Read Counting Shadows (Duplicity) for Free Online Page B

stands at the entrance of the balcony, his mouth set in a tight line, his fists balled at his side. “Let her go.”
    Jackal smiles, the expression predatory, and releases me. He swings around and jumps down from the railing, landing on the balcony, and strides purposely toward Farren. My twin takes a hesitant step back, his fists clenching tighter.
    Jackal stops just a foot in front of Farren and leans toward him. Farren swallows hard, but doesn’t budge. After a moment of tense silence, Farren growls, “You shouldn’t be here. You’re banned from the castle grounds.”
    Jackal scoffs. “You think I don’t know that?”
    “I think you’re unaware of the consequences.”
    “
Farren,
” I groan, shooting him a warning look. Neither of them acknowledge me.
    Jackal tenses, one hand rapidly clenching and unclenching, the other straying toward his side, where he keeps his dagger. He takes a single step toward Farren, closing the distance between them. Jackal towers over my brother, and his shoulders roll forward with aggression.
    “You don’t intimidate me, Jackal,” Farren says.
    Jackal spits at Farren’s feet. “Of course I don’t. You’ve always been too stupid to recognize danger, even when it stares you in the face.”
    “Get
out
,” Farren snarls, pointing to the doorway behind him.
    “Oh, what’s this?” He paces in front of Farren in a half-circle, his boots striking the stone in a menacing rhythm. “Did I upset the little princeling?”
    Farren’s hand wanders toward his waist, where he keeps his dagger. I curse and snap, “Jackal, leave. Come back later, okay? Sometime when Farren isn’t here to interfere.”
    Jackal whips his gaze toward me. “So now you’re giving me orders, huh?”
    “She’s Irrador’s princess,” Farren says, his voice disturbingly steady. “She’ll tell you to do whatever she wants.”
    Jackal rolls his eyes. “She’s powerless.”
    Farren smiles thinly. It’s not nearly as vicious as Jackal’s expression, but it still takes me aback. Since when did Farren learn to look scary?
    “She might be powerless,” Farren says. “But I’m not. I could have you killed for trespassing in her chambers.”
    “You wouldn’t,” Jackal says. “You’re too weak.”
    “Try me.”
    Farren’s voice is starting to grow louder, and he’ll attract the attention of the guards soon. Jackal looks cautiously behind Farren, into my chambers. He curses.
    “You,” he says, pointing to me. “Be careful. You’re too valuable to die.”
    I nearly fall off the railing.
Valuable?
Had Jackal
actually
acknowledged that I have some kind of worth? This is definitely a first…
    I don’t get a chance to reply. Jackal storms back into my chambers, turning toward the library. He’ll use that hidden passage to get out of the castle, like he often does.
    Farren stares after him, his fists slowly unclenching. Then he shakes his head and walks over to me.
    “You’re going to kill yourself up there.” His voice is softer than usual, like he’s trying not to upset me anymore than I already am. Leave it to Farren to see through my stony expression and straight to my anxiety.
    I stare down at my feet dangling off the edge of the balcony. The first time I sat up here, I was terrified. But Ashe had just laughed at my expression and wrapped his arms around my waist, promising to never let go.
    I shake away the memory and stare out at the horizon. Beyond the edge of the castle grounds, I can see the sheer cliff the castle overlooks, and the pounding waves of the ocean far below. Nothing impedes the view, except for the very tip of a guard tower in the eastern corner of the castle.
    Behind me, Farren sighs. “Faye. Come down from there.”
    “I have a greater chance of falling if I move.”
    Farren scoffs. “So you’re just going to stay up there forever?”
    I stare down at ocean, where it pummels boulders close to the shore. One of my first visions was of those boulders towering into the