Page 62 of Decoy

I subtly nodded, despite what I had to share being too inconsequential to ease her worries. The king immediately dismissed the servants, but even after the door closed behind them, the queen didn’t pull away.

The king motioned to the settee in front of the hearth, and the queen, not relinquishing her desperate hold, accompanied me to the seat. “What information do you bring?”

“I don’t yet know who the assassin is, but I have a suspect I’m actively investigating. In order to discover his motive, I need access to the forbidden tomes.”

At my lack of tangible information, Her Majesty’s shoulders slumped even as disappointment filled the king’s own frown. “Any requests to move the investigation forward are to be made to Sir Rupert.”

Despite his hardened tone, I could see past his gruffness to the pain he fought to mask. His fierce worry humanized him, muddling the vision that had stoked the revenge guiding me all of these years. Should these flames become completely quenched, I’d be left with nothing.

“I’ve already made my request, but the advisor didn’t see fit to grant it, which is why I’ve come to Your Majesties. I beg you for your help, for this is a lead I cannot ignore.”

The king’s expression was unwavering. “His refusal is unsurprising. The information contained within that section of the library is too sensitive for anyone other than the royal family or those accompanied by an escort to—”

“We’ll give you the key.” The queen hastened to the nearby desk and rummaged through it. “Due to the number of scholars who frequently seek permission to access it, this is one of the few locked areas in the palace whose magical lock can be accessed with an enchanted key.”

She procured a silver key possessing an enchanted shimmer and started to hand it to me, but she paused when the king rested his hand over hers. “Is it right for us to bestow something so valuable to one outside the royal family who has yet to earn our trust? Perhaps we should accompany her.”

The queen frowned. “And risk the questions such caution would invoke? Should she lose the confidence of the court, the entire illusion could unravel. We’ve already placed our trust in her for the mission she’s conducting on our behalf, the only hope that has prevented me from entirely drowning in my worry for Evelyn.”

A silent conversation passed across their locked gazes before the king’s touch fell away, allowing the queen to press the key into my hand.

“Please discover whatever you need to protect our dear daughter.”

She relinquished her hold, but the warmth from her touch lingered. My first instinct was to pull away, but her earnest gaze kept me still.

“You must also protect yourself. Please don’t take too great a risk.”

I frowned. “That seems a strange request for a decoy.” Especially coming from those who’d convicted me. My ever-burning resentment flared anew…never mind my crime was an act of treason that warranted the harsh punishment I’d been given.

She winced, but her expression remained unwavering. “Please believe we only put you in such a dangerous position because there was no other way to protect Evelyn. Though we value her life even above our own, we don’t wish for anyone else to die in her place. When we learned about the attack in your room…I can’t even convey the guilt we felt. I wish you’d informed us of it sooner so we could have taken greater measures to protect you.”

Her words seemed sincere rather than merely a convenient excuse to appease the one who acted as her only current means of protecting her daughter, given dismissively to persuade me to do my best for their sake and that of the kingdom. I didn’t care for the fate of the crown princess, so long as I emerged with my life intact.

“The only way to guarantee my safety is to remove the target placed on me.”

For a moment, she looked as if she might grant such an absurd request, undoubtedly her conscience’s influence. It wasn’t until I was presented with a potential escape that I realized that as dangerous as it was, I wasn’t ready to relinquish my role.

“Regardless of the unideal circumstances, I will uphold my end of the agreement.” I couldn’t admit how much my desires had drifted away from my own personal mission and instead towards extending my time with Luke; working with him had transformed what had once been a forced scheme into something I almostenjoyed.

My next step would be to see what secrets awaited me within a forbidden section of the palace desperately sought by an assassin tempted by the princess’s life.

* * *

The key embeddedan outline into my palm as I hurried silently through the corridors. Night had settled in a blanket of stillness across the palace grounds, allowing me to easily exit my window and reenter in the corridor just outside the library where Luke and I had arranged to meet.

He hadn’t yet arrived, yet I sensed a different presence behind me. I hastily ducked into a nearby alcove and pressed my back against the wall. There I stretched my hearing in the direction of the prowling presence…only to become distracted by a cold touch suddenly coiling around my wrist.

I startled and squinted through the heavy darkness for what had touched me. Save for the surrounding shadows blending around me, nothing was there.

At first I dismissed the feeling as the whims of my imagination, more apprehensive after having already been captured once within the palace in the dead of night.

Then I felt it again, an icy sensation that slithered around me even as the surrounding darkness grew thicker, as if a dark cloud had smothered out the faint light…an invisible, airy touch that created the sense that my life was in danger.

Heart pounding frantically, I stumbled free from the alcove to outrun my unseen opponent…and immediately careened into a firm body, only spared a painful fall by his keeping me upright with a touch that had become increasingly familiar these past several days.

I released a shaky breath. “Luke.”

I was long past surprised that once more he’d easily discovered me, simply relieved it’d been him rather than another mysterious attacker come to finish his job before I could uncover a motive.

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