Assassin's Kiss
A
SSASSIN’S
K
ISS
S
HARON
K
AY
This is a work of fiction. Any actual places are used in a fictional context. Other names of places and people are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual places or people is purely coincidental.
A
SSASSIN’S
K
ISS
Edited by Janet Michelson
Cover art by Kim Killion at The Killion Group, Inc.
Interior design by
Ink Slinger Editorial Services
FIRST EDITION
A
SSASSIN’S
K
ISS
© 2015 Sharon Kay
ISBN-13: 978-1519706249
ISBN-10: 1519706243
B
OOKS BY
S
HARON
K
AY
The Solsti Prophecy series
W
ICKED
W
IND
W
ICKED
W
AVES
W
ICKED
F
LAMES
O
N
W
ICKED
G
ROUND
Companion to the Solsti Prophecy series
K
ISSED BY A
D
EMON
S
PY: A
N
OVELLA
The Watcher’s Kiss series
T
AINTED
K
ISS
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, a huge, sincere THANK YOU to my readers! Without you, these stories would remain untold. Your support, comments, and messages motivate me and mean more to me than I can possibly express.
Thank you to my amazing husband, for your patience and support of my writing. You are wonderful to brainstorm with about plots and powers. I love you!
Thank you to my son. I love everything we do together. I love your bright and curious mind, and your endless questions (and thank you to Google for helping me answer them)!
Thank you to my parents and siblings, my in-laws, and my extended family for your love and encouragement of my creativity.
Thank you to my critique partners and beta readers: Cam, Claudia, Cristin, Heather, Jamie K., Jamie S., Nicola, Andrea, and Toshia. Your opinions, advice, and nit-pickiness are invaluable, often hilarious, and always spot-on!
Thank you to the trio of women who make my plain Word document into a professional-looking book: Amanda Simpson, my cover designer at Pixel Mischief; Janet Michelson, my eagle-eyed editor; and Cheryl Murphy at Ink Slinger Editorial Services, my formatter and savior from the scary world of ebook html-coding.
And a big hug and kiss to the many bloggers I have had the joy to work with. The support you give to indie authors is amazing. Many of you have jobs and families and still make time to read and review dozens (if not hundreds) of books each year, providing exposure for us through insightful and witty reviews, blog tours, cover reveals, and contests. THANK YOU!
A
SSASSIN’S
K
ISS
L
OCKING EMOTIONS AWAY IS HOW
Scorpio survived years as a conscripted killer. Now, as a Lash Watcher, he uses the same lethal skills to help his fellow warrior demons maintain peace in the realms. When a mission goes awry, he finds himself a thousand miles from home with no weapons or comms. Injured and alone, he is taken in by a group of witches who know him well.
And want him dead.
Tessa’s affinity with metal makes her one of the most powerful witches in her coven. Her deepest wish is to stop the oppression of her people-a direct result of her former leader’s murder. She agrees to marry the chief of a rival coven, knowing it won’t be a love match. But she abandoned the idea of a soul-deep bond long ago. Especially one with the rough, former mercenary warrior who shows up and claims she belongs to him.
Even from behind bars, the longer Scorpio stays, the more he unsettles Tessa and she questions all she thought she knew. Choosing him will put everyone she cares for at risk. He’s nothing like she expected, and the last thing she could dare to want.
C
ONTENTS
P
ROLOGUE
Winter Realm, one hundred and ten years ago
T
HROUGH INKY DARKNESS,
S
CORPIO NEARED
the designated village, padding on stealthy feet. Snaking through the woods on a well-worn path that had been cleared of snow, his enhanced sense of smell was his compass. The rustic stone house to the left was rife with the target’s scent, but a deep inhale of the crisp cold air told him that the scent wasn’t strong enough. The male witch had gone out.
Following the scent through the trees surrounding the village, Scorpio discerned another one: a female. And sex. His mark wasn’t alone.
No matter. She’d better not get in the way, or she’d meet his demonfire. Scorpio’s job was to eliminate this mage. The unfortunate male had pissed off Scorpio’s employer, Dalamos, and now he’d pay.
Dalamos had unleashed his most powerful weapon, Scorpio. His personal mercenary.
