Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows

Lady of Shadows

There, in the darkness, a creature was waiting for him.

Ancient and cruel, it stalked in the shadows, holding his mind. This was not his world, he was brought here to be filled with primordial cold.

Some invisible barrier still separated them, but each time the wall was destroyed more and more as the creature wandered along it, testing its strength.

He couldn't remember his name.

It was the first thing he had forgotten when the darkness had enveloped him weeks, months, or eons ago. Then he forgot the names of the others who meant so much to him. He remembered only horror and despair, but only from a single moment that constantly flashed in the darkness, in a steady rhythm, like the beat of a drum: several minutes of screams, blood and frosty wind. There were people he loved there. In that room, made of red marble and glass, a woman lost her head.

“Lost” - as if it was his fault that she was beheaded.

Beautiful woman with with gentle hands like the wings of doves. It wasn't her fault, even if he couldn't remember her name. This was due to the fault of the man on the glass throne, who ordered the guards to tear her flesh and bones with a sword.

There was nothing in the darkness at the moment when this woman's head hit the ground with a thud. There was nothing there except this moment, it was repeated over and over and over again - while the creature wandered nearby, waiting for him to break, to give in, to let it happen. Prince.

He couldn't remember if the creature was a prince, or if he himself had once been a prince. Does not look like it. The prince did not allow this woman's head to be cut off. The prince would have stopped the blade. The prince would have saved her.

But he did not save, and he knew that no one would come to save him.

The real world still existed beyond the darkness. There was a man who ordered the death of this sweet woman, and when he did it, no one noticed that the Prince himself had become nothing more than his puppet, trying to speak and act outside the fog that clouded his mind. He hated it. And hatred was one of the emotions that he still knew.

I shouldn't have loved you. The woman said, and then she died.

She shouldn't have loved him and he shouldn't have loved her. He deserved this darkness, and as the invisible boundaries shattered, the waiting creature pounced, seeping in and filling him...he deserved it.

So he remained tied up in the night, witnessing screams, blood and dead flesh on the stone. He knew he had to fight, knew he had fought in those final seconds, even as the black stone collar was clamped around his neck.

But there was a creature waiting in the darkness that he could fight no longer.

Aelin Asherir-Galathynya, heir of fire, Mela's favorite, bringer of light, and Queen of Terracena, leaned against the worn oak bar and listened to the sounds of the hall, ignoring the shouts, groans and obscene singing. Although the bar had had several owners over the past few years, the underground labyrinths of sin known as the Vaults remained the same: it was too hot, it stank of stale ale and unwashed bodies, and it was filled to the brim with scum and criminals.

Some young aristocrats and merchants' sons went into the Vaults and did not return to the surface. Sometimes this was because they were showing off their gold and silver to the wrong person. Sometimes it was because they were lazy or drunk enough that they thought they could jump into the fighting pits and come out alive. Sometimes they mistreated courtesans in niches wandering in cavernous spaces, and learned the hard way what the owners of the Vault really valued.

Aelin took a sip from the mug of ale that the sweaty bartender had handed her a moment ago. Watery and cheap, but at least cold. In addition to the smell of dirty bodies, the aroma of garlic and fried meat spread throughout the Vault. Her stomach growled invitingly, but she wasn't stupid enough to order food. Firstly, the meat was mostly rat. Secondly, some nasty stuff could have been added to the meat, causing people to fall asleep on the spot and wake up in the alleys without a single coin in their pocket. If they woke up at all.

Her clothes were dirty, but elegant enough for the client to notice her. She sniffed and examined her ale carefully before tasting it. She will still have to look for food, but before that she must find out why she was called to the Vault, what happened in Rafthall during the month of her absence, and why Arobynn Hamel's client wanted to meet her so badly that he risked everything, especially when the Adarlan guards in black uniforms roamed the city like packs of wolves.

