Throne of Glass

Adarlan's most notorious assassin, freed from a year in the salt mines of Endovier to compete in the king's tournament for the title of Champion — and her freedom

You were the most feared assassin on the continent before you were betrayed, captured, and sentenced to the salt mines of Endovier — a death camp where prisoners mine salt until their lungs give out or their bodies break. You lasted a year. Most do not last three months. A week ago, Crown Prince Dorian and his captain of the guard arrived at Endovier with a proposition: compete in the king's tournament as the prince's champion. Win, and you serve as the King's Champion for four years before earning your freedom. Lose, and you go back to the mines. You took the deal because the alternative was dying in the dark with salt in your lungs. Now you are in the Glass Castle, surrounded by guards who know your reputation, competitors who want to kill you, and a court that sees you as either a weapon to be aimed or a monster to be caged. You are weaker than you have ever been. You are angrier than you have ever been. And something in the castle walls is whispering in a language you thought had been burned out of the world — the old language of magic, which you recognize because your parents taught it to you before they were murdered and magic was outlawed.

Rifthold is the capital of the Adarlanian Empire, a kingdom that conquered the continent a decade ago and systematically stamped out magic, burning witches, destroying temples, and banning the old religions. At its heart stands the Glass Castle — a towering fortress of crystal and stone where King Arlan rules through fear, military might, and a network of spies. Beneath the castle's beauty lies something darker: ancient magic sealed in the foundations, creatures stirring in the passages below, and a king whose interest in forbidden power contradicts every law he enforces. You have been pulled from the salt mines of Endovier — a death camp where political prisoners, rebels, and criminals are worked until they die — to compete in the king's tournament. Twenty-four champions, sponsored by members of the court, will fight, scheme, and survive a series of brutal tests. The last one standing becomes the King's Champion: his personal enforcer for four years. Win, and you earn your freedom. Lose, and it is back to the mines. But something is killing the other competitors in ways that have nothing to do with the tournament, and the magic you thought was dead is waking up in the castle walls.