King's Assassin

Epic Fantasy

By: DJ Bowman-Smith

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

A reluctant king. A pitiless enemy. A love that will betray them all.



The shoken have not fought a war in living memory. Most believe the Sturgar — grey-skinned, vast, and hungry — are a story parents tell to frighten children. Most are wrong.

Sho has guarded her king since they were young, back when he was just a gentle boy who never wanted a throne and wept when no one was watching. Now she leads the Crystal Bearers — eight life-bonded soldiers whose fates are braided to his, who share his longevity and feel his grief as their own. She is small, easily dismissed, and carries blades of linegold that answer to her mind. No one who has underestimated her has survived the mistake.

Then Orrld arrives. A River Healer from the south, sole survivor of a Sturgar massacre, arriving at the Keep half-dead and carrying nothing but grief and a healer's hands. The king, who has always been alone in the particular way that kings are, falls quietly and completely in love. Sho allows it. She wants her king to be happy.

She cannot explain why she doesn't trust him.

Far away in the ice-wastes, Mag'Sood — self-proclaimed god, master of the Sturgar nation — watches through a Watcher's eyes. He marked Orrld long before the Healer ever reached the capital. He has been patient. The shoken king is the key to everything, and now, at last, the key is within reach.

Sho knows something is wrong. She doesn't yet know how deep it goes.

King's Assassin is the first book in the Crystal Bound series — a dark, sweeping epic of love and war, loyalty and the cost of keeping someone safe. Perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie, George R. R. Martin, Tasha Suri and Anna Smith Spark.

Contains adult themes of violence, sexual content, and LGBT+ relationships throughout.