Bow to him indeed! If she were bound for the gallows, she would most certainly not spend the last moments of her life in groveling submission.

Thundering steps issued from behind her, and someone grabbed her by the neck. Celaena only glimpsed crimson cheeks and a sandy mustache before being thrown to the icy marble floor. Pain slammed through her face, light splintering her vision. Her arms ached as her bound hands kept her joints from properly aligning. Though she tried to stop them, tears of pain welled.

“That is the proper way to greet your future king,” a red-faced man snapped at Celaena.

The assassin hissed, baring her teeth as she twisted her head to look at the kneeling bastard. He was almost as large as her overseer, clothed in reds and oranges that matched his thinning hair. His obsidian eyes glittered as his grip tightened on her neck. If she could move her right arm just a few inches, she could throw him off balance and grab his sword … The shackles dug into her stomach, and fizzing, boiling rage turned her face scarlet.

After a too-long moment, the Crown Prince spoke. “I don’t quite comprehend why you’d force someone to bow when the purpose of the gesture is to display allegiance and respect.” His words were coated with glorious boredom.

Celaena tried to pivot a free eye to the prince, but could only see a pair of black leather boots against the white floor.

“It’s clear that you respect me, Duke Perrington, but it’s a bit unnecessary to put such effort into forcing Celaena Sardothien to have the same opinion. You and I know very well she has no love for my family. So perhaps your intent is to humiliate her.” He paused, and she could have sworn his eyes fell on her face. “But I think she’s had enough of that.”

READ ON FOR A SNEAK PEEK OF THE THIRD

BOOK IN THE THRONE OF GLASS SERIES

Celaena has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak—but at an unspeakable cost. Now, she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth … a truth about her heritage that could change her life—and her future—forever. Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. Will Celaena find the strength not only to fight her inner demons but to take on the evil that is about to be unleashed?

She smelled smoke before she saw the lights. Not campfires, but lights from a building rising up out of the trees, hugging the spine of the mountain slope. The stones were dark and ancient—hewn from something other than the abundant granite. Her eyes strained, but she didn’t fail to note the ring of towering rocks woven between the trees, surrounding the entirety of the fortress. No, it was hard not to notice them when they rode between two megaliths that curved toward each other like the horns of a great beast, and a zinging current snapped against her skin.

Wards—magic wards. Her stomach turned. If they didn’t keep out any enemies, they certainly served as an alarm. Which meant the three figures patrolling each of the three towers, the six on the outer retaining wall, and the three at the wooden gates would now know they were approaching. Men and women in light leather armor, bearing swords, daggers, and bows, all monitoring their approach.

“I think I’d rather stay in the woods,” she said, her first words in days.

Rowan didn’t even lift an arm in greeting. He must be familiar, then, if he didn’t stoop to hellos. As they drew closer to the ancient fortress—which was little more than a few watchtowers woven together by a large connecting building, all of it splattered with lichens and moss—she did the calculations. It had to be some border outpost—a halfway point between the mortal realm and Doranelle itself. Perhaps she’d finally have a warm place to sleep, even if it was just for the night.

She scanned the sentries at the gate, on the wall, on the towers above. They all wore hoods—masking any signs of their heritage. Rowan might not have spoken to her for most of their journey—he’d shown as much interest in her as a pile of horseshit on the road—but if she were staying with the Fae … others might have questions. Just seeing the Fae gathered, after she’d smelled those burning stakes ten years ago, heard the screams on the wind … She’d done her best to forget those weeks and months—to forget every thought and feeling that went with them.

The guards saluted Rowan, who didn’t spare them a passing glance.

She took in every detail, every exit, every weakness as they entered the large courtyard beyond the wall, two rather mortal-looking stable hands rushing to help them dismount. It was so still. As if everything, even the stones, was holding its breath. As if it had been waiting. The sensation only worsened when Rowan wordlessly led her into the dim interior of the main building, up a narrow set of stone stairs, and into what looked to be a small office.

It wasn’t the carved oak furniture, or the faded green drapes, or the warmth of the fire that made her stop dead. It was the woman seated behind the desk that made Celaena’s world shrink and expand with each breath. Maeve, queen of the Fae.

She Is Her Kingdom’s

Most Fearless Assassin

DON’T MISS ANY OF THIS

EPIC SERIES FROM SARAH J. MAAS

bloomsbury

throneofglass

Text  © 2014 by Sarah J. Maas

Map  © 2012 by Kelly de Groot

All rights reserved.

You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

First published in the United States of America in March 2014

by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

bloomsbury

This electronic edition published in March 2014

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to

Permissions, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 1385 Broadway, New York, New York 10018.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Maas, Sarah J.

[Novellas. Selections]

The assassin’s blade: the Throne of glass novellas / by Sarah J. Maas.

pages cm

Contains four previously published e-books: The assassin and the pirate lord, The assassin and the desert, The assassin and the underworld, and The assassin and the empire, plus one never-before-published novella, The assassin and the healer. Summary: In these five prequel novellas to Throne of glass, feared assassin Celaena embarks on daring missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and avenge tyranny.

[1. Fantasy. 2. Assassins—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.M111575As 2014 [Fic]—dc23 2013041954

e: 978-1-6196-3221-9

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