The Assassin and the Empire

The Assassin and the Empire
Information
Author/s	Sarah J. Maas
Release Date	July 20, 2012 (ebook) March 4, 2014 (print)
Publisher	Bloomsbury USA
Series
Release order
Released after The Assassin and the Underworld	Released before Throne of Glass

The Assassin and the Empire is the last out of the five novellas, set prior to Throne of Glass. It was released in ebook format on July 20th, 2012. It is the last novella in The Assassin's Blade bind-up.

Description

Celaena Sardothien is the assassin with everything: a place to call her own, the love of handsome Sam, and, best of all, freedom. Yet, she won’t be truly free until she is far away from her old master, Arobynn Hamel; Celaena must take one last daring assignment that will liberate her forever. But having it all means you have a lot to lose...

This fifth fantastic e-novella gives readers an inside look at the characters who appear in the full-length novel Throne of Glass. Don’t miss out!

Plot

This section uses content from an article at Book Series Recaps.com

Celaena Sardothien sneaks into the Royal Theater to watch the symphony. She watches from the rafters and sees Arobynn Hamel has brought Lysandra with him this year. She leaves early but discovers Sam Cortland’s not home. Celaena’s mad because she assumes he’s fighting at the Vaults to win money. They argue. He says they need money; Celaena doesn’t want him to earn it that way. Sam wants to move away.

They go to Arobynn’s house to tell him they’re leaving. She offers to pay their way out of the Assassin's Guild, and Arobynn counteroffers asking for an insane amount of money. She agrees. They need a big contract to have enough money to leave. Sam finds one...a nearly impossible kill, local Crime Lord Ioan Jayne and his ruthless right-hand man Rourke Farran. Celaena reluctantly agrees to help. They decide to take Farran out first, and Sam wants to make this kill. They argue, but eventually, Celaena gives in.

One night, Celaena finds Arobynn in her living room. He tells her he knows who they’re trying to take out. He says it’s a dumb move. He tells her he loves her and asks her to stay in Rifthold with him. She refuses.

As they plot this kill, Sam books passage to the southern continent for them. He decided to do this after seeing Arobynn, who told him to ask Celaena about her life before Rifthold.

Celaena is restless and watching the clock while waiting for Sam to get home from the Farran kill. She heads out to look for him but doesn’t find him. She barely sleeps. She searches again the next morning and then finds Arobynn in her apartment. He tells her Sam is dead.

She is numb with grief and wants to see Sam’s body. Arobynn refuses, but she leaves to do just that. Arobynn leads her to Sam when they arrive at the Assassin's Keep. She doesn’t believe it until she sees him, and then it’s overwhelming, and she won’t leave.

Celaena wakes up in her old bed. She hears Arobynn discussing retaliation in the hall outside her room. She wants to go but finds that Arobynn has locked her in this room. She escapes through the window.

Celaena breaks into Jayne’s house. She easily takes down Jayne and his guards. As she makes her way to Farran, a strange smoke enters the room. It paralyzes her, and she passes out. She knows someone at the Keep betrayed her. Farran will turn Celaena over to the King of Adarlan in exchange for his approval as the new Crime Lord.

Celaena is brought before the king and other officials for a private trial. She won’t utter one word until he’s ready to announce the sentence. She asks him to make it quick, and he decides to give her nine life sentences at the salt mines of Endovier instead of death.

Arobynn and his secret ally Farran are watching as Celaena’s wagon rolls away. They conspired together to kill Sam and Jayne. Farran asks why Arobynn did this to Celaena, and he says because he doesn’t like to share his belongings.

Celaena is worried because she knows Endovier is a death camp. On the journey there, Celaena spots a rare White Stag, a symbol from her long lost kingdom of Terrasen. This restores a little hope. She’s ready to face and conquer Endovier.

Characters

• Celaena Sardothien
• Sam Cortland
• Arobynn Hamel
• Lysandra
• Ioan Jayne
• Rourke Farran

Gallery

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