Found: Fantasy book where FMC is an assassin with death/dark magic and is apprehended by a king
Original topic subject: Fantasy book where FMC is an assassin with death/dark magic and is apprehended by a king
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1fortunanox
Hi wonderful LibraryThing peeps!
I've stumped WhatsThatBook, I've confused another half a dozen forums, but I am driving myself mad trying to find this book. It's a high/dark fantasy novel I read about 7, 8 months back. Main gist is that the female main character is an assassin with a noble background, and she does have death magic/dark magic; in the first chapters, she's in the process of murdering a guard captain in a tavern. When she flees, she's apprehended by the king and convinced to work for him.
Other details I can remember include that one of the king's men has life magic; another of the group can manipulate stone and earth.
They also at one point travel through a desert pass full of monsters to end up in another kingdom where she assassinates their king and frames the princess' lover for the murder. Towards the end of the novel the assassin passes through a pirate island and comes across a cuff or bracelet that has something to do with phoenixes, before returning to the original kingdom. Krakens are involved at one point during the escape from the islands.
I kind of feel that the character's name started with a V or S; it was also a bit on the spicy side but the political shenanigans were top-notch.
Apologies for the lack of detail, but I'm hoping it's enough that someone recognises the book and can give me the author or title at the very least - hell, I'll settle for the main character's name at this point - and a huge, huge thanks in advance. This is absolutely driving me bonkers - I've spent the past month searching with no luck.
I've stumped WhatsThatBook, I've confused another half a dozen forums, but I am driving myself mad trying to find this book. It's a high/dark fantasy novel I read about 7, 8 months back. Main gist is that the female main character is an assassin with a noble background, and she does have death magic/dark magic; in the first chapters, she's in the process of murdering a guard captain in a tavern. When she flees, she's apprehended by the king and convinced to work for him.
Other details I can remember include that one of the king's men has life magic; another of the group can manipulate stone and earth.
They also at one point travel through a desert pass full of monsters to end up in another kingdom where she assassinates their king and frames the princess' lover for the murder. Towards the end of the novel the assassin passes through a pirate island and comes across a cuff or bracelet that has something to do with phoenixes, before returning to the original kingdom. Krakens are involved at one point during the escape from the islands.
I kind of feel that the character's name started with a V or S; it was also a bit on the spicy side but the political shenanigans were top-notch.
Apologies for the lack of detail, but I'm hoping it's enough that someone recognises the book and can give me the author or title at the very least - hell, I'll settle for the main character's name at this point - and a huge, huge thanks in advance. This is absolutely driving me bonkers - I've spent the past month searching with no luck.
3fortunanox
Negatory - it's not Maas or Snyder at all. But thank you for trying! It's absolutely driving me mental because no matter what search combination I use it always brings me back to the ToG or Study series and it's most definitely neither of those.
4humouress
Hmm ... how about Graceling or Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore?
5fortunanox
Definitely neither Graceling or Bitterblue - but Lady Luck seems to be thinking of me at the moment as another forum nailed it! Kayla McGrath's A Deathless Empire is the winner.
Thank you so much, lovely, for trying to help me figure it out :) Much appreciated!
Thank you so much, lovely, for trying to help me figure it out :) Much appreciated!
