Season of Sacrifice (Blood of Azure Book 1) by Jonathan Michael (best ebook for manga txt) 📕

Her open palms slaps across my face. My cheek radiates with pain.

“One of these days you’ll learn that sassing me, or ‘nobody’ for that matter, is not a wise thing to do. A wise and disciplined Shadow is an alive Shadow.”

I didn’t think it possible, but Ellia’s glow in the campfire turns a scant darker. Her strength is admirable. However, moments like this make me wonder who I’m truly shadowing.

“I was somebody once,” Ellia continues in a gentler tone. “I wasn’t always the Taoiseach’s Shadow. I was in the top of my class throughout my studies at the Academy, and I had enough friends. After I graduated, I joined the Solite. I gained ranks quickly during my short-lived time there until the day I watched the General die.”

“The General? You mean…General Greyson?” I ask.

“Yes. Did you know him?”

“No, but I know somebody who did. Somebody who would care to know.”

“Maybe if you survive tomorrow, you’ll find another day to tell him.”

“Yeah, maybe.” I miss Goose. And Stone. It would be nice to have them by my side right now. “Did you enjoy it? Your life before the shadows?”

“I was brought up in a vicious gauntlet of brutality, enduring rigorous tests day in and day out only to become a weapon in the eyes of a man that I accepted as my father. But…I was still capable of a smile from time to time. Truthfully, I accepted the role of Shadow the day he accepted me into his home. It’s what he raised me for. What he doesn’t know is with his training I am capable of far more than he will ever anticipate. The seasons are going to change for the better. If you do as you’re told and train hard, you will have your opportunity to slay the Taoiseach. I promise you that.”

Slay the Taoiseach? But he was like a father to her. She is messed up in the worst way. I remain silent for some time, unsure how to respond. And I force thoughts from my head as well, if only to keep Ellia out of my head. Ellia accepts the silence.

“Why?” I whisper.

“Why?” Ellia repeats, her brow raised.

“Why are we going to kill somebody?”

“That is a broad question for which the answer goes much deeper than you would ever understand. You are not ready for the answer just yet. Ask me again later, and I might give you an answer.”

“How do you expect me to kill somebody without knowing why I’m doing it? It would be helpful to know if they’re a murderer or bad person in some way before I follow through with it. I’m not saying I can’t kill a person, but I can’t do it without knowing why they need to die first.” But can I?

“That is the test, isn’t it? You ought to figure out how, or you won’t last long. You made a commitment to shadow me, and this is your first lesson. When the time comes to make the decision, I believe you’ll make the right one.”

The remainder of the evening is silent except for the once calming, now unnerving, sounds of twilight. Ellia has painted the night a shade darker for me. How does she manage to accomplish the impossible?

Morning couldn’t have come sooner. The anticipation of the new day feels like a rock tumbling around in my gut. Sleep was minimal. I’d much like to have it done and over with right now.

The morning air is unusually cool and damp. A thick fog manifested overnight, brewing off the nearby river and allowing for limited visibility. It’s not unheard of, but misty mornings are typically an autumnal thing, not a mid-summer thing. An aura perhaps? I wonder if Ellia always has gloom surrounding her.

“Your god is looking over us this cool morning,” Ellia sounds out as she slowly appears from behind a dark curtain of fog.

Had she been wearing a phantom gown, I would have thought her my mother coming to haunt me. The day is idling just behind the mountains and hasn’t quite revealed itself. Ellia’s preparedness tells me she’s been awake for some time.

She’s underdressed on this unusually cool morning. In addition to her trademark eye covering, she merely wears her warm-weather assassins’ garb, consisting of a light-grey cross-sash trimmed with silky, midnight-red lace and fitted, light-grey leggings. As she moves closer, I can see from the goose prickles strewn across her chest and arms that she does indeed have feelings. Physical feelings anyhow.

Fortunately for me, my youthful figure doesn’t fill out the assassin’s garb the same as hers, so I have something a bit less revealing.

“My god? I never fully understood the teachings of Susy,” I reply. “And how’s he looking over us?”

“The fog. It’s our ally. If I had carried out this mission solo, I would have done so before the sun awoke. Talented you may be, but you’re not skilled. Not in the slightest. Your talent requires too much fine-tuning, and I’d be doing you no good by sending you out to slay in the dark. Might as well slit your throat where you stand. With night comes silence and easy alarm. People spook in the night. Which is why we do this while the sun watches over us. And the fog offers us night’s stealth.”

I don’t know what to say to the comment. It’s apparent I’m dragging her down, but she has me tagging along for a reason. She must believe I have potential, or I wouldn’t be here. Would I? I wouldn’t even be alive right now. I should be grateful to her, I suppose, for giving me a life to live. Although…she was the one who stole my life in the first place.

“What do you mean ‘while the sun watches over us’?