by Ivy Clyde
ASSASSIN’S CROWN
The Assassin and her Dragon Princes III
IVY CLYDE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Ivy Clyde. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted and reproduced in any manner or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or whatsoever without written permission of the author.
For information contact, Ivy Clyde
Table of Contents
ASSASSIN’S CROWN
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Ready for the next part in Daria’s journey?
About Ivy
ASSASSIN’S CROWN
I’m not the woman I used to be, and the world around me seems different now.
With the unlocking of my past memories, I know my identity is much greater than just being an assassin of Linmoor. I am the future of Drakhaven. Its queen.
A new sense of responsibility infuses within me. Every injustice I see, I must protest. My people are mine to protect and shield from the greed and apathy of the dragon emperor and his nobles.
But it won’t be an easy feat to reach for my thrown just yet.
Our secret is revealed to the dragon emperor. With the whole kingdom looking for us, it’s gotten harder to move, but if there’s one thing I can promise, it’s that I will never stop going after what’s mine.
The threads of fate have long bound me to the three dragonborn princes at my side and I am determined to protect them even if it costs me my life.
Assassin’s Crown is the third book in an intrigue-filled whychoose fantasy romance that support’s our heroine’s right to choose more than one mate. Get ready for this captivating tale full of heart-pounding romance and edge-of-your-seat action.
Note: The Assassin and Her Dragon Princess is a reverse harem series with sexy dragon shifter romance and action meant for mature readers who enjoy their fantasy fiction with no restraint to language, violence and some heated scenes.
1
A look at the stars told me the hour was past midnight. The branches of a nearby tree swayed in a gentle breeze. In the dead of the night, the sound of chirping insects sounded uncomfortably loud.
“Any sign of them?” asked Norvin, stepping beside me and looking out into the distance. We stood at the threshold of the abandoned shack where we’d agreed to meet Daria and Adal. So far, neither had appeared.
“No,” I answered, desperately hoping they would show up.
“Where are they?” Norvin’s voice was heavy with anxiety. I felt it growing every minute in the pit of my stomach. It had already been a few hours since we last saw Daria. Adal should have already left the palace and reached the abandoned shack by now.
“Daria should have finished her talk with Lady Jifa and her handmaiden and be on her way here. Adal though…should’ve been here already,” I replied.
“Do you think something happened to them?” he asked, voicing the concern in my own head. His hand gripped my shoulder, forcing me to look at him. His purple-hued eyes were narrowed at me. “What if something happened? Zane was already looking for Daria when Adal sent you to look for us at the dragon temple.”
“Let us hope for the best.”
A frustrated roar escaped Norvin as he pushed me back. He swept back his horribly dyed hair out of his eyes, glaring at me. “Don’t give me that nonsense, Cain,” he said through gritted teeth. “They could both be in trouble.”
“I am worried about them too.”
Norvin muttered a curse under his breath and walked out into the night, leaving me standing at the cottage’s doorway. I was as anxious as him, but it was in my nature to stay patient and assess the situation at hand before making a move. The past had taught me not to give in to haste and raging emotions. These tendencies made my elder brother and sister lose their lives when they rebelled against Ivan, leaving me alone to fend for myself when I was barely fifteen years old.
I left my post, not wanting to let Norvin out of my sight. No matter how frustrated we were, it was imperative we stayed together. It would be impossible to find one another if all four of us were separated.
I found Norvin some distance from the cottage, close to the banks of the stream that flowed through the wooded area. He turned towards me the moment I got closer.
“Oh,” he said in a disappointed voice. “It’s just you.”
I could feel his angst even when he stood still, glaring into the distance. His hands were tightly fisted at his sides like he was forcing himself to stay calm. Not meeting my gaze, he said, “Why don’t we go to the palace and see what’s happened?”
“We were lucky to escape without anyone being alerted of our presence,” I replied. “Adal decided to flee with us because he wouldn’t give up his personal maid up to Prince Zane. Can you imagine how bad it would be if Zane found out he was harboring two traitors? The whole royal family would be implicated over it.”
“I feel like something’s gone wrong, Cain.” He turned around to face me, the dampness in his eyes glittering in the pale moonlight. “Back when Mekhi snatched away my kingdom and life, I thought things couldn’t be worse. Now it feels like the pain was nothing compared to how I’d feel if something happened to Daria.” He swallowed the choke, the lump in his throat bobbing with the effort. “I can’t handle losing Daria. I’ll burn the whole of Drakhaven if she’s not returned to me.”
“Norvin,” I warned. “You know how dangerous such thoughts are.”
“If anything happens to Daria, I swear I’ll…” I snatched the front of his tunic, bringing him close to me until my face was an inch away from his.
“Don’t finish that sentence, Prince Norvin, son of King Narvahl,” I whispered angrily. “Nothing will happen to her. As long as we breathe, she’ll be safe. And you…you will not speak of burning innocents to satiate the angst in your soul.”
