The Keep by the Sea|Arobynn Hamel Prequel

A Throne of Glass Prequel

Nerissa Calogero, the most coveted courtesan in Rifthold, is a woman of haunting beauty and deadly potential-half-Fae, half-Selkie, and wholly underestimated. Known across the empire as Adarlan's Doll, she had long learned to wrap power around her like perfume, veiling blade-sharp wit behind honeyed smiles. But everything changed the day Arobynn Hamel-the King of Assassins-won her Bidding... and gave her a dagger.

What began as an investment turned into something much deeper. Arobynn was never meant to fall in love. But Nerissa's laughter, her ruthlessness, her passion, and the way she held his ward Sam Cortland in her arms-undid everything cold and calculated within him-piercing through the iron cage of his heart.

Set before The Assassin's Blade, this sweeping story charts the rise of their secret love, and the life they dared to dream beyond blood and contracts. From opera boxes and hidden daggers to stolen kisses in the tide, Nerissa and Arobynn fought for a life they were never meant to keep.

When the King of Adarlan strips magic from the land, the once-immortal magic in Nerissa's blood begins to fade. A tragedy befalls the young couple, and in the years that follow Arobynn Hamel becomes something else entirely. Cruel. Controlling. Possessive. Haunted by the ghost of a woman with siren eyes who made him want to be good.

This is not just a love story.

This is the tragedy that broke and made the King of Assassins.

"My name is Nerissa Calogero, and I will not be afraid."