Counting Shadows (Duplicity)

didn’t want his son taking the throne and interrupting his scheme with Shale.”
    I try to clench my first, and nearly scream in frustration when I can’t. “Don’t call him that. Don’t call Farren his son. Farren is too good for that.”
    “
Was
too good,” Blaize corrects. “He’s dead, Faye. All because you were too weak to kill the king.”
    I let the scream out, and it pierces through the darkness, echoing around me. When I’m all out of breath, I grit my jaw and glare at Blaize, focusing on the place where his eyes should be.
    “You can’t make me do it,” I hiss. “You can’t make me kill my father.”
    “No, I can’t,” Blaize replies, his voice as calm as always. “But I can assure you that others will die if you don’t kill him.”
    I close my eyes. So much death, so much destruction and pain. How can more be possible?
    I let out a shuddering breath. “I’ll do it,” I whisper. “I’ll kill him, if it means saving others.” A fresh waft of the mint and rain smell washes over me, and I open my eyes. Blaize stands only a yard in front of me, his sword gone and his hand held out to me. I reach out to take it, finding I’m suddenly able to move. His flesh is strangely cool against mine as I twine my fingers with his. “Just show me how,” I murmur.
    “Don’t worry,” Blaize says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “I’ll show you everything, my little sparrowhawk.”

To be continued in Duplicity Book Two, coming November 2013.

About the Author
    Olivia Rivers is the author of five novels, ranging in genres from Epic Fantasy to Contemporary Romance. Along with being a writer, she’s a freelance digital artist, a literary agent assistant, and a high school student. She’s a nerd at heart, and is a hopeless fan-girl for Doctor Who and Pokémon. Olivia lives in California with a dog who thinks he’s a cat, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and a kitten who is just generally confused.
     
    To contact Olivia, please send her an email at [email protected]. Or find her at these websites: 
    Twitter: @RiversOlivia 
    Blog: http://oliviarivers.blogspot.com/
    Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6548741.Olivia_Rivers