Page 11 of Decoy

“How did you—” Confusion robbed me of the remainder of my words.

The air tingled with his aggravating triumph. “Impeccable skill.”

How vexing that his boasting so far proved justified. My foreboding grew. Even if I finally located a weapon, if this man was after me, it’d be a fight I’d surely lose considering his abilities appeared well beyond my own.

Just who was he?

He held up a single finger, as if to bid me to wait, before slipping into the armory. He wasn’t gone long before he returned.

“Is this what you seek?” He held up a medium-sized dagger encrusted with sapphires, similar to mine that had been confiscated. Wait, not similar; itwasmyweapon. But…how had he known? My annoyance twisted into icy terror. “How—”

His brows furrowed as his gaze lowered to the blade and comprehension dawned; only his blatant astonishment discounted my ridiculous theory that the man could actually read minds. “Is this really yours?”

I wanted to lie with a clever quip, but instead I could only stare. Seeing my precious dagger again beckoned one of my favorite reminisces of when Zeke had given it to me, my first gift after our parents’ unjust executions had cast our unwanted presence onto our cruel relatives. I’d never imagined I’d ever again own something so fine. In the end the real gift hadn’t been the dagger itself but the long hours spent in my brother’s company as he patiently taught me how to wield it, cherished memories still vivid even with the passage of time and worth far more than our family’s confiscated treasure.

My fingers itched to grab it from this assassin’s thieving hands, as if by seizing it I could recapture that lost moment from the grave where my dear brother now rested…a subtle movement the assassin’s observation effortlessly detected.

“Itisyours, which means it was confiscated at some point. The mystery surrounding you only deepens.” He waved it tauntingly. “Would you like it back?”

Yearning to have it in my possession again almost compelled me to disregard sense and reach for it…but such a decision was based on impulse, not the sense required for this dangerous game of strategy with this formidable opponent.

His breaching a seemingly enchanted lock presented me with another problem apart from being in the presence of the most odious man alive without a means to defend myself. I cast an uncertain glance down the shadowy corridor. “The lock is enchanted to summon the guards.”

He shrugged. “I can handle them, though the question remains whetheryoucan.”

I might be able to with my dagger, though in truth I definitely shouldn’t be fighting a guard when I was supposedly the princess. “The guards would respect me as their princess and never attack me.”

He tauntingly played with the blade between his fingers. “Even so, I can sense how desperately you want this. I’m curious whether your training extended to snatching something of value from your opponent. Shall we experiment?”

I instinctively reached for it…only for him to immediately hold it out of reach, his movements so quick they were impossible to follow—one moment he was in front of me, the next he’d ended up behind me. I spun around, eyes bulging. I’d never met any man like him…which only made him all the more dangerous.

I expected another round of his silent gloating, but his expression suddenly darkened as his gaze flickered to the wrist of the hand I’d reached out with. Even in the faint light it was impossible to hide the raw skin worn away from the chains that had previously bound me.

In an instant he’d bridged the distance separating us to gingerly lift my arm eye level. For a long moment he didn’t speak, his breaths ragged as he stared at my red skin. “What happened?”

Whether this was an uncharacteristic show of concern or mere curiosity, my time within the dungeon was one secret I could never divulge, least of all to him. With a glare I yanked away from his surprisingly gentle grip. “I told you before that my secrets are my own.”

A shadow settled across him and a tense silence passed between us before he finally spoke. “Not all secrets are worth protecting.” He said nothing more, but his gravity lingered. “If you no longer want to play this particular game, I suppose there’s no harm in gifting this to you.” He extended the dagger, a gesture obviously given in pity.

“You have no motive to help me.”

“The thought of a woman prowling the roof in her quest to find a weapon intrigues me, especially when I have reason to wonder if your need for it is more dire than I initially suspected.”

His gaze returned to my wrists, and too late I hid them behind my back. The concern I thought I’d glimpsed vanished in an instant, replaced with his usual confidence I’d long since grown tired of.

“Arming you won’t provide me any inconvenience; I’m confident that I possess greater skill with the blade against any armed opponent.”

Including me, apparently. I lifted my chin. “You might be surprised.”

“Then perhaps a demonstration is in order…but another time.” Once more he extended the dagger, hilt facing me in invitation. “When that time comes, you’ll owe me a favor.”

Aversion prickled my skin. The last thing I wanted was to be in debt to such an odious man. “Never.”

He shrugged. “I suppose I could use another dagger. If you manage to unmask me the next time we meet, then I’ll allow you to claim your prize with no strings attached.” He tucked it away and, in an instant, the shadows swallowed him up, leaving me entirely alone.

I glared at the spot where he’d disappeared as the gravity of my situation settled around me. A looming death sentence, an assassin involving me in his dangerous game, a magical lock barring me from the object of my quest, and no weapon to speak of. My first night of borrowed time and already my chances of survival appeared far too slim.

But at least I’d discovered my first target to investigate…if I could but unmask him.

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