I chance a glance behind me as she makes her way back to the keep on pointedly wrathful strides. I don’t envy the man the ire he’s provoked in her.
“Come.” He issues the command as he turns toward the trees, and I follow him into the forest.
For twenty minutes we walk in silence. Well, he walks in silence. The man doesn’t make a sound when he moves. His feet glide beneath the leaves fallen to the early frost, and I try to mimic the movement as we pass beneaththe sparse growth above. He stops occasionally, listening and observing the forest surrounding us. By the time we approach a small stream I have become determined to perfect the skill on my own, already having granted myself the title,the silent death.
A thick leather sack waits against the base of an ancient maple, and I watch quizzically as the master of shadows plops down beside the water, casts his boots aside, and lays his back on the ground, sinking his feet into the crisp water. He sighs contentedly, eyeing me through a squinting wink. Sunlight shimmers across his face, filtering through the canopy of bright yellows and deep reds as the leaves flit about on a light breeze.
“What would you like to learn today?” he asks, sounding almost bored.
If I’ve learned anything over the last twelve years training as Drakai, it’s that there is a correct answer to his question. He is attempting to draw something out of me; I just need to figure out what it is. Rolling my shoulders, I search my mind for the reply he seeks. He takes me in curiously, the corners of his mouth tugging up ever so slightly. My cheeks begin to heat under his gaze, and I loathe that he seems to be enjoying my discomfort.
“Well?”
“I would be happy to learn whatever it is the master of shadow would like to teach me,” I answer blandly.
“Hmm.” He sounds thoughtful. “That doesn’t really answer my question, does it?”
My brows pinch in, and I scold myself. Of course, it’s a trick question. I’ve already failed the first task he’s given me.
I ponder my possible answers, first considering picking something I am already well versed in to show him my skill, then quickly discard the idea. No one likes a show-off. I consider picking a skill for which I’ve never been trained, though those are few and far between at this point in my life and I’d rather not make him immediately aware of my flaws.
“I’ve been told you are an exceptional student, and a quick study too. I’m honestly a little surprised it’s taking you so long to answer such a simple question. But, by all means, take as long as you’d like to consider it.” He smiles and it almost seems genuine, but I know better than to believe it.
“Teach me to walk silently, like you,” I blurt out without thinking, but it’s a safe choice.
If he chooses to, I am sure he will be able to improve upon my technique, but I’m also confident enough in the newly acquired skill that I won’t risk utter shame and embarrassment attempting it under his scrutiny.
“Excellent!” He smiles, bounding to his feet. “Though after the progress you made this morning, I expected you to have nearly perfected it by the time we made it back to the keep.”
My face falls and I eye him suspiciously. He scowls at the change, and uneasiness twists my stomach. I hadn’t noticed his attention on me as we made our way through the forest. My cheeks begin to tingle as I consider just how aware he must be of every fault I made in my attempts to mimic his movements.
His mouth forms a thin line as he observes me, before quickly settling back into the relaxed smile he seems to favor. “Shall we begin?”
The master of shadows settles his stick on a flat piece of wood and spins it between his flattened palms, brows pinched with intense determination. The sun has just begun to sink beyond the horizon, casting an ever-brightening display of orange and purple hues onto the thin layer of clouds buffeting the mountains to the east. In no time at all, his efforts produce a curling strand of smoke, rising from the small bundle of dry moss at the base of his stick.
It’s been six months since I was brought before the master of shadows. Six months since he taught me to walk along the forest floor without making a sound. Six months of teaching me anything I’ve asked to learn, without question or hesitation. Months of his patient tutelage and kind smiles, things he never seems to be without.
I squint my eyes suspiciously as his lips curve up at the edges, his gaze never wandering from the task at hand. In the deepest part of myself I know, it won’t be long now. Someday soon he will break. The cheerful maskwill fall from his face, and the truth of the monster he keeps hidden away will finally be revealed.
Picking up the bunch of smoking moss, he cradles it close to his lips. Blowing gentle streams of air into the heart of the ember, he encourages it into a spurt of tiny flames. His eyes flick up to mine and he smiles, depositing the fire into the center of a bundle of kindling waiting by his side.
“Would you like to try it?” he asks.
He always asks, even though he must know by now, there is nothing I do not want to learn, to perfect. I nod, wrapping my long hair into a knot at the nape of my neck. His smile grows as he hands me my own bundle of moss and a tall, narrow stick to work between my hands.
“What did Leanna teach you yesterday?” Every day the same question. I’m not sure why he wants to know, and, for some reason I don’t understand, answering always puts me a little on edge. There are plenty of skills that Drakai must learn, and while each of us will inevitably differ in those we become proficient in, we are, for the most part, all taught the same things.
“She is teaching me about poisons this week.” I keep my eyes on the base of my stick when I reply.
“An entire week for poison? How many lethal herbs does that woman know?” He whispers the last just loud enough that he knows I’ll hear.
“Thirty-seven.” I know because I asked her the same thing. Though I was sincere in my curiosity, unlike the man sitting before me, a sarcastic lilt coating his tongue.
“Thirty-seven?” he balks. “Well, if anyone on the continent knows how to kill a man with as little as a blade of grass it’s Leanna. Tell me, has she asked you to poison me yet?”
My head snaps up from my work and my hands falter, the stick nearly falling from between my palms. I open my mouth ready to defend her, to defend myself. If the man thinks I’m likely to end him, I have no doubt I will never leave this lesson alive.
The shadow master meets my budding concern with a cheeky smile and waggling eyebrows. Blinking back at him, I encourage the pit in my stomach to settle, a small huff escaping my lips before I turn back to my task.
