Assassin Queen Read Online Free

accepted me.”
    “That is something we have in common.”
    Kirin hated the pain and anxiety thoughts of family always brought him, but he would bear that discomfort if sharing it would help his friend.
    “I find it hard to believe any family would turn its back on a mage. Especially one of your ability.”
    Kirin’s laughter was harsh and abrasive. If only magic solved as many problems as non-magic users believed it could. Some sins wouldn’t be overlooked, no matter how much there was to be gained by forgiveness.
    “If I had been born to my father’s wife, I’m sure they all would’ve been lining up to sing my praises. At least, they did with my half-siblings. Since I was born to her sister, however, they weren’t as enthusiastic. Even with my abilities.”
    Nathan was silent for a moment as he took a drink of the wine. “Sounds like you have an interesting family.”
    “Interesting would be one way to describe it.”
    Insufferable, tortured, bitter, and traumatizing would be other ways to describe his family, but he kept those descriptors to himself.
    “But that is the way of things in powerful houses. They manipulate each other out of boredom and destroy lives just to prove to others they hold enough power to possess anything they wish.”
    “It sounds like there is little love lost between you and your kin. I take it you have no plans to return to them?”
    “No. I will never go back there.” His throat clenched with emotion as he said the words, but he cleared it before Nathan could notice. “I understand your concerns about settling down. I may even share one or two of them with you. Paying for a woman to warm your bed is a far cry from trusting one with your life while you sleep.”
    He couldn’t stop the shudder that worked through his body at the thought. “But farming isn’t the only option Lilly offered us. Come with us. Help us win. She’d make you one of her guard. You’ll get to do what you love, stay with your family, and be on the right side of the law for once.”
    Nathan was quiet for a moment as he stared off into the night. “Having a soft bed waiting for me at the end of the day would be a change.”
    “You’ve got the night to think it over. I hope you’ll ride out with us in the morning.”
    Nathan nodded, but Kirin could still feel waves of unease radiating off the man. “You’ve given me something to consider.”
    He turned and walked away without further comment. Not that Kirin was expecting him to say anything else. The man had said more than enough as far as he was concerned. Nathan was going to leave them. And he’d most likely do it during the night while they slept. Kirin would do the same if he hadn’t already given his word to Lilly.
    He walked over to his bedroll and picked it up before making his way to the edge of the camp. He didn’t want to hear the others packing up. Lilly might be okay with her men deserting her in the dead of night, but, after the night he’d had, his nerves were strained to the breaking point.
    He wanted nothing more than to relax and enjoy a couple hours of sleep, but, when he closed his eyes, red ribbons of magic danced through his mind, calling to him softly. Magic might not be able to solve all of life’s problems, but that didn’t make it any less tempting. There were enchantments that would make Lilly think she was in love with him. And there were blood spells that would kill his mother and father, even from this distance. After all, distance meant nothing to blood. But he couldn’t force love on Lilly any more than he could kill the two people who had given him life. There were lines that not even he would cross. So, instead of doing anything he would regret, he lay in his bedroll and allowed sleep to mock him.
    Just before the golds and reds of daybreak streaked across the sky, he gave up on trying to force himself to rest and rose to greet the day. The camp was quiet, but its peace only made him more agitated.
    How can the