Chapter 1 #3
“I have a special job I’d like you to do.”
I turned my head to the side, glancing at him. “Me?”
“Well, of course,” came the gentle reply.
With hands clasped behind my back, I couldn’t stop the swell of pride forming in my chest. The king of light wanted me to do something for him?
“I am honoured, your majesty.”
We reached the towering arched windows overlooking Lucius and paused.
The king’s brow furrowed, his eyes becoming distant as he pursed his lips. “There is someone in The Grey I need you to keep an eye on.”
This was such an unusual request—not at all what I thought we’d be discussing.
The swell of pride I’d felt moments ago dissolved, slipping through me like sand through my fingers, leaving only doubt.
He trusted me. He, the Light King. A man I admired—not just as my ruler, but as someone who’d always led with strength and grace.
Was it wrong of me to wonder if I was truly the right one for this? To fear I might not measure up? That I’d fail him—not just as a soldier, but as someone he believed in?
A few Lightners passed us, greeting the king as they did so. I waited for them to move on before I spoke again. “I’m not sure I understand. You want me to watch someone in The Grey?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
Shoving my hands into my black trouser pockets, I asked the most obvious question. “And who would this person be?”
With a smile on his lips, the king ignored it. “Just be in The Grey tonight as the sun begins to set.”
My brain had a million thoughts racing through it. It wasn’t unusual for the king to be mysterious in his ways, so I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t give me an abundance of information.
He laid a hand on my shoulder. “You’ll know when you see.”
My brow rose, trying once more to get any sort of information out of His Majesty. I asked another question—almost begged. “How often should I be checking on them?”
He was about to answer when a royal steward approached us and spoke quietly to the king. Then he left and the king turned his attention back to me. “That is up to you, but if I were you, I’d be visiting as often as possible,” he said as he started to back away.
“So no name?”
He smiled. “All I can offer you is, The Night Jewel.”
With very little effort, the king spun on his heel and glided off in the direction of the steward.
My brow knitted for the twelfth time in the last minute.
“Oh, and Nik?” the king threw over his shoulder. “Take your persistence with you. She’s going to need it.”
~~~~~
“Get your fish here!” a local fishmonger called out in the marketplace. Shadowkin scurried about, wrapping their shawls and coats tighter around their bodies as they tried to keep the bite of winter from nipping at their skin.
I shifted my weight, leaning against the side of the stone apothecary. My eyes darted across all the figures mingling in the streets. None of them could see me, but I could see every grimace, every longing look, every lick of lips as the smell of roasted meat wafted through the air.
I’d been here as soon as the sun began to set, just as the king had asked. There was still a caramel glow marinating The Grey, yet I still hadn’t found who I was supposed to be watching.
What even was a night jewel? Some kind of performer in the town square?
Maybe a wealthy lady dripping in gems, and my job was just to make sure no one nicked her shiny things.
The idea was preposterous, the king didn’t have time to worry over someone's wealth, no .
. . there was something else going on here.
Hushed whispers turned into loud murmurs that danced upon the lips of the Shadowkin. I followed the words with my gaze until it rested upon a woman entering the town square. My posture straightened. Was it she? The one I was sent to watch, did she carry some kind of jewel?
The dark-haired beauty flaunted her curves as she made her way through the crowd, her hips swaying provocatively. I watched as men's eyes filled with a hungry gleam, and women scowled at her back. Clearly, the woman was both welcomed and loathed with her bodacious dress and red velvet lips.
No—this wasn’t the woman I was looking for. The king wouldn’t ask me to watch what I could only presume was a prostitute.
Movement to the right caught my attention.
I squinted against the last rays of the setting sun.
Something blue glimmered in the distance, rushing through the crowd like an undammed river.
Hair, I realised—the colour of sapphires.
A woman darted along the outskirts, her grey dress dragging dirt in her wake.
Was she in trouble? If so, why did she not cry out for help? Why keep to the edges, where the shadows gathered thickest? Why did she move with purpose instead of panic? No—this wasn’t fear. This was stealth. This was an escape.
Too many questions swam in my head, and I was too intrigued not to find out. Pushing off the building, I followed her into the dark.
Then the realisation struck me like a fist to my gut.
The Night Jewel.
She was the hunter—not the hunted.
A thief.