Page 7 of Decoy

Our target’s sharp intake of pain as his final breath was forcibly seized echoed in my ears, but I forced myself to smirk. “One shot, as you taught me.”

His own leer was menacing. “Excellent. You’ve been well trained and will make a fine heir to the Shadow name.”

I greedily accepted his undeserved praise, which only tightened the constant guilt cinching my heart. I wanted him to be proud of me, even as I remained unwilling to do what it took.

My fingernails dug into my palms as I clenched my fists. “Thank you, Father. I want nothing more than to please you.”

Liar.

He leaned lazily back in his seat. “I’ve been monitoring you closely these past several years, and I believe the time has come for you to finally venture from your practice missions to your first real assignment, one far grander than the paltry kills you’ve done until now.”

Bile rose in my throat.Paltry?But contrary to what I felt, I offered another weak smirk, as he expected. “Though simple, they’ve been amusing nonetheless, though I’d certainly welcome a greater challenge.”

I ached to snatch back the condemning words, but doing so would be pointless. Nothing could persuade Father once he’d made up his mind, so I could at least appease him and amuse myself with my carefully woven lies.

When I wasn’t forced to embark on actual missions, I found what enjoyment I could from the assassin game and had become quite a master at playing it. Masters of illusion made for effective assassins, even when the image I created went entirely against my true self. Only when the stakes I dreaded became entangled with the play did it lose all amusement; death wasn’t a game, but something horrific and final.

If I was to succeed in my role, my first kill would have to be the conscience that had no place amongst my murderous duties. Yet for years I’d feared that when the time came for me to finally inherit my family’s mantle, my aversions would serve as an impenetrable obstacle.

But far too soon, the time had come to finally put my devotion to the test. I took a carefully measured breath. “What’s the mission?”

He leaned further back and propped his leg up onto the desk. “You’ll receive a more detailed brief in the days to follow, but for now I will inform you that word has come that Crown Princess Evelyn of Estoria was a decoy. The shadows have finally declared the time has come to kill the true princess now that she’s been restored to the throne…and you already know the reason why we have particular interest in her life.”

Just hearing that name caused me to tense. “I understand. The resulting confusion will present us with the best opportunity to finally put our plan many years in the making into motion.”

He nodded. “Indeed.”

“And you wantmeto be tasked with so great a responsibility?” One that felt like nothing but the heaviest burden.

“Naturally. You’ve earned it.”

In truth I’d always known I was too soft for my role, let alone one so grand asthis. Unfortunately, I was left without a choice: the crown princess of Estoria must die, else my family would finally succumb to the curse placed upon us so long ago.

Every part of me ached to reject the mission, especially since I wouldn’t be able to rely on Malik’s help, forcing me to stand on my own. But the only excuse adequate to escape was the true reason why my skills weren’t up to my assigned task.

It’d been easy to fabricate my reputation—whenever Malik hadn’t been with me, I’d been able to come up with clever workarounds to create the illusion of success when in reality I’d failed every mission given to me thus far. In that moment I regretted the lie I’d carefully crafted by claiming successes that weren’t mine, all to build up an image that had led me to an assignment where it’d be impossible to hide my lack of skills. Which meant the time had finally come when I’d be forced to either face my fears or accept my failure.

I unconsciously flexed my hand. As if attuned to my thoughts, the shadow curse that had been a part of me since being born into this accursed family tingled my skin, as painful as the many poisons I’d spent my entire life building up immunity to…but the only antidote for this one was blood spilt by my own cursed hand.

I knew it was imperative I fulfill my assassin duty before the appointed time dictated by our family’s curse. Only by accepting this mission would I finally receive the opportunity I’d spent years longing for, finally granting me access to the one thing in the Estorian palace that magic had previously barred me from. If I had any hope of altering my dreaded fate, I needed to do the very thing fear had caused me to avoid: stain my hands with murder.

Even with so persuasive a motive my stomach still coiled, all while sense’s whispers fought to seduce me:She’s just one life, revenge for her family’s actions against yours all those centuries ago. What’s one life in exchange for the precious freedom you seek for the generations to come?

My thumb caressed the petal of Laila’s daisy, a reminder of who I was protecting that I hoped would provide me with the strength I needed to face what was to come. With these persuasions, I found myself bowing in acquiescence I didn’t want to give. “I shall return once I’ve achieved the death of the true crown princess of Estoria.”

The words were poison on my tongue, even as the mission brought with it a much-needed sense of hope. Could I truly fulfill it, especially when unlike many of my past targets, this one had done nothing to deserve such a horrific fate?

I forced myself to bury these reservations like I had all the others that had fought to sway me over the years from my destined course in order to become the hardened assassin expected of me. If I listened to my conscience, I wouldn’t be able to do what was necessary…and Ineededto, for the sake of all I held dear.

Could I truly fulfill the difficult mission every assassin in the preceding generations had all failed? Most importantly, would I be able to murder the innocent princess when the time came to save my family, even at the cost of my soul?

CHAPTER3

BLAIR

After summoning the captain of the guard to unlock the chains binding me and bring me a change of clothes, Sir Rupert led me through the immaculate palace hallways to a bedroom—a much more comfortable cell than the dank dungeon where I’d previously languished—where I’d be staying the duration of this sentence. A gilded cage, though it remained a prison nonetheless. My first task would be to find a way out.

I listened with only partial attention to the advisor’s briefing and kept the remainder of my focus on studying the palace’s layout, my spy senses already at work for my personal mission I was still determined to accomplish. My survival depended on my success, one that felt far out of reach with my previous failure still haunting my memory.

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