Sarah J. Maas - 0.2 The Assassin and the Desert

Enter the Kingdom of Endovier, where freedom can come with a deadly price...

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
Throne of Glass Novella #1

On a remote island in a tropical sea, Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution. Shes been sent by the Assassins Guild to collect on a debt they are owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changesand she will risk everything to right the wrong shes been sent to bring about.

AVAILABLE NOW

The Assassin and the Underworld
Throne of Glass Novella #3

When the King of the Assassins gives Celaena Sardothien a special assignment that will help fight slavery in the kingdom, Celaena jumps at the chance to strike a blow against the evil practice. The mission is a dark and deadly affair that takes Celaena from the rooftops of the city to the bottom of the sewerand she doesnt like what she finds there.

AVAILABLE MAY 2012

Throne of Glass
The Novel

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the kings champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will befriend her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glassand its there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaenas fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

AVAILABLE AUGUST 2012

Like facebook.com/THRONEOFGLASS to keep up on all the latest news!

For more information on Sarah J. Maas, visit www.sarahjmaas.com

There was nothing left in the world except sand and wind.

At least, thats how it seemed to Celaena Sardothien as she stood atop the crimson dune and gazed across the desert. Even with the wind, the heat was stifling, and sweat made her many layers of clothes cling to her body. But sweating, her nomad guide had told her, was a good thingit was when you didnt sweat that the Red Desert became deadly. Sweat reminded you to drink. When the heat evaporated your perspiration before you could realize you were sweating, thats when you could cross into dehydration and not know it.

Oh, the miserable heat. It invaded every pore of her, made her head throb and her bones ache. The muggy warmth of Skulls Bay had been nothing compared to this. What she wouldnt give for just the briefest of cool breezes!

Beside her, the nomad guide pointed a gloved finger toward the southwest. The sessiz suikast are there. Sessiz suikast. The Silent Assassinsthe legendary order that shed been sent here to train with.

To learn obedience and discipline, Arobynn Hamel had said. In the height of summer in the Red Desert was what hed failed to add. It was a punishment. Two months ago, when Arobynn had sent Celaena along with Sam Cortland to Skulls Bay on an unknown errand, theyd discovered that hed actually dispatched them to trade in slaves. Needless to say, that hadnt sat well with Celaena or Sam, despite their occupation. So theyd freed the slaves, deciding to damn the consequences. But now... As punishments went, this was probably the worst. Given the bruises and cuts that were still healing on her face a month after Arobynn had bestowed them, that was saying something.

Celaena scowled. She pulled the scarf a bit higher over her mouth and nose as she took a step down the dune. Her legs strained against the sliding sand, but it was a welcome freedom after the harrowing trek through the Singing Sands, where each grain had hummed and whined and moaned. Theyd spent a whole day monitoring each step, careful to keep the sand beneath them ringing in harmony. Or else, the nomad had told her, the sands could dissolve into quicksand.

Celaena descended the dune, but paused when she didnt hear her guides footsteps. Arent you coming?

The man remained atop the dune, and pointed again to the horizon. Two miles that way. His use of the common tongue was a bit unwieldy, but she understood him well enough.

She pulled down the scarf from her mouth, wincing as a gust of sand stung her sweaty face. I paid you to take me there.

Two miles, he said, adjusting the large pack on his back. The scarf around his head obscured his tanned features, but she could still see the fear in his eyes.

Yes, yes, the sessiz suikast were feared and respected in the desert. It had been a miracle that shed found a guide willing to take her this close to their fortress. Of course, offering gold had helped. But the nomads viewed the sessiz suikast as little less than shadows of deathand apparently, her guide would go no farther.

She studied the westward horizon. She could see nothing beyond dunes and sand that rippled like the surface of a windblown sea.

Two miles, the nomad said behind her. They will find you.

Celaena turned to ask him another question, but he had already disappeared over the other side of the dune. Cursing him, she tried to swallow, but failed. Her mouth was too dry. She had to start now, or else shed need to set up her tent to sleep out the unforgiving midday and afternoon heat.

Two miles. How long could that take?

Taking a sip from her unnervingly light waterskin, Celaena pulled her scarf back over her mouth and nose and began walking.

The only sound was the wind hissing through the sand.

Hours later, Celaena found herself using all of her self-restraint to avoid leaping into the courtyard pools or kneeling to drink at one of the little rivers running along the floor. No one had offered her water upon her arrival, and she didnt think her current escort was inclined to do so either as he led her through the winding halls of the red sandstone fortress.

The two miles had felt more like twenty. She had been just about to stop and set up her tent when shed crested a dune and the lush green trees and adobe fortress had spread before her, hidden in an oasis nestled between two monstrous sand dunes.

After all that, she was parched. But she was Celaena Sardothien, Adarlans greatest Assassin. She had a reputation to uphold.

She kept her senses alert as they walked farther into the fortresstaking in exits and windows, noting where sentries were stationed. They passed a row of open-air training rooms in which she could see people from all kingdoms and of all ages sparring or exercising or just sitting quietly, lost in meditation. They climbed a narrow flight of stairs that went up and up into a large building. The shade of the stairwell was wonderfully cool. But then they entered a long, enclosed hall, and the heat wrapped around her like a blanket.

For a fortress of supposedly silent assassins, the place was fairly noisy, with the clatter of weapons from the training rooms, the buzzing of insects in the many trees and bushes, the chatter of birds, the gurgle of all that crystal-clear water running through every room and hall.

They approached an open set of doors at the end of the hallway. Her escorta middle-aged man flecked with scars that stood out like chalk against his tan skinsaid nothing to her. Beyond the doors, the interior was a mixture of shadow and light. They entered a giant chamber flanked by blue-painted wooden pillars that supported a mezzanine on either side. A glance into the darkness of the balcony informed her that there were figures lurking therewatching, waiting. There were more in the shadows of the columns. Whoever they thought she was, they certainly werent underestimating her. Good.