be the one to pay—”

“No!” The force of his adamant refusal echoed through the vast chamber. His wild expression softened as his arms enfolded me. “Please don’t worry, I would do anything to protect you.” Pain wrenched his voice, whether for my sake or his own I couldn’t be sure.

I ached to protest against whatever the sacrifices he’d rendered for me, ones I might never know the full extent of. All I could offer was my gratitude that even without Luke knowing the full extent of my circumstances, I had his support; after all these years I was no longer alone.

My arms came up around him as I nestled against his heart, beating gently against my cheek. “Thank you.”

In response, his hold tightened around me. I yearned to remain in this position forever, but all too soon we released one another and returned to the task at hand.

I grazed the glass orb containing the prophecy. At my touch, our surroundings faded around us as our awareness was drawn back to the moment the prophecy was given until only the oracle’s voice lingered—an all-knowing whisper that echoed throughout the room.

A deadly threat has arisen against the princess’s life now that she nears her ascent to the throne that will betray the trust of the royal family, and who will stop at nothing to see she can never inherit the throne.

Only a single, ominous line, but despite its brevity it offered us several new clues. Rather than being given at the princess’s birth as I’d previously been told, the prophecy seemed to have been offered more recently. In addition, the advisor had informed me the threat likely came from a royal…yet the prophecy made no allusion to royalty, but instead seemed to imply the danger came from the within the palace itself.

What motive did Sir Rupert have to make such alterations? Did he not trust me…or was there another, far more sinister reason for his deceit?

Each discovered clue also acted as evidence that pointed to me being an imposter. Unfortunately, my comrade was too insightful not to notice these contradictions. Luke faced me with an expression that was a mixture of confused and curious.

“If the prophecy wasn’t given at your birth, why were you hidden away—” He suddenly stiffened, and in the next instant, he’d withdrawn his dagger and yanked me behind him.

I didn’t immediately see anyone when I peered around the shield created by his body, but my senses tingled with the sense of an intruder in our midst.

Luke swore beneath his breath. “Normally the shadows provide me some warning, but this time—”

Soft footfalls silenced his explanation, drifting ever closer until the advisor stepped into view. He was followed by several guards, the clang of whose armor alerted me to their presence long before their arrival. They encircled us like a noose, closing in on me and making it difficult to breathe.

I felt as if I’d been transported back to one of my darkest memories, second only to losing my family; the moment was reminiscent of the night I’d been caught sneaking through the corridors. I’d barely grazed the enchanted knob barring me from the treasury when the guards had closed in around me. I could still taste my fear choking the air, see their menacing glares and their pointed swords forbidding me from moving, feel the icy chains binding my wrists and the utter sense of hopelessness as they led me deep into the dungeon’s all-consuming darkness.

Luke’s defensive stance didn’t falter, but though he remained still, I could almost sense his careful calculations as he considered what techniques he’d need to employ in order for us to escape. Questions whirled in my mind. How had they found me? Was the treasury enchanted to alert the guards of the presence of an intruder?

The reason for our discovery mattered little in the face of our daunting task to find a way to escape. I evenly met the advisor’s cold gaze. “The guards are unnecessary considering I’m simply conducting the investigation you charged me with.”

“While it’s true you were given such a task, your freedom didn’t extend to your using any means necessary…including entering forbidden areas, especially the very scene of the crime for which you were initially caught. It seems almost poetic you find yourself captured in the same location. You were foolish to gamble away the opportunity Their Majesties so generously gave you. Pity.”

The advisor motioned for the guards to apprehend me, but in that instant Luke attacked the nearest ones. With his usual precision, he dispatched several through martial arts and slashed several others with cuts that avoided their vitals.

Though his skill was paramount, he moved slower than usual. His wild gaze took in the surrounding shadows. “What are you doing? Help your master.” Yet they ignored him. Without their aid, his speed lacked its usual edge.

The guards didn’t go down without a fight, and though Luke’s skill was superior, their shallow wounds filled the air with the scent of his greatest weakness. He valiantly fought against his aversion, but eventually it reigned victorious. He pressed his hand over his clothed mouth and nose and doubled over with a groan, creating an opening for the advisor to order a guard to seize me from behind and press a knife against my neck.

The icy feel of the blade trapped my breath in my throat, rendering me immobilized. Luke immediately stilled, his glare sharp as it met Sir Rupert’s hard gaze. “You dare treat your princess like a common criminal?”

His deathly tone conveyed a warning that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill should the need arise. With the shadows’ help I was certain he’d have already dispatched the threat…but they remained uncooperative, mere spectators to the unfolding scene that without their help would result in their acquiring the blood they craved, undoubtedly the sole reason they’d helped me get this far.

The advisor chuckled, a sound somehow far more chilling than his usual threats. “I’d never dream of doing such a thing…if she was the true princess. Unfortunately for her, she’s nothing more than a decoy.”

It appeared my lie would be exposed far sooner than I was ready, and not by me as I wished. My gaze snapped to Luke’s for his reaction; though his cloth mask covered the lower part his face, it didn’t hide the confusion raging in his eyes.

“Of course she’s the princess. Why wouldn’t she—ah.” It was as if someone had lit a candle to dispel the inconsistencies that had previously clouded his thoughts. A myriad of emotions followed—hurt, anger, and even some relief.

His questioning gaze sought mine. Though my fear of the potential repercussions tempted me to deny it, the part of me that yearned to salvage my integrity and with it forge an honest relationship compelled me to speak.

I bowed my head. “It is as he said: I’m nothing more than a prisoner who was condemned to death, only spared the noose if I would pose as a decoy in order to uncover the threat against the true princess.” But with my subsequent capture, a pardon felt entirely out of reach.

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