Norvin glared at me for a moment before exhaling the breath he’d been holding. He pushed me away roughly. “I know.”
I watched his shoulders sag. Momentary relief rushed through my veins to see his anger dissipate. Norvin had gone through torture and pain so bad he lost his human self, transforming into a mere snake-like creature for survival. Daria looked after him during a time when he was most vulnerable. He was in love with her. There was no doubt there, but it also brought a new danger.
Dragons were always susceptible to give in to their emotions. Anger, sadness, love…we felt it stronger than the human heart. Over the centuries, there had been cases where a dragon went so mad with grief or jealousy, he razed entire kingdoms.
I didn’t want Norvin to turn into a beast without control. Uncontrollable rage was a disease of the mind which would lead a dragonborn to permanently stay as a dragon. His humanity would perish, leaving behind nothing but an animal to be hunted and killed. That’s not the end we’d ever thought for ourselves.
Buried in my thoughts, I didn’t notice the sudden wind blowing around us. As my clothes fluttered about me, I turned to look at Norvin. Within seconds, it turned into a gale.
“What’s happening?” he shouted, his voice sounding muffled in the wake of the storm.
My gaze turned towards the sky. A large shape seemed to block out the rest of the clear night sky. As I watched, the mass grew larger, steadily descending down on us. It took me a moment longer to realize it wasn’t a storm cloud. It was the underbelly of a dragon and the beat of its massive wings was causing the air to churn like a gale.
“Shit! Did Ivan find us already?” Norvin shouted over the rush of strong wind.
Panic struck me hard, my heart pounding with fear. “It can’t be,” I cried. “There’s no way they know where we’ve been hiding unless…unless Adal told him.” I tried to calm my fast beating pulse. “It’s not Ivan.”
Next moment, four monstrous feet struck the ground, making a tremor spread through the landscape. I stared up at the magnificent golden-scaled dragon before me, feeling awestruck at the sheer beauty and majesty of the creature.
“Adal,” my voice was barely above a whisper.
“Cain.” My eyes widened when I heard Adal’s voice in my mind. Next second, a haze obscured my vision and Adal stood before me. It had been years since I last saw a dragon morph into a human. The transformation was seamless. It was difficult to see the full scale of the shifting magic when I was doing it on my own.
“What happened to her?” cried Norvin, rushing past me to reach Adal.
His urgency woke me out of my momentary daze. Under the shafts of pale moonlight, I saw the limp figure he held in his arms.
“Daria!” shouted Norvin, staring down at the body in Adal’s arms. Gripping Adal’s tunic, he jerked him hard. “What the hell happened to her?”
Ice flowed in my veins. I was rooted to the spot, too afraid to approach the figure in Adal’s arms. I couldn’t bear the sight of it. My greatest fear seemed to materialize before me as Adal gently lowered the body onto the grass.
“Daria, wake up,” whispered Norvin. The anguish in his voice was enough to confirm my fear. Blood pounded in my ears, blocking all sound.
My feet slowly moved towards Adal. His gaze was fixed on the unmoving body on the ground. I didn’t know whether it was truly Daria. I was too much of a coward to confirm it.
“Why are you so late?” I asked, my voice sounding oddly mechanical.
“Zane, Mekhi, and Helena stood in my way,” said Adal. The sound of those names made fire burn through me. They’d hurt my people, tortured Norvin and now, they’d hurt the woman I loved. The dragon inside me snarled with rage, urging me to find them and annihilate them.
“Are they at the palace?” I asked at the urging of my dragon. It was a struggle to keep a control over the beast residing within me. He was curious to know where he might find the people who’d hurt Daria. Once he found them, he would burst out of me and tear the limbs of the people who’d dared to hurt his mate.
“Yes,” said Adal in a grim voice. “Helena came to the palace with Mekhi and she identified me the moment she laid eyes on me. Daria was forced to follow Zane because he caught her in my mother’s quarters. To avoid placing them in danger, she willingly went with him.” He swallowed the sob choking him. “He hurt her. I got her out of the burning tower where Zane held her. Now they know I’m involved in the plot against Ivan too. I was forced to reveal my true dragon form to get out of there with Daria.”
A soft moan sounded in the still, silent night. My gaze dropped to the figure on the ground.
“Daria!” said Norvin, sounding wild with sudden hope. “Open your eyes.”
I dropped to my knees beside him, intently taking in Daria’s unmoving form. Relief washed through my body to know she was alive. While tears flowed down my face to see the state she was in, at least, she was still fighting to live.
Daria’s clothes were ripped to tatters, exposing her breasts, stomach, and long legs. A long slash in her torso oozed blood gently, soaking the remnants of her dress. There were bruises marring every exposed part of her body. Her chest rose and fell in an erratic pattern. At least, she is alive, I repeated to myself to rein in the rage that threatened to overtake my senses.