She managed to slip past the patrol during the chaos upon arrival, but Aelin was still able to notice the winged dragon embroidered on their uniforms. Black on black, perhaps the King of Adarlan is tired of pretending that he is anything but a threat, and perhaps he even issued a royal decree to abandon the traditional colors of his empire: crimson and gold. Black - death; black is the color for the two Verda Keys; black is the color for demons, which he uses to build an invincible army.

A shiver ran down her spine and she drank the rest of the ale. As she set the mug down and shook her head, her golden-brown hair flew up and reflected the light from the wrought-iron chandelier.

Aelin hurried from the docks to Riverside, shadow market, where anyone could find anything they wanted: rare items delivered by smugglers or something as commonplace as wall paint.

Aelin paid the merchant an extra silver coin to have her hair dyed right in his shop, although her hair had become noticeably shorter since she left Rathal. True, if these guards somehow saw her during surveillance at the docks, then they would be looking for the golden-haired young woman. Naturally, every guard will be looking for the golden-haired woman - the royal protector who disappeared several weeks ago and did not complete her task: to kill the Wendalin Royal Family and steal their war plans and sea charts.

She had sent a warning to the King and Queen of Eilue a couple of months ago, and knew they would take appropriate precautions. But there was still one person in danger who had to be found before she could carry out her plan. A person who could explain where the new security at the docks came from, and why the city had become noticeably quieter and more tense.

If she finds out anything about the captain of the guard, and where he is... She just needs to overhear a successful conversation or sit down with suitable partners to play cards. Was it a lucky coincidence that she spotted one of Arobynn's top three assassins purchasing the latest dose of his favorite poison from the shadow market.

She followed him as several more assassins joined him. They never did this unless their owner was present. Usually only when Arobynn went to meet someone very, very important. Or dangerous.

After Thorn and the others slipped inside the Vault, she waited outside the entrance for a few minutes, hiding in the shadows to see when Arobynn arrived, but he wasn't there. He must have already been inside.

Then she joined the crowd of drunken merchant sons, trying to see the place where Arobynn would be sitting. Hidden in the bar, she did everything possible to remain unnoticed and unremarkable.

With a hood pulled over her face and dark clothes, she blended in well enough to not attract much attention to her person. Aelin believed that if anyone was foolish enough to try to rob her, the thief would be robbed himself. After all, she herself is running out of money.

She sighed through her nose. If only her family could see her: Aelin – Fireheart – a murderer and a pickpocket. My parents and uncle would probably turn over in their graves.

But some things were worth it. Aelin beckoned the bald bartender with her finger.

“I don’t mind how much you drink, girl,” a voice behind her chuckled.

She glanced at the average-sized man seated next to her at the bar. She knew him well. Knew reddish skin sparkling eyes, thick eyebrows, a mask and a hungry killer underneath it.

Aelin rested her elbows on the counter.

“Hello, Thorn,” she replied. He was the same as he was two years ago - a horny, calculating asshole who was always more than willing to do Arobynn's dirty work. “As I thought, Arobynn’s dog would sooner or later get wind of me, it was only a matter of time.”

Thorn leaned against the bar, flashing a smile that was too wide.

Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows

I dedicate this book to you, Alex Bracken.

Over six years of email correspondence.

For thousands of pages of your criticisms.

For your tiger heart and Jedi wisdom.

And for being who you are.

I'm so glad I wrote you a letter then.

And I'm grateful that you answered it.

Mistress of Shadows

There was something in the darkness waiting for him.

An ancient, cruel creature stalked the shadows, tormenting his mind. It came here from another world and brought with it primordial cold. There was still an invisible barrier between him and the creature, but the barrier became weaker every time the creature crept along the wall, testing its strength.

The name was the first thing he forgot when darkness enveloped him. When did it happen? Maybe weeks, maybe months or even eons ago. Then he forgot the names of those who meant so much to him. But I remembered the horror and despair. They filled the surrounding darkness, repeating with the regularity of a drumbeat. Several minutes of piercing screams, blood and icy wind. In that room with glass walls and red marble floors were the people he loved. There was a woman who lost her head.

