The Iron King's Assassin Series by Thea Atkinson

Fight like you're already dead.I'm Ava, and I hunt monsters. That ink on my forearm is there to remind me if I don't give it my all when I face a beast, someone will die. Hopefully, it's the monster, but if something goes wrong, and it ends up being me, at least it won't matter to anyone. My parents are dead. My sister won't talk to me. Even my mentor turned lover replaced me with a younger, perkier version... moreFight like you're already dead.I'm Ava, and I hunt monsters. That ink on my forearm is there to remind me if I don't give it my all when I face a beast, someone will die. Hopefully, it's the monster, but if something goes wrong, and it ends up being me, at least it won't matter to anyone. My parents are dead. My sister won't talk to me. Even my mentor turned lover replaced me with a younger, perkier version.So when I'm ambushed by the dark fae after I've taken out a black magic witch, I’m in no mood for their demands. At least, not until the second in command of the Shadow Court delivers his ultimatum: Kill the Iron King or my sister dies.He's hot AF. Ruthless. Powerful. The kind of bad guy that might make my spine tingle in all the right ways if he wasn't dragging me kicking and snarling into a land of magic where I don't even understand the rules. But compelling as he might be, there's only one sort of creature who threatens the life of an innocent woman. A monster.And I kill monsters… less

Death has always tried to shove a homemade shiv past my ribs.I'm a monster hunter, so death is no stranger. Now, as I languish in this dank cell deep in the heart of Fae, He's so close I can smell His breath. It smells of cinnamon. Wears the face of the Shadow Court's dark enforcer. Gorgeous, powerful, and utterly ruthless. Just to prove a point, he executes the only friend I have here before he turns his violent eye to mine... moreDeath has always tried to shove a homemade shiv past my ribs.I'm a monster hunter, so death is no stranger. Now, as I languish in this dank cell deep in the heart of Fae, He's so close I can smell His breath. It smells of cinnamon. Wears the face of the Shadow Court's dark enforcer. Gorgeous, powerful, and utterly ruthless. Just to prove a point, he executes the only friend I have here before he turns his violent eye to mine.In that instant before he prowls toward me, I know I might never make it out of this realm alive. Might never see my sister again or be there to protect her when this brute is tasked to execute her as well because I dared try to undermine his boss."Scream," he whispers into my ear. As if this is all just a show. A production meant to scare the monster hunter into behaving. But I've seen the violence done to my friend. I know she's dead because of me, and I know when the blow comes, it's going to hurt—badly.Except…it doesn't. I feel nothing. And that has to be worse.Because in that one moment of mercy, his dark eyes meet mine, and everything changes… less

If you think I'm a monster hunter with a death wish, you haven't been paying attention.Ava Ashe goes down fighting if she goes down at all. Which is why when a gang drags me into the darkest parts of Fae's catacombs, I fight like I'm already dead. Because the only thing I have left to lose isn't my life. It's my sister's.So I fight... moreIf you think I'm a monster hunter with a death wish, you haven't been paying attention.Ava Ashe goes down fighting if she goes down at all. Which is why when a gang drags me into the darkest parts of Fae's catacombs, I fight like I'm already dead. Because the only thing I have left to lose isn't my life. It's my sister's.So I fight. And I use everything I have at my disposal to escape, including drugs laced with magic, because the fae who are forcing me to kill their king will not accept death as an excuse. And by the time the dark enforcer of the Shadow Court—a fae so ruthless even his own kind fear him—comes to reclaim me, I'm nothing but a quaking shell of pain and addiction. Death is a mere breath away.He's grumpy and demanding and still somehow hot AF, and I know he's only nursing me back to health because those who took me, took me on his watch. But I let him tend me. I let him pretend he cares, and I hope to be healthy enough to commit the atrocities they want of me before they make Kit pay for my recklessness. It's just that I have a feeling escaping the catacombs isn't the worst Fae has to throw at me.Because I might have barely survived the flesh markets, but I'm not sure I'll survive the dark enforcer's nursing. less