Crown of Sunlight

Chapter 4

Leo

Writhia, 5219

Ettria

Leo Casavant had already had a perfectly pleasant start to his day. He'd begun with a brisk morning workout, dressed in his finest silk shirt, and ate some of the best homemade croissants he'd ever tasted.

Then he'd returned home to Solonia, Ettria's capital city, where he began his saintly duties of spying on the people. Although it was his job as King Azmodeus' spy, he would sometimes... branch out of the king's reigns, visiting anyone he pleased.

You see, Leo loved secrets. Some would call him nosy, but he would call it knowledge. In his opinion, if you knew how someone acted, and what they did behind closed doors, then you knew their true selves. One couldn't be controlled if one had enough blackmail, which Leo was not above using to get what he wanted.

Striving for more "knowledge," Leo decided he would check in on ol' Azzy himself, and strolled into the king's private chambers.

Invisibly, of course, which was why he made the perfect spy.

Being a Shadow gave him the Gift of invisibility. This allowed him, at times, to materialize through a dense barrier. That took a lot of skill, so he saved that little trick for emergencies.

Just as Leo reached the chambers, he heard the king bellow, "What do you mean you lost them?!"

Oh, this should be good, Leo thought as he sat perched up on the rafters. He didn't need to be in the rafters since he was already invisible, but he liked the drama of it.

Below Leo, a platoon of soldiers stood before the king, their eyes on the floor. When Azmodeous spoke they flinched, but kept their gaze cast downward.

"Your Majesty, if I may speak?" the platoon leader asked, stepping forward with his fist to his chest. The king let out an insufferable sigh before nodding.

"Your Majesty, it is with my deepest sorrow that I inform you that we have failed this mission. We tried to look unthreatening, and we even raised our hands to show we meant no harm, but the two women still took off, frightened. We pursued, but they fell down a ravine into the Mistwood. I'm afraid they will not survive,"He trailed off, bowing under the king's glare.

Leo, however, was inclined to agree. The Mistwood was a death trap. Whoever these women were, surely they weren't worth losing a whole platoon.

But then another man spoke, drawing the room's attention.

"It wasn't Eleyna."

He was an older man who looked as if he should've retired years ago. But, upon looking into his eyes, there was still a raw sense of intelligence and determination to be seen there.

"What did you say?" the king cocked his head to the side, voice lethally calm. That was the thing with King Azmodeous: he rarely raised his voice, it was always as soft as a feather's caress on the skin, promising death was on its way. Leo had only seen him lose control recently. Whatever this mission was, it was a trigger of sorts. Leo would find out what it was, one way or another.

"It wasn't Eleyna," the man repeated. "One of the women looked very much like her, though, I'd say it was her daughter if I remember correctly. The other girl that was with her was the opposite. Tall, with dark hair and pale skin. She reminded me of someone else, I just can't put my finger on it," the man said, with such a knowing look that he had to be lying about something. Leo felt it, and he couldn't even read minds. Suddenly, his eyes glazed over and Leo knew the king had entered the man's mind, replaying the encounter with the women.