Page 69 of Decoy

Father silently withdrew his blade, and I pulled out my spare dagger that wasn’t as efficient in a fight as the one I’d tossed aside in my determination not to harm the woman I cared for, which would put me at a distinct disadvantage.

His eyes widened. “Do you intend to fight me? For all your rigorous training, your skills are no match for mine, especially now that I realize you lack practical experience.”

“Even so, I have something worth fighting for.” The only path forward was for the sake of everyone I cared about; I would find a way to protect both her and my sister, no matter the cost. She grazed my arm as if she meant to stop me, but now that I’d chosen her, nothing would hold me back.

Father hesitated a moment before sighing. “It appears you’ve made your choice, forcing me to treat you as an enemy to the mission. I hope you’re prepared for the consequences.”

He melted into the shadows. It took every ounce of concentration to stretch my consciousness through the surrounding darkness in order to follow his presence. I’d always hated the sensation as the shadows slinked through my thoughts so had never subjected myself to their influence deep enough to truly know them, leaving me less familiar with their power than Father, who’d already had many years to acquaint himself with them.

But the light that came from my feelings for the woman I’d vowed to protect was stronger than their darkness. She’d become my mission, and the one thing I’d been trained in my entire life was to fulfill those whatever the cost.

My senses tingled as I concentrated on the shadows’ movements, following them closely…and performed a flip several meters to the right to land in the exact position I needed to parry Father’s sudden attack.

Even midst the suffocating tension, his approval was apparent. “You’ve gotten stronger. That will serve you well as my heir.”

“I don’t want to be your blasted heir!”

Speaking the words out loud confirmed their truth, giving me additional strength to exert more control over the shadows when Father melted back into the darkness. I was able to follow him more easily this time, granting me enough speed to block him just before he hit the princess, whose own parries in self defense were no match for his skill.

Even with the near miss, Father’s smirk was taunting. “Do you intend to instead subject your sister to such a fate should you choose to step down?” He sounded almost bored.

I gritted my teeth.Never. I’d fight for a path forward that would protect her light while also preserving my own. This boost in my resolve allowed me to tighten my own control over the shadows’ power enough to deflect his next attack.

“I sense you’re fighting for more than Laila, but you cannot protect the woman you were assigned to kill, especially at the cost of all the consequences the curse will bring upon our household.”

Panting hard, I parried another strike, then another, before I found an opening large enough for me to respond. “I tried to follow their assignment but found it impossible to fight against the wishes of my own heart. I’ll find another way to fight them that doesn’t require me to lose her.”

“Even if you manage to protect her, the shadows won’t remain appeased for long,” he warned. “Their wishes must be performed whatever the cost, even if it means losing yourself and all you care about…as I experienced with your mother.”

His usual stoic mask faltered, allowing me a glimpse of the pain her absence had caused him all of these years…what my future would be should I turn my back on what I held most dear for the sake of duty. The thought only escalated my determination to dictate the course of my own life rather than remain subjected to the curse’s mercy.

He took another swipe, then another, movements I could barely follow midst the gathering shadows quick enough to block. The force of his strike nearly knocked me back, and it required all my strength to maintain my defensive position. I couldn’t lose, a resolve sustained not only by my need to protect the woman I loved, but by my desire to save my sister from the fate of becoming the curse’s new heir should I die here.

He pressed his full weight through his blade against my dagger to increase its force. “She must die.”

“I—cannot—” I could barely speak through my desperation.

“Then I shall perform the duty for you.”

He acted faster than I was prepared for, melting into the shadows and reappearing beside the princess. Before I could act, he made contact with her side. Her dodge spared contact with her vitals, but her cry of pain pierced my heart, a sound magnified by the shadows’ triumphant glee as they finally tasted the blood they’d been impatiently awaiting.

Red filled my vision, so when Father lifted his weapon to land the final blow I acted without thinking, guided only by my desperation to shield her. I hooked into the shadows, momentarily too distracted by their celebration to resist me. With their speed I managed to leap in front of her just in time to take the fatal hit in her place.

Father’s eyes bulged and he hesitated, just long enough for my instinct to take over. I lifted my dagger in self-defense and felt it find purchase.

I smelled the blood before I felt it—that nauseating, metallic scent that consumed my senses, followed by its warm, sickening stickiness drenching my hand that clutched the dagger, now buried to the hilt. He fell in a heap and didn’t move. Horror robbed me of breath as I collapsed to my knees.

“Father?”

His eyes were unfocused as he searched for me, one hand pressed to the wound bleeding from his chest, the other blindly groping for mine. I scrambled close enough for him to seize hold, also wet with blood. The world swayed, but I managed to cling to my consciousness by the thinnest thread.

His gaze finally settled on my face. “I knew you had it in you, though I never imagined your first kill would beme.”

No, I didn’t want to kill him; I didn’t want to kill anyone. I wanted nothing more than to be free of the unbreakable chains binding me to such a horrific fate. I had to save him, even as my limited experience with death confirmed that it was too late.

Even midst his pain, he managed a weary yet distinctly proud smile. “I deserve such a fate for how many lives have been lost by my hand, a life I settled for because I didn’t believe there was a way out.” His words became slurred as he struggled to string them together. “I’m proud of you for forging a path different than the one expected of you. I hope you continue the course you’ve chosen, this time as the head of the Shadow house…and I’ll finally be free from the shadows’ unbreakable hold and get to see my wife again.”

I clutched his hand close. “No, I don’t want this. Please don’t die. You can’t—”

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