𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐄, sokeefe

SEVEN

KEEFE SENCEN STARED AT THE NOTE IN HIS HAND. It seemed almost simple when his father wrote it like that—go to the palace in Azurethra. Keep tabs on the princess. Take action if necessary.

Yeah, right.

Keefe may not know much about royalty other than his best friend, the prince of Draconia, and his sister who'd shamelessly flirted with him for years, but he knew Princess Sophie was merciless when it came to execution.

Though that may be a mercy to him, given how crappy his life was.

He sighed.

He wasn't technically accepted as a member of Draconian nobility given the fact that his mother was a mere maid, although with dreams for her son. She'd been another of his father's victims. He'd only taken him as his child to use him, to brag to the king about the assassin who would be an asset to the kingdom when he grew. 

That was the only reason he spared Keefe a glance.

Keefe looked at the package of clothes—a servant's garb in the kingdom of Azurethra. He'd undoubtedly have to sneak in there as a mere worker. 

Now, he wore the simple black garments of a Draconian townsman, adorned with silver edging to indicate his father's high status. But to him, it meant something else.

He belonged to no one, and he was no one.

Sighing, he slipped into the breathable ensemble and left his chamber in the basement to find a carriage.

A giggle escaped from behind him. He turned, frowning, his eyes landing upon two girls standing in the corner.

He dragged a hand through his hair, well aware of the effect it would have on them. "Ladies."

The brunette stepped forward. "Could we help you?" She attempted a seductive smile and Keefe had to stop himself from cringing.

"Could you take me to the nearest carriage station?" he asked, attempting to be civil.

The girls were all too eager to comply, giggling and flirting the entire way. 

"How is your day going?" The redhead asked.

"Better now," Keefe said, smirking. It was the mix of flirting and teasing he needed to use to hide his purpose.

"Are you visiting someone, perhaps?" She pressed, a flirty smile on her lips to hide the fear he was off to make relations with a lover.

"My grandparents," he lied. "They live very far away, in the village. They often need my assistance. Just as I need yours now."

The girl gazed at him with adoration Keefe knew she wouldn't have if she knew what he was going to do.

Keefe internally sighed with relief when they reached at last.

Despite what everyone tried to portray him as, he was not the type to lead a girl on.

Especially not the girls who were all too eager to giggle and attempt seductiveness.

Keefe knew he probably wouldn't court anybody in this lifetime--he was far too tainted with the blood of the lives the king had taken.

And an assassin could not be a married man.

He climbed into a carriage, thanking the man driving it. As Draconian societal barriers demanded, carriage drivers did not speak unless to ask your location and to thank you for the payment. Keefe often wondered what was going on in those silent, stoic minds of theirs.

He gazed through the windows, lost in thought. 

The kingdom of Azurethra was of no little beauty. Keefe could see why King Alden wanted the territory--if not for its beauty then for how practical the land was.

Fitz often told him, a frown marring his features, that the king considered their family more worthy of the land than the 'Azurethran brats.'

"I disagree," he'd added. "If you'd met Sophie, you'd agree she's worthy of everything."

"Including you, it seems," Keefe declared with a smirk.

Keefe often teased him about the dreamy look that crossed his face each time the name Princess Sophie was broached. He couldn't imagine he would share that admiration. 

He held his breath as they approached the palace. There was a secret entrance, his father had told him, in a tunnel beneath the gardens.

"Thank you," he told the carriage driver, handing whatever coins he had left. 

A smile touched the drivers lips—a hint that he knew exactly what Keefe was here to do.

Thanks, Father.

"The pleasure was mine," he said.

"It would be," Keefe said with a smirk. "Which man—or woman, indeed—would not love this honor?"

"I would not pass it up, for sure." His eyes glittered with amusement.

Keefe could not help thinking how different this man was out of the reach of King Alden's claws. He seemed a whole new person—carefree and willing to joke. In another universe, Keefe realized, they could have been friends.

He bowed, attempting to take leave. "Thank you."

The man returned this. As Keefe turned to walk away, he called, "The pleasure was mine, my Lord. I believe you can yet prove your worth."