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  * * *

  It was dawn by the time Kiam got back to his room. There was no sign of Teriahna. Kiam wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

  He desperately wanted to head for the Bull’s Balls to discover how Sofya had fared, but knew it was both a stupid and dangerous idea. His mission—theoretically—was done. He had killed the hag possessing Sofya, which meant Sofya the Siren was dead. He wasn’t sure if his father would see it quite the same way. Much of that, he supposed, depended on Teriahna’s report, and Kiam had no idea what she would say to his father about how he’d performed.

  Assuming, of course, he had even passed the test and managed to get out of Calavandra alive.

  That was his next priority. Kiam gathered up his few belongings and, after paying the innkeeper to swear he hadn’t seen the occupant of Room 7 for days, headed for the wharf. He’d checked the tides before he left Greenharbour and knew that if he got there quick enough, he could catch a “trader of opportunity” and be free of the city before the sun was all the way up.

  He made it almost all the way to the docks before he was set upon by a couple of street roughs who threw a bag over his head and dragged him kicking and screaming into a dim warehouse where Teriahna was waiting for him.

  * * *

  The men pulled off the hood and Kiam looked around. Teriahna stood in front of him, dressed in the dark wool and leathers of an assassin rather than the court’esa’s outfit she’d worn up until now.

  She seemed a lot more dangerous now.

  “You know, I was almost prepared to let you live,” she said as he wiped away the gritty taste of the dirty hessian sack they’d thrown over his head. “And then you let a couple of street thugs overpower you.”

  “I wasn’t expecting to get mugged on the way out of town.”

  “You see, I struggle with that,” she said, frowning. “You’re supposed to be an Assassin. You’re meant to expect everything.”

  “So, I failed, then?”

  “You tell me,” Teriahna said. “You were sent here to kill Sofya the Siren. Instead, you kill a couple of Karien priests and an old whore, far as I can tell. Sofya is back in the palace, the Assassins’ Guild is being blamed for the death of two priests and you managed to get yourself mugged by a couple of amateurs. What would you call it?”

  Kiam knew what he’d call it. It was enough to make him wonder if he could get out of the warehouse before Teriahna got to him.

  How will she do it? A knife? Poison?

  “Lucky for you, however, that you did mark those priests.”

  Still mentally preparing to meet his doom, Kiam stared at her in surprise. “Lucky?”

  “Apparently, Grem Kannangara knew the Kariens had possessed his daughter. You killing the men responsible for that and returning his no-longer-possessed only child to him has somewhat endeared the Guild to him.”

  “Sofya is all right, then?”

  “She will be,” Teriahna said. “Eventually. How did you know?”

  “That she was possessed? She didn’t remember me.”

  “An arrogant assumption, Kiam. And a dangerous one to base an entire plan on.”

  “It worked, didn’t it?”

  Teriahna nodded. “It worked. And in truth, you passed this test with flying colours. You killed Sofya the Siren without killing Sofya the Innocent. And you earned the gratitude of a very powerful man.”

  “What about the mugging?”

  Teriahna smiled. “I suppose you’re allowed one little mistake.”

  “Thank you. For that. And for taking Sofya home. I won’t forget your help.”

  “I won’t forget you either, Kiam Miar,” Teriahna said. “You’re a full-fledged assassin now, but one with a heart and a brain. That’s a rare thing in this business.”

  “Do you think I’ll do well?”

  “I think you’ll be dead before the year is out, actually,” she laughed. “But I will think of you fondly, nonetheless, and remember you to the God of War, whenever I remember to pray.”

  Teriahna stepped forward and embraced him briefly. “Be well, Assassin Miar. We’ll meet again someday, I’m sure. In the meantime, remember the truth of our profession: knowing is not the same as understanding. Seeing is not the same as witnessing…”

  “And killing,” Kiam finished for her, “is not the same as murder.”

  About the Author

  Jennifer Fallon is the author of The Hythrun Chronicles, and one of Australia’s bestselling fantasy authors. She lives in New Zealand. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Begin Reading

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2016 by Jennifer Fallon

  Art copyright © 2016 by Tommy Arnold