The Queen's Blade Series by T.C. Southwell

A humble goat herder’s son and kin of the wood cat, Conash bonds with his familiar when he is just six years old. The sickly boy teeters on the brink of death, so much so that he is given the Death Rites three times before he is ten years old.Against all odds, he grows up a happy, laughing child, the apple of his mother’s eye and his father’s most cherished son. The church will not give him the Life Rites, since the boy will not live to puberty... moreA humble goat herder’s son and kin of the wood cat, Conash bonds with his familiar when he is just six years old. The sickly boy teeters on the brink of death, so much so that he is given the Death Rites three times before he is ten years old.Against all odds, he grows up a happy, laughing child, the apple of his mother’s eye and his father’s most cherished son. The church will not give him the Life Rites, since the boy will not live to puberty. Conash is beloved of the beasts; able to charm the birds from the trees with his smile, and his parents know he is God Touched. When the Cotti invade his village during the Rout of Ashtalon, Conash is just twelve years old. After witnessing the slaughter of his family and familiar, he wakes from his death sleep a castrated Cotti slave, and suffers their abuse until the night he slips away into the desert. He crawls from it maddened and haunted by his familiar’s ghost, his heart as dead and cold as frozen stone. Sustained by hatred and rage, he journeys to Jondar, capital of the Kingdom of Jashimari, to become a thief and murderer and live in the gutter, fighting for scraps with stray dogs. Then an elder assassin takes him in and trains him to be a killer... less

When Blade is beaten almost to death, a broken-nosed whore saves him and nurses him back to health, starting a strange relationship that will endure all through Blade’s career and beyond. Lilu loves the assassin despite his cold heart and scathing tongue, and her love and aid earn his protection, even though he will never admit to helping her... moreWhen Blade is beaten almost to death, a broken-nosed whore saves him and nurses him back to health, starting a strange relationship that will endure all through Blade’s career and beyond. Lilu loves the assassin despite his cold heart and scathing tongue, and her love and aid earn his protection, even though he will never admit to helping her. Blade struggles to come to terms with what his, but uses it to his advantage as an assassin, succeeding at seemingly impossible assignments and earning two titles: the Invisible Assassin and the Silent Slayer. Even though he seeks death’s release so he can be with his familiar again, a destiny awaits Blade, for which he must survive, and therein lies the strangeness of one who is God Touched. less

A doomed kingdom, a young queen’s sacrifice and a killer who will bring an empire to its knees...In a world where men share kindred with beasts, the Idol of the Beasts predicts a child who will end the Endless War after centuries of strife, but first the enemy king must die and his son be brought to the Jashimari Queen in chains…After numerous failed attempts, killing King Shandor seems impossible, until an assassin offers to do the deed... moreA doomed kingdom, a young queen’s sacrifice and a killer who will bring an empire to its knees...In a world where men share kindred with beasts, the Idol of the Beasts predicts a child who will end the Endless War after centuries of strife, but first the enemy king must die and his son be brought to the Jashimari Queen in chains…After numerous failed attempts, killing King Shandor seems impossible, until an assassin offers to do the deed. His success places the Crown Prince at Queen Minna-Satu’s mercy, and Blade becomes the instrument of her wrath. Forged in the fires of fury, his heart died long ago in the desert kingdom. His glance is as icy as his smile is disarming, and the fires of passion will never stir his blood. He is the Master of the Dance in Jondar, the best to ever hold the title. Driven by hatred and with the skills of his trade, he will usher in a time of strife and pain that will live in legend, and forever bear his name. He is the instrument who can change fate. He is the Queen’s Blade. less

The Queen’s Blade faces a challenge for his title of Master of the Dance during Jondar’s last days, as two armies converge on the doomed city. The young Queen Minna-Satu prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice and save her kingdom by placing the daughter of the Cotti King on the Jashimari throne. The Princess’ life is in danger, and Blade seeks a painless death as his enemy approaches…

A fallen kingdom, a captured queen, and an assassin who could save them both… His queen is the enemy king’s prisoner, but the Queen’s Blade refuses to serve his foe. Unless he slays those who plot against her, however, she will die. Cotti Princes will taste the assassin's blade to ensure her safety and win his freedom, but powerful men plot his demise and that of the infant queen.

Fifteen years have passed since Blade vanished, and plotting Cotti princes threaten the peace of the three kingdoms again. Only the Queen’s Blade can save the child Queen, but he must take up the office he scorns and become a sacred Knight of the Veil. However, a bargain with Shamsara sends him into the desert on a seemingly impossible quest that will bring him a mighty reward... if he succeeds.

Captured and condemned, the Queen’s Blade is forced to face his fate and fight a deadly duel with a Master of the Dance to survive. More treacherous Cotti princes must die and the Regent’s life is in danger. Blade’s legendary skills are tested to the extreme and his web of lies and deceit is challenged, but nothing touches the frozen heart and icy mind of a killer whose heart died long ago.

The legendary assassin’s life is in grave danger. With the deaths of a dozen princes and a king on his tally, the Queen’s Blade is a target for vengeance, and his enemies are powerful. No one knows if Blade is dead or alive when he vanishes again, but the Regent mourns his loss. Two queens, a regent and a king hunt for Blade, who must fight free of fate’s cruel grip.