Beheaded allegedly through her own fault.

A beautiful woman with graceful hands that look like golden doves. Even if he didn’t remember her name, she was innocent of anything. The man who sat on the glass throne was to blame. That man ordered his guard to cut off her head.

The woman's severed head rolled across the marble floor, and then darkness fell. And in the darkness - only this terrible moment, repeating again and again. The entity from another world was somewhere nearby, waiting for him to break and succumb to its pressure. Prince.

He did not remember who the prince was: the creature or himself. Probably not him. The prince would not allow a woman to be beheaded in front of his eyes. The prince would stand in the path of the killing sword. The prince would have saved her.

But he didn’t save. And no one will save him. He knew that.

Somewhere beyond the shadows the real world still existed. And he had to play some role there. Not by choice. By the will of the man who ordered the execution of that beautiful woman. When he played this role, no one noticed that he was just a puppet, barely able to speak or move, for his mind was shackled. Invisible, which is why he hated them. Hatred was one of the few feelings he had left.

“I knew I shouldn’t fall in love with you,” the woman said, and soon she was gone. They both had no right to love each other. He deserved this darkness. As soon as the invisible boundary collapses and the waiting entity strikes, penetrates him and fills him to the brim... he will get what he deserves.

He remained shackled during the night. A witness who heard screams and saw blood. He saw and heard a severed head rolling across the marble floor. We had to resist. He resisted. Desperately resisted in the last seconds. And then they put a black stone collar around his neck.

Aelin Asherir-Galathynya - the heir of fire, the favorite of the goddess Mela the Fire-Bearer and the rightful queen of Terrasen - was now far from being in a situation befitting a queen. She stood near the shabby tavern counter and listened carefully to the sounds coming from the “chambers of pleasure.” She isolated these sounds from other shouts, groans and obscene singing. The establishment, or rather, the brothel in which she was located, was called “The Crypt,” which fully justified its location. Over the past few years, the underground den has chewed up and spat out several owners, but has remained unchanged. Stuffy, thoroughly stinking of sour ale and unwashed bodies and filled to the brim with the dregs of society and criminal people.

However, the sons of the capital's nobility and the offspring of wealthy merchants were sometimes drawn here. But not everyone who cheerfully descended the slimy steps to the “Crypt” climbed back to fresh air and sunlight. The reasons were different. Someone recklessly showed a wallet full of gold or silver coins. Some were so drunk or overconfident (sometimes both) that they thought they could jump into the fighting pit and still live. Sometimes they treated the local priestesses of love rudely, who lived in closets with curtains instead of doors. “The Crypt” taught rich strangers a cruel lesson, and they remembered for the rest of their lives what kind of people the owners of the brothel truly value.

Aelin sipped from a mug of ale, recently poured by a sweaty innkeeper. Of course, the cheap, watered-down swill was only called ale, but at least it was cold. In addition to the stench of unwashed bodies, Aelin's nostrils caught the scent of roasting meat and garlic. His hungry stomach growled invitingly, but his owner was not so reckless as to order food here. Firstly, before getting on the spit, this meat managed to serve as a delicacy for the rats that lived in the surrounding nooks and crannies. And secondly, richer visitors had something added to their food, after which they found themselves in one of those very nooks and crannies, stripped to the skin. If they came to their senses at all.

Aelin's clothes were dirty, but elegant enough to be attractive to thieves. She carefully examined and sniffed the ale before taking her first sip. It seems there are no “surprises”. She will have to satisfy her hunger somewhere else. But first, you need to complete the task for which Aelin descended into this underworld - to find out about the events that took place in Rafthole during her absence.

I wonder which of the local visitors Arobynn Hamel needed so much that he risked making an appointment here? Especially now, when fierce guards in black uniforms prowled the city like a pack of wolves.