“What’s that she’s holding?” asked Norvin, moving to her left.
I focused on her left hand which seemed to be clutched around a…
“Is that a severed dick?” Norvin shouted with a cackle.
“What?” Adal kneeled down beside me.
Sure enough, Daria’s fingers were wrapped around a human dick. Blood dripped from the end of the limp shaft. I cringed internally.
“Good girl,” said Norvin, bending down to peck her lips. He looked at us with pride glowing in his purple-hued eyes. “How proud does she make you?”
A rough chuckle escaped Adal as he glanced at me. I couldn’t help but smile, forgetting all our anguish for the moment.
“Who does it belong to?” asked Norvin.
“I believe it’s Zane’s,” said Adal, bending down to take a closer look.
Norvin burst out laughing while Adal and I grinned, despite the obvious air of doom hanging over our heads. Our situation had worsened several times than before. All three of us were now branded as the rebel princes. Not only would it be harder to hide but Daria was badly injured. We had no place to go and the temporary shelter in the abandoned shack would only last through the night. Come morning, we’d have to leave.
2
My pounding heart slowed down considerably after hearing the soft sound that escaped Daria’s lips. When I fled with her in my talons, I had no idea whether she was alive. No matter how much I shouted at her through our mental link, she hadn’t stirred or answered me. I exhaled out a long breath, staring at the length of the detached penis in Daria’s hand.
It didn’t take a genius to guess what Zane intended to do her. He’d led her into a solitary tower to rape and kill her. Rage flowed like hot lava through my veins. The fact that she’d cut off his offending dick was a slight balm to the angst painfully throbbing inside me.
“What about Daria though?” said Norvin, brushing his fingers through the wild tangles of his dark hair. “She’s always been the one to patch us up. We need someone to bind her wounds.”
“We need medicines too,” said Cain. His gaze flicked between himself and Norvin. They were both attired in blue and white tunics, the standard uniform among the servants of the palace. I could read Cain’s mind even when he didn’t state the obvious. None of us had any money. I’d packed gold and a few clothes with me when I was preparing to leave, but the bundle was lying abandoned in a palace courtyard at the moment.
I got back on my feet. “Take her inside the shack,” I said, looking between Cain and Norvin. “I will get someone to look at her and bring medicines.”
“Can you trust them?” asked Cain grimly.
I nodded. “He is acquainted with my mother and worked as the royal physician during my father’s time. The news of my escape won’t spread until next morning, so I have a few hours to move freely through the capital and the lands surrounding it.”
“Hurry back, Adal,” added Norvin. Daria was in his arms now. He held her securely, letting her head rest on his chest. To my surprise, I only felt relief. Jealousy was at bay at a time like this. I couldn’t trust Daria with anyone other than Norvin and Cain. They would protect her with their lives.
I nodded at my companions, stepping back several feet before breaking into a jog. Once I’d put sufficient distance between us, I morphed into my dragon form. Extending my wings to their widest span, I let them beat, getting a pleasant lift off the ground. As the cool night air whipped over my glittering scales, I felt the irresistible sense of freedom.
I flew westward, heading for the small settlement near the border of Redfall. The man I was looking for was Koishi Nam, an elderly gentleman who now lived in isolation, away from the palace and the capital city o
f Huadu. While the court forgot about him, my mother kept a steady correspondence with him. Koishi was the reason she was able to birth me even when she was poisoned close to my delivery.
The incident left my mother paranoid. She always kept a close watch over me as I was growing up and strictly forbade me from entering politics or train in martial arts. Even when my father was alive, she made sure I never stepped on the toes of the elder princes. All through the years, she only allowed Koishi to administer any medicinal herbs I took.
Koishi Nam spent his time living peacefully in a cottage at the edge of the woods, collecting herbs and making medicine that he gave away for free to the poor peasants of the village. His son had taken his place as the royal physician and worked at the palace now.
It would have taken hours to reach the western borders by horse, but in my dragon form, I made the distance in minutes. There were no obstacles in my path as I soared through the vast night sky. Even though I was hovering several hundred feet from the ground, I could see everything clearly in the pale moonlight.
Nearing the border, I spotted the lone cottage at the edge of the woods. Knowing it to be my destination, I circled over the area once, making sure there was no human presence nearby. We only had the hours until dawn before we would be forced to leave our temporary shelter.
My feet touched the ground. Even though I wanted it to be light, a low rumble sounded when I landed.
Just as I morphed into my human self, the door to the thatched cottage flew open.
“Who’s there?” the wavering voice of an old man shouted.
Turning my gaze towards the cottage, I saw Koishi stomping through the front yard of the cottage, looking in every direction. When his gaze fell on me, he came to an abrupt halt.
“Prince Adal?” he muttered like he doubted his own senses. “Your Highness?”
I stepped away from the shadows cast by a nearby mahogany tree and stood before him. “Lord Nam,” I said with a tilt of my head. “How have you been?”