Maddie held her dagger in a tight grip as she walked as silently as possible down the hall. She pulled shadows around her like a cloak, terrified that she would be discovered. Once she stopped dead in her tracks as guards passed within a few feet of her. She had taken refuge behind a thick column that provided a shadow in the relative darkness. She wiped the sweat from her head and wiped her hand on her tunic. It wouldn't do to drop the dagger. She crept forward on the felt pads Tereus had slipped onto her boots.

All this sneaking was going to drive her crazy. She slipped into a nearby shadow. There was resistance, but she pushed through.

Only be spit out again. She tumbled to the floor, her knife clattering on the stone. She heard footsteps running toward her. Tereus had warned her about wards, but he hadn’t really said what they were. How could she know that they would keep her from shadow-walking?

The footsteps neared; at least two guards were rushing at her. She scrambled to get to her feet and recover her knife as the guards closed. She ran from them, feeling the same blur she had felt when running away from the Druids. Alarm bells rang and more guards mobilized. They covered all the doorways leading away from the hall.

This was a bad plan, Maddie thought as she saw several guards appear from around a corner, Why would Tereus come up with such a bad plan. It was like he wanted me to get caught.

Not for the first time, Maddie began to doubt Tereus. She was a total amateur and he had sent her into a heavily guarded stronghold. He was either a tactical dud or wanted her to fail. He had managed to convince her that the plan would work, though. He was nothing if not charismatic.

The soldiers in front of her held up crossbows. Maddie cringed.

And then stepped past them, just as she had done to the Druids’ spell. The short-distance teleport didn’t seem to trigger any alarms. The guards whirled around as she rounded the corner. She found a shadow and wrapped herself in its darkness.

The guards ran past her hiding spot. She didn’t even breathe out a sigh of relief.

She waited there for what seemed like an hour but was probably only a few minutes. Guards milled around, looking for the intruder. Maddie shrank into her hiding place, careful not to push herself into the shadow.

Suddenly, a thunderous boom rang through the castle. The very stones shook. Guards ran past Maddie again, but this time they were focused on the gate. Smoke blew through the corridor, giving Maddie enough cover to head toward the king’s chambers.

When she arrived, she saw to her dismay that two guards were still stationed outside the door. They were heavily armed. The halberds they held were ceremonial, but still featured a sharp point and a keen blade. A short sword also hung from each guard’s belt. Maddie had few options; she couldn’t take even one of these men in a fight, let alone two.

She backed up and ran at the door. Right before she would hit it she blurred through it. She hoped that she wouldn’t hit anything on the other side.

She did hit something, or rather someone. King Gradlon was knocked to the ground, while Maddie skidded to a halt further in the room.

While not armored, the king was still armed with a sword and dagger. He gained his feet and drew his sword, dropping into a fighting stance. Maddie scrambled to her feet, fumbling for the sword that Tereus had given her. He slowly advanced on her. She managed to get her sword out of its sheath and held it up feebly.

“If you’re an assassin you’re not a very good one,” the king told her, “It looks like I could blow you over with a breath.”

Maddie, trying to adopt the same stance as the king, said nothing.

“I don’t know how you got in here, but I see you tripped the wards. The fact that you didn’t know there would be wards is another sign of inexperience.” He lowered his sword slightly, thinking. “And how old are you? You’re just a child.”

Maddie took his hesitation as a sign of opportunity. She lunged at him. Instead of parrying her blow with his sword, he hit her wrist with his forearm. Her sword went flying and she fell back. The king wasn’t even pretending to fight her anymore. She was so clearly outmatched that he felt almost bad for having resisted.

Maddie knew she needed to escape or she would be dead, or worse, captured. She would probably be tortured or given back to the Druids and burned alive. At least she would be with her friends. She pushed desperately against the shadows.

And found the wards gone. Whatever Tereus did at the gate must have affected them. As Gradlon walked toward her, she dropped through his shadow and into the void. She was able to land on her feet. She could see a vague outline of the room she had come from. A figure that must be Gradlon turned around, looking behind him. She drew her dagger and stepped back through the same shadow. Lunging forward, she stabbed the dagger into Gradlon’s stomach. Or tried to. Her blade sliced along his ribcage. As he turned she saw the chain around his neck. She reached for it with her other hand. Gradlon finished his pivot by plunging his sword into her side.

She clawed at the chain, managing to just snag it. He grabbed her wrist but as she slid off his blade he was pulled forward. She dropped to the floor, her hand still holding the chain. It snapped and the key pulled out from under Gradlon’s tunic. As she dropped through the shadows again, the key dropped with her. Gradlon hit the floor.