Novels by Kira Thorn

Aldric Vane looked exactly as Caelan remembered—distinguished gray hair, calculating blue eyes and the bearing of a man who had commanded armies. But now Caelan saw what he had missed for twenty-six years: the complete absence of warmth behind that cultured exterior."You led Legion patrols into the Scar." Caelan's hand moved toward his blade. "You sacrificed your own men just to track us.""Not my men. Legion conscripts." Aldric stepped further into the room, soldiers flanking him. "Expendable. Unlike you, Caelan. You were always my finest creation. Which is why I could not allow you to reach my fortress unprepared.""Creation." The word tasted like poison. "Is that what I was to you?""What else would you call it? I found a feral child in the ruins and shaped him into the perfect weapon." Aldric's smile was almost paternal. "You should be grateful. Without me, you would have died in that village at twelve years old."Caelan's blade cleared its sheath. Around him, Legion soldiers rai

Caelan woke up to the smell of burned flesh and the sound of rain.His shoulder was a knot of agony wrapped in crude bandages. Every breath sent fresh waves of pain through his chest. But the fever had broken, leaving him weak and hollow but clear headed for the first time in days."You lived." Rhen crouched beside him, offering water. "Joss said there was a chance you would not.""Where is he?""Hunting. We have been here for three days. He said you needed rest before we could move."Three days. Caelan forced himself upright despite the protest of every muscle. "We cannot afford three days. How many days do we have left?""Eight days until the inauguration." Rhen's expression was grim. "Joss calculated the route. If we push hard, we can reach Aldric's province in seven.""Then we leave now.""You can barely sit up.""I can walk." Caelan proved it by standing, though the cave spun around him. "I have to walk. Eight days is not enough time for weakness."Joss returned as Caelan was gat

The wound was infected.Caelan knew the moment he woke, his shoulders were burning with the kind of heat that had nothing to do with fever dreams. He pulled back his torn shirt and saw the gash from the Legion ambush—red, swollen, and a weeping fluid that reek of corruption."Let me see." Joss crossed the small cave, his massive frame blocking what the little light filtered down from above."It is fine." Caelan tried to cover the wound, but Joss pushed his hand away.The giant studied the infection with clinical detachment. "You have two days before the poison spreads to your blood. After that, you die." He opened his pack and pulled out a leather kit. "This will hurt.""Everything hurts." Caelan braced himself against the stone wall.Joss worked quickly, cleaning the wound with something that burned like liquid fire. Caelan's vision went white with pain, but he made no sound. Twenty six years of surviving had taught him that screaming changed nothing."The blade was poisoned," Joss s

The earth opened beneath them like a wound.Caelan stared into the massive chasm that split the Blackwood in two. The Scar descended into darkness, so complete that throwing a stone produced no sound of impact. Just silence. Empty, and hungry silence."You want us to climb down there," Rhen said flatly."Not down." Joss pointed along the rim. "Through. There are paths, if you know where to look. Bridges that the old kingdom built before the wars.""Before they all died," Rhen added."They did not die. They vanished." Joss began walking along the edge, his massive frame were surprisingly carefully and skillfully on the crumbling stone. "There is a difference."Caelan studied the giant's back. Two days of traveling together, and the man remained an enigma. He moved through the forest like a ghost despite his size. Never slept, as far as Caelan could tell. And his eyes held the kind of emptiness that came from losing everything.Caelan recognized it. He saw it in his own reflection."How

Blackwood earned its name honestly. Even at midday, the forest swallowed light.Caelan moved through the darkness like smoke, his footsteps were silent on the moss covered ground. Behind him, Rhen Thorne crashed through the undergrowth like a wounded bear. The young deserter had scouting skills, but stealth was not among them."Stop." Caelan raised a fist.Rhen froze mid step. "What is—"Caelan's hand clamped over his mouth. Voices drifted through the trees ahead. Legion patrol, three or four men by the sound of it. They were close. Too close.Caelan pulled Rhen down behind a fallen log, his scarred hand still pressed against the younger man's lips. They waited in absolute silence as boots crunched past, no more than twenty yards away."—said the Shadow survived," one soldier was saying."Impossible. Commander Vane confirmed the entire palace guard was eliminated.""Then who killed the search party we sent into the ruins?"The voices faded into the distance. Caelan held position for a

The merchant died quickly, which was more mercy than he deserved.Caelan Ashworth watched the body slump against the oak tree, blood spreading across the expensive silk. Three weeks of tracking through the Thornwood, and it ended in less than thirty seconds. Clean. Efficient. Exactly as Aldric had trained him."Please," the merchant had begged moments before. "I am not—"Caelan's blade had silenced him. Traitors did not deserve final words.He cleaned his weapon on the dead man's cloak, then searched the body. A sealed letter in the inner pocket bore the royal seal of Valdris. Caelan broke the wax and read it by the moonlight filtering through the canopy.His blood went cold.Commander Vane's movements require immediate investigation. Evidence suggests—The letter ended there, unfinished. This was not a traitor's correspondence. This was a report to the king.Caelan's hands began to shake. He read it again, forcing his mind to work through the implications. The merchant was investiga