Aelin managed to slip past one such detachment. The commotion that accompanied the ship's arrival in the harbor helped. But she managed to notice the black dragon embroidered on the guards’ uniforms. Black on black. The Adarlan king must have finally decided to throw away all the decorations and show his true colors. Down with red and gold - the traditional colors of the empire. Now the main color of Adarlan has become black. Black symbolized death, the two Keys of Werd that the king held. Black was also the color of the Valgs - the ancient demons from which he now created his irresistible army.

Thinking about this, Aelin involuntarily shuddered and drank the rest of the ale in one gulp, after which she put the empty mug on the counter. Her dark red hair gleamed dully under the cast-iron candle chandelier that hung from the ceiling.

From the harbor, Aelin hurried to the embankment and soon enough found herself within the borders of Tenyushnik. This was the name of the capital's market, where they traded whatever their heart desired, including smuggled goods. Aelin bought a bar of hair dye, adding a few silver coins because the merchant allowed her to use a closet in the bowels of his shop. Half an hour later, Aelin’s blond hair, which had not yet had time to grow, became dark red. If the guards were waiting for her possible return to Rafthol, they were probably looking out for the girl with golden hair. Aelin had no doubt that the guards, and not only them, were waiting for her return. It has been several weeks since news reached Rafthol that the royal protector had failed to complete her assigned task - to kill the Vendalin royal family and steal drawings of defensive structures.

Aelin warned the king and queen Eilue about the impending troubles in advance - two or three months ago. They had time to prepare. But there was one more person who was in danger. She absolutely had to see this man and only then begin to implement her plans. He, better than anyone, would have been able to explain to her why the harbor was overrun with soldiers in black uniforms and why the city had become less noisy, but more tense. As soon as she stepped ashore, Aelin immediately felt the state of depression that possessed the people.

If there was anywhere to find out about the fate of the commander of the royal guards, then the “Crypt” was the most suitable place for this. You just need to overhear the desired conversation or successfully fit in with the card players. Aelin was lucky: at the market she noticed Tharn, an assassin, one of Arobynn’s favorites. He always went there to buy poison for his craft. It turned out that they were on the same path: after Tenyushnik, Tarn went to the “Crypt”.

Near the establishment, Aelin caught a glimpse of several more assassins from the Arobynn guild. They went down. All this is not without reason. If the assassins are here, then their master must be somewhere nearby. This happened when Arobynn met with a very important person. Or very dangerous.

Aelin did not enter after Tharn and the rest of the assassins, but spent a few more minutes on the street, hoping to see Arobynn. He must have appeared earlier and was already downstairs.

A drunken gang of merchant sons approached the entrance to the “Crypt”. Aelin went down with them, trying her best not to attract attention to herself. Making her way to the tavern counter, she began to observe the hall.

Queen of Shadows

Lady Fantasy

Throne of Glass – 4

* * *

I dedicate this book to you, Alex Bracken.

Over six years of email correspondence.

For thousands of pages of your criticisms.

For your tiger heart and Jedi wisdom.

And for being who you are.

I'm so glad I wrote you a letter then.

And I'm grateful that you answered it.

Part 1

Mistress of Shadows

Chapter 1

There was something in the darkness waiting for him.

An ancient, cruel creature stalked the shadows, tormenting his mind. It came here from another world and brought with it primordial cold. There was still an invisible barrier between him and the creature, but the barrier became weaker every time the creature crept along the wall, testing its strength.

The name was the first thing he forgot when darkness enveloped him. When did it happen? Maybe weeks, maybe months or even eons ago. Then he forgot the names of those who meant so much to him. But I remembered the horror and despair. They filled the surrounding darkness, repeating with the regularity of a drumbeat. Several minutes of piercing screams, blood and icy wind. In that room with glass walls and red marble floors were the people he loved. There was a woman who lost her head.

Beheaded allegedly through her own fault.

A beautiful woman with graceful hands that look like golden doves. Even if he didn’t remember her name, she was innocent of anything. The man who sat on the glass throne was to blame. That man ordered his guard to cut off her head.

