The Black Lily (The Arestea Chronicles, #1) by G.D. Burkhead & Mandy Burkhead

Author:G.D. Burkhead & Mandy Burkhead
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: assassin, femme fatale, Renaissance, royalty, intrigue, seduction, courtesan, low fantasy, dark fantasy, badass woman, kickass woman, sexy, seductress, spy, king, prince, crown, political, action adventure, killer
Publisher: Burkshelf
Published: 2017-08-01T00:00:00+00:00

“WHAT?” LILY FINALLY asked, setting down the book she had been reading. “You’re itching to say something, so say it already.”

Adrian started in surprise. They were alone in his sitting room again, both of them pointedly reading to themselves while they kept an eye on one another. It had become such a regular occurrence, this open pantomime, that he could almost pretend it wasn’t a matter of life and death, that they merely enjoyed one another’s company. Lately, he even got some actual reading done; his thoughts on what to do with her always ran the same futile circles of late, and he reasoned if she wanted to make a move against him while they were alone together, she would have done so long ago.

He hadn’t realized how obviously he’d been staring at her today, though. He hadn’t meant to, but with as much as she’d been sharing lately about her life as an assassin, he’d started to wonder how it must feel to be a killer. Did she have friends? Family? Had she known the assassin who had been caught and killed? Were the two close? Or were all assassins just cold-blooded murderers like he’d always believed? Was there any honor among thieves, or in this case, among killers?

He wondered how to broach the subject. “I’d heard today at dinner...” he began, uncertain. “That is, I knew about this already, of course, but hadn’t paid it much mind, but now that it was brought up, I was wondering...”

“Get on with it, princeling,” she said, raising her book again.

Adrian cleared his throat. “Well, a few years back, there was another assassin who was caught and executed. In Treventre. By Duke-Milite Liam. I was wondering if you knew him.”

Lily snapped her book shut and stood suddenly, turning her back to Adrian. “Why do you ask?” she demanded, crossing to the window and staring out at the rain. It had been pouring for the past three days, stopping only occasionally for the clouds to refresh their stores. Even during these breaks, the sky rumbled and flashed, and then later in the day the rain would start up again. It seemed as if the gods were trying to wash a stubborn stain from the city.

“Oh. I was just curious,” Adrian answered. “I thought maybe you two were comrades or something. I guess I don’t really understand how your...uh...career choice works. Are all assassins part of your Guild or just some? Do you all know each other?”

Lily sighed, running her fingers through the leaves of a window plant. “Interrogating the enemy again, princeling? Looking for a new angle to be rid of me?”

“Would this information help me at all if I were?” he asked.

“Not really, no,” she said with a smile. It was very slight, and very brief, and then her strange melancholy returned. “No, not all assassins know each other or are part of my Guild. Many are personal assassins for your dukes and duchesses. I’m quite sure Alec even has one himself. It’s just that my Guild has a.

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