A muffled giggle reached Scorpio’s ears as he walked soundlessly through the forest. Moving off the trail, his feet landed in perfect stillness on the packed snow. He left no trace of his presence, save for the puffs of breath that escaped his lungs, only to linger in the cold air for a second before dissipating. Dark tree trunks speared up from hardened ground and a few bare branches dared to hang in his way.
He didn’t walk the obvious path; instead he chose a parallel, hidden route. One that would surprise even the most paranoid of targets. Funny, one could argue that’s how his life had turned out. His brutally efficient outward actions seemed to define him, but obscured the true motivation that made his heart beat with the urgent need to protect.
Fury pounded a drumbeat in his mind at the memory of his sister taunted by Dalamos’s new guard earlier that night. The male had spared no detail of the ways he would violate her, should Scorpio not succeed here.
Scorpio clenched his fists and shoved the thought aside. If the death of this mage prevented the rape of his sister, there was nothing to question.
Pausing behind a massive sycamore tree, he spied his target and the female. They embraced on a stone bridge that rose in an arch above a lazy river. Ice floes dotted the water, but the current was just strong enough to resist a solid freeze.
The two didn’t know he was there.
They didn’t possess the enhanced senses that Scorpio did, though the mage had grown strong in his magic. Sorcerers, witches, and any magic wielders had been known to use their familiarity with animals to help them out in this regard. One could never be too careful.
Though he was able to summon fire balls in his hand, Scorpio instead reached for his bow. Flames would light up the dark forest, giving the mage a split second to prepare.
Silently, Scorpio drew back his arm and set his eyes on the male, who was as clear to him as if it were daylight. Another benefit of his demonic senses.
He stood frozen, watching the couple kiss and lean into one another. The female was a witch; the cedar scent she left in the air gave that fact away. No telling how powerful she was though.
With soft moans, their kiss shifted into a tender embrace, and the new position gave Scorpio a clear shot at the mage’s neck.
His fingers readied to release his arrow. Three, two, one—
The arrow sailed from his bow in the same second that a raven gave a guttural rasp high above.
The mage twisted to one side, and the arrow flew harmlessly through the air where he’d just been.
Scorpio charged forward, not bothering to be quiet. The element of surprise was gone. Goddamn animals.
He summoned a ball of demonfire in his hand and flung it, but the mage countered with a blue ball of witchfire. The two spheres collided over the water, exploding into a brilliant burst of sparks that drifted harmlessly onto the current.
“Who the fuck are you?” the mage yelled.
Scorpio was on the bridge now, closing the distance. “I work for Dalamos. The last batch of spelled weapons that you created for him was defective.” It didn’t matter if the mage knew who he was; his time in the realm of the living was down to minutes.
“Those blades were fine!” the male shouted.
“They didn’t hit their targets. I’d say take up the argument with him, but he’s already decided he wants you dead.” Scorpio conjured another ball of fire and stared at the witch, who huddled close to her male’s side. “Out of the way, female.”
“No!” she shrieked. “Please don’t! How could you do this? We-we can make new weapons.”
Scorpio shrugged and threw his fire, then summoned a rapid succession of a dozen more balls. Hurling them one after another, he aimed for any part of the mage he could hit.
The male and female did their best to counter him with their own fire and spells, but Scorpio was faster. He was a predator. It was in his blood. His last fireball struck the female in the leg and she howled—a ripped, agonized cry that rent the night.
“No!” The mage gathered her in his arms. “My dearest one, hold on. I can heal you.” He turned raging eyes to Scorpio. “Your fight is with me! Not her!”
“I warned her.” Scorpio conjured another fireball and drew his arm back.
“Stop, demon!” a new, shrill voice called from the opposite side of the bridge.
“Stay out of this.” Scorpio scowled at the petite female shuffling onto the stones. Gray hair tumbled down to her waist and she walked with a hunch. The one green eye he could see was bright, while the other was covered with a black patch.
“They are newly joined!” the old witch growled, her voice surprisingly fierce for her little body. “You have no idea what they have gone through to find each other. They are no harm to anyone. Leave this place!”
Scorpio shook his head. He had his orders. These witches and their village were meaningless to him. Each mark, each job, was only another in a series of assignments to complete.
If he didn’t complete them, the only creatures in this world worth his affection would suffer.
His younger twin siblings, sister Kira and brother Raff, had been prisoners of Dalamos as long as he had been there. Age fifteen and attractive, they were devoured with lecherous eyes by all in Dalamos’s employ.
