Stealth was an absolute science. It required the complete elimination of sound, scent, and visibility. A true assassin merged with the environment until they were nothing more than a trick of the light.
And it was incredibly difficult to merge with the environment when you had a bright yellow, violently cheerful frog strapped to your chest.
Lucien stood at the edge of the dense forest bordering the cliffside manor, adjusting the heavy leather baby-carrier Cassian had hastily modified. Inside the carrier, completely secure against Lucien's chest, was Pip.
The two-year-old Duck-kin had utterly refused to take off the yellow canvas raincoat. If Lucien tried to unbutton it, Pip's lower lip would tremble, and the tears would well up. So, the Lord of Shadows—the most feared killer in the Empire—was going on a tactical reconnaissance mission carrying a neon yellow amphibian.
