In a war-scarred realm where shadows whisper secrets and magic is everywhere, Riley-a legendary thief and shadowmaster-is captured after a failed heist inside the manor of Lord Calvin Hayes Alessio. Riley is offered a cruel bargain: assassinate a fo...
About an hour before sunrise, it started raining again. For once, Riley was grateful for it.
Maybe the handsome boy sleeping a few steps away from him would wake up on his own and Riley wouldn't have to go near him.
The shadowmaster had a lot of time to think as the night passed. He thought of the events of the previous night -of the fear he created. That always happened. He wanted to do the right thing in his own way, yet nobody could see it as good, but he'd end up losing control a bit. He was a vile, cruel creature -maybe he should start acting like it.
But it wasn't in his nature. To give into the shadows. He simply couldn't.
Still, he was aware of how it looked, and he was determined to change that. He considered how he could explain everything to Percevin, even though he knew the boy probably wouldn't care. Maybe it was better that way -better to believe everything his master had said about the thief, how the word had spread about the dangers of the shadowmasters.
But Riley didn't want to get used to the change in his eyes.
He had lit a small fire that he tended it throughout the early hours of the day, to heat up a bit of food and try to fend off the humidity. Under the shelter of the trees, he managed to keep it going, until a groan of annoyance sounded from his side. He didn't look, but he heard Percevin shifting under his blankets, rubbing his face and stretching. Riley knew that soon, the boy would notice him and everything would change again.
"When I was a boy", he began without waiting, "my father used to tell me that life was balanced. If the light grew, so did the shadows. For every bit of good, there was a bit of bad. The world is seen in blacks and whites, but neither can exist without the other, nor is one completely separated from the other. I grew up thinking that, and I still believe it to be true."
Riley didn't pay attention to the boy's movement, but he knew he had sat up. The shadowmaster sighed, adding the final ingredient to this sorry excuse of a stew from last night's leftover and a bit of dried rations.
"There are a lot of things in this world people wish didn't exist. But I also know that, without those fucked-up things, people wouldn't appreciate their luck, the fruit of their labor, or even a neighbor's kindness. Without sadness, happiness would be trivial—insignificant. And I've seen enough smiles in my life to believe the bad is worth it, just as much as the goods.
Riley took a plate from his bag and poured out a portion of the heated food for the boy.
"I know I'm not a good person, I never claimed to be. But I don't think I'm a bad person either, despite... what I am. And even with the whole world against me, I won't give in. That's all I had to say.
His words seemed to calm the knight-to-be. Still not looking at him, Riley extended the plate. He didn't expect an answer. He just wanted Percevin to think. If this... mission was to stay on track, the thief couldn't deal with the constant fear rolling off the boy.
Percevin took the plate.
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