The woman's severed head rolled across the marble floor, and then darkness fell. And in the darkness - only this terrible moment, repeating again and again. The entity from another world was somewhere nearby, waiting for him to break and give in to her pressure. Prince.

He did not remember who the prince was: the creature or himself. Probably not him. The prince would not allow a woman to be beheaded in front of his eyes. The prince would stand in the path of the killing sword. The prince would have saved her.

But he didn’t save. And no one will save him. He knew that.

Somewhere beyond the shadows, the real world still existed. And he had to play some role there. Not by choice. By the will of the man who ordered the execution of that beautiful woman. When he played this role, no one noticed that he was just a puppet, barely able to speak or move, for his mind was shackled. Invisible, which is why he hated them. Hatred was one of the few feelings he had left.

“I knew I shouldn’t fall in love with you,” the woman said, and soon she was gone. They both had no right to love each other. He deserved this darkness. As soon as the invisible boundary collapses and the waiting entity strikes, penetrates him and fills him to the brim... he will get what he deserves.

He remained shackled during the night. A witness who heard screams and saw blood. He saw and heard a severed head rolling across the marble floor. We had to resist. He resisted. Desperately resisted in the last seconds. And then they put a black stone collar around his neck.

Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows

QUEEN OF SHADOWS

Text copyright © 2015 by Sarah J. Maas

All rights reserved

This edition published by arrangement with Bloomsbury USA and Synopsis Literary Agency.

"Lady Fantasy" series

© I. Ivanov, translation, 2016

© Edition in Russian, design. LLC "Publishing Group "Azbuka-Atticus"", 2016

Publishing house AZBUKA®

* * *

I dedicate this book to you, Alex Bracken.

Over six years of email correspondence.

For thousands of pages of your criticisms.

For your tiger heart and Jedi wisdom.

And for being who you are.

I'm so glad I wrote you a letter then.

And I'm grateful that you answered it.

Mistress of Shadows

There was something in the darkness waiting for him.

An ancient, cruel creature stalked the shadows, tormenting his mind. It came here from another world and brought with it primordial cold. There was still an invisible barrier between him and the creature, but the barrier became weaker every time the creature crept along the wall, testing its strength.

The name was the first thing he forgot when darkness enveloped him. When did it happen? Maybe weeks, maybe months or even eons ago. Then he forgot the names of those who meant so much to him. But I remembered the horror and despair. They filled the surrounding darkness, repeating with the regularity of a drumbeat. Several minutes of piercing screams, blood and icy wind. In that room with glass walls and red marble floors were the people he loved. There was a woman who lost her head.

Beheaded allegedly through her own fault.

A beautiful woman with graceful hands that look like golden doves. Even if he didn’t remember her name, she was innocent of anything. The man who sat on the glass throne was to blame. That man ordered his guard to cut off her head.

The woman's severed head rolled across the marble floor, and then darkness fell. And in the darkness - only this terrible moment, repeating again and again. The entity from another world was somewhere nearby, waiting for him to break and succumb to its pressure. Prince.

He did not remember who the prince was: the creature or himself. Probably not him. The prince would not allow a woman to be beheaded in front of his eyes. The prince would stand in the path of the killing sword. The prince would have saved her.

But he didn’t save. And no one will save him. He knew that.

Somewhere beyond the shadows the real world still existed. And he had to play some role there. Not by choice. By the will of the man who ordered the execution of that beautiful woman. When he played this role, no one noticed that he was just a puppet, barely able to speak or move, for his mind was shackled. Invisible, which is why he hated them. Hatred was one of the few feelings he had left.

“I knew I shouldn’t fall in love with you,” the woman said, and soon she was gone. They both had no right to love each other. He deserved this darkness. As soon as the invisible boundary collapses and the waiting entity strikes, penetrates him and fills him to the brim... he will get what he deserves.

He remained shackled during the night. A witness who heard screams and saw blood. He saw and heard a severed head rolling across the marble floor. We had to resist. He resisted. Desperately resisted in the last seconds. And then they put a black stone collar around his neck.

