Page 56 of Decoy

“I found a few things of note, this being the first.” He procured something from his pocket. “I discovered this when searching his body.”

I accepted the key and studied it. Confusion quickly marred my eagerness at being one step closer to answers. “I’m not sure what to make of this.”

“I tested it on the princess’s door and it opened.”

“So it’s a key to her room?”

“Not quite; that same key opened every door I tried, and I managed to test several dozen.”

“A master key.” The moonlight glistened against the metal as I traced it with my thumb. Only a few people had access to such a key; if the attacker wasn’t one of those select few, had he stolen it, or had it been given to him by the one who’d orchestrated the attack?

He nodded. “Unfortunately, this is the only thing of note I discovered. I failed to come upon the corpses of her missing guards or any rumors amongst the staff of any foul play. I also found no passageways when I searched her bedroom, so if the princess truly didn’t witness her assailant leaving, then this key was likely his method for entering and exiting.”

“A key he had to procure from somewhere. Either he stole it…”

“…or he was given it, which would mean someone with access to a master key is the one manipulating the strings behind the scenes. Unfortunately, I’m no closer to discovering anything pertinent about the assassin or his client; he possessed no identification, leaving his identity a mystery.”

He’d still uncovered far more than I’d managed midst my beguiling distraction. “And you didn’t torture it out of him?” I’d never directly asked about such a cruel method of extracting information, which only showed the extent to which the princess had affected me.

Malik’s eyebrows rose. “There was a complication with the interrogation in that I couldn’t even attempt it before he was silenced.”

My stomach lurched. “Suicide?” Unfortunately, that was all too common amongst assassins who’d failed their missions—honor dictated it was better to die than give up the name of whoever had hired them.

He shook his head. “No, another method entirely…which proves to be an interesting clue in and of itself: he was taken out by a silencing spell.”

It was a common spell utilized by clients who were members of the court or otherwise had access to magic, placed upon an assassin they hired to protect their reputation so the job wasn’t traced back to them should it end poorly, as it had in this case. Should they be caught, such a spell killed its victim before they had a chance to reveal the name of whoever had hired them, even if they had no intention of divulging it.

Our house’s reputation stood for itself and had rendered it unnecessary for us to ever enter into such a contract when accepting a job, but it was quite common for lower houses to agree to. This fact not only reduced the possibilities of where the assailant had come from, but also the pool of suspects, considering such an enchantment meant that whoever had hired the assassin in question had access to magic, a rather useful clue after his untimely death had eliminated most others.

Who within the palace would seek the death of such a remarkable woman?

I was half tempted to awaken the princess so we could immediately begin discussing possibilities, but with how tired she’d been earlier, I could wait for her to rest. Despite the business nature of our upcoming conversation, the thought of speaking with her again caused a strange flutter in my chest. Perhaps upon its conclusion we could discuss other topics and I could finally begin exploring my many curiosities about her until I’d solved every last one of her intriguing mysteries.

Malik hesitated, as if in silent debate on whether he should say any more, before he wordlessly handed me the dagger I’d lent the princess—a weapon far more valuable than I’d let on when I’d allowed her to borrow it.

“It was in the assailant’s possession after Her Highness attacked him.” He didn’t say anything more about lending such a priceless treasure to our target, but words were unnecessary beneath the force of his silent disapproval.

“That’s it for my conclusions,” he said. “What did you discover?”

My condemning silence was answer enough. In my desire to remain near the princess, I’d faltered in my usual impeccable investigation.

He sighed. “She’s proving too much of a distraction, which must be dealt with before it grows worse.” His gaze flickered towards the window. “I can kill her if you’d rather not.”

“No!” The desperate plea wrenched from me. “No, you can’t…it must be me.” And not only because the shadows dictated such specific instructions, but because if I maintained control over her life, I could preserve it for as long as I needed…perhaps even forever.

“You’re taking too long. The shadows will grow restless; they were already stirring when I left.”

His warning was unnecessary; the shadows had been providing constant deafening reminders about the disastrous consequences of their escalating impatience, but ever since my kiss with the princess, I felt as if I’d crossed the point of no return.

Even if I somehow found a way to fulfill my mission without claiming her life, I wouldn’t be able to keep her. Broken families lined our cursed ancestral line; my own mother had left because she was ill suited to the life of an assassin. But already the princess seemed different. Not only was she brave and spirited, she possessed the skills that would allow her to easily adapt to such a lifestyle. Was there any chance…

Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t marry your intended target.

I’d long ago decided that when I was forced to follow the curse’s dictates and marry, it wouldn’t be for love; I could never subject anyone I cared about to the curse that afflicted our family. Yet could I really kill such a beautiful and intriguing woman who scaled roofs, threw knives, could detect complicated poisons, and admirably defended herself against would-be assassins?

Did I even have a choice?

CHAPTER16

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