Aelin Asherir-Galathynya - the heir of fire, the favorite of the goddess Mela the Fire-Bearer and the rightful queen of Terrasen - was now far from being in a situation befitting a queen. She stood near the shabby tavern counter and listened carefully to the sounds coming from the “chambers of pleasure.” She isolated these sounds from other shouts, groans and obscene singing. The establishment, or rather, the brothel in which she was located, was called “The Crypt,” which fully justified its location. Over the past few years, the underground den has chewed up and spat out several owners, but has remained unchanged. Stuffy, thoroughly stinking of sour ale and unwashed bodies and filled to the brim with the dregs of society and criminal people.

However, the sons of the capital's nobility and the offspring of wealthy merchants were sometimes drawn here. But not everyone who cheerfully descended the slimy steps into the “Crypt” climbed back to fresh air and sunlight. The reasons were different. Someone recklessly showed a wallet full of gold or silver coins. Some were so drunk or overconfident (sometimes both) that they thought they could jump into a fighting pit and still live. Sometimes they treated the local priestesses of love rudely, who lived in closets with curtains instead of doors. “The Crypt” taught rich strangers a cruel lesson, and they remembered for the rest of their lives what kind of people the owners of the brothel truly value.

Queen of Shadows Sarah J. Maas

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Title: Queen of Shadows

About the book “Queen of Shadows” by Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J. Maas is a contemporary young fiction writer from the United States of America.

Queen of Shadows is the fourth book in the Lady Fantasy series about the female assassin Selene Sardotine. She was the heir to the Terrasen throne, the gods adored her. She had to return to the Adarlan kingdom to overthrow the tyrant king who was mocking her people. To do this, the woman had to take a different name. In addition to the blade, Selena also possessed magic. Although the heroine was an assassin, she fought a fair fight, unlike other assassins, whose blood is to kill without sympathy.

A few words about the other heroes of the book “Queen of Shadows”. Aelin is a balanced, fair queen. She is still very young, but a girl wise beyond her years and is ready to sacrifice herself for the sake of the people and family.

Rowan has one unpredictable character, but so strong, reliable, loyal that you are captivated from the first second of meeting him. And he is ready to do anything for the sake of the girl he loves, even kiss her footprints. Aelin and Rowan were the perfect couple. Their relationship was fascinating. Sarah J. Maas endowed these characters with incredible attractiveness and charm. When you start reading about them, you immediately fall in love with this crazy couple.

Lysandra is a local courtesan. The cruel life had battered the girl, but she did not show it. The girl walked around as if wearing a mask, and no one knew about her past. Lysandra gained confidence after meeting Aelin. What kind of relationship did these two girls have? Arobin is Aelin's teacher, he taught her a lot, but he charged a very expensive fee for it. And which one, you will find out when you start reading the book “Queen of Shadows”.

We still need to look for scoundrels like Chaol. He was a negative hero, which gave the work more fire, so that the reader would not drown in love affairs, but would get angry along with the other heroes of the book. Sarah J. Maas specifically endowed this hero with negative qualities in order to excite the subconscious of the heroes with his actions, and she succeeded one hundred percent.

Overall, we can say that Sarah J. Maas has created a masterpiece in the form of the book “Queen of Shadows.” Here you will see love, hate, friendship, magic, suffering, war, reconciliation and much more. In a word, you definitely won’t be bored; on the contrary, your time spent reading this book will not be wasted, that’s guaranteed.

On our website about books lifeinbooks.net you can download for free without registration or read online book Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas in epub, fb2, txt, rtf, pdf formats for iPad, iPhone, Android and Kindle. The book will give you a lot of pleasant moments and real pleasure from reading. Buy full version you can from our partner. Also, here you will find last news from the literary world, learn the biography of your favorite authors. For beginning writers there is a separate section with useful tips and recommendations, interesting articles, thanks to which you yourself can try your hand at literary crafts.