The Assassin’s Blade is a prequel collection set in the high fantasy world of Erilea, taking place before the events of Throne of Glass. These five novellas follow Celaena Sardothien, Adarlan’s most feared assassin, during her time in the Assassin’s Guild under Arobynn Hamel’s control.
The stories span locations across the continent — pirate ports, desert strongholds, lavish ballrooms, and the seedy underbelly of Rifthold. Together, they chart Celaena’s transformation from the King of the Assassins’ protégée to a girl betrayed, broken, and bound for the Salt Mines of Endovier.
While magic remains a quiet backdrop, the novellas reveal early political tensions, the reach of corruption across kingdoms, and the emotional wounds Celaena will carry into the main series.
Throne of Glass Series
Prequel: The Assassin’s Blade
Book 1: Throne of Glass
Book 2: Crown of Midnight
Book 3: Heir of Fire
Book 4: Queen of Shadows
Book 5: Empire of Storms
Book 6: Tower of Dawn
Book 7: Kingdom of Ash
Characters
Celaena Sardothien: Adarlan’s most notorious assassin and Arobynn’s protégée.
Sam Cortland: Arobynn’s second-best assassin; Celaena’s long-time rival, reluctant ally, and eventual romantic partner.
Arobynn Hamel: King of the Assassins and Celaena’s manipulative master.
Rolfe: Pirate Lord of Skull’s Bay; arrogant, dangerous, and involved in the slave trade.
Yrene Towers: Barmaid and untrained healer with a traumatic past and untapped potential.
Ansel of Briarcliff: Fellow assassin trainee; clever, ambitious, and secretive.
The Master of the Silent Assassins: Mute leader of the Red Desert’s Silent Assassins.
Ilias: The Master’s son; reserved, skilled, and develops quiet respect for Celaena.
Lord Berick: Ruthless warlord responsible for destroying Ansel’s homeland.
Ioan Jayne: Businessman involved in criminal dealings; targeted for assassination.
Rourke Farran: Jayne’s sadistic enforcer and later head of security.
Lysandra: A courtesan-in-training at Madame Clarisse’s brothel.
Madame Clarisse: Ruthless owner of a notorious brothel in Rifthold and Arobynn’s business associate.
Recap Summary
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
Celaena Sardothien and Sam Cortland travel to Skull’s Bay under orders from Arobynn Hamel to negotiate with the Pirate Lord, Rolfe, after pirates kill assassins connected to the Guild. Rolfe reveals that Arobynn’s sealed correspondence authorises a slave-transport deal using Rolfe’s ships and contacts. Celaena and Sam covertly survey the slave compound, noting shipping schedules, guard rotations, and the chain-and-tower mechanism controlling harbour access. They coordinate a breakout by instructing a captive translator to spread timing and directions through the holds, then board the slave ships, disable the crews, and free the prisoners from their restraints. To delay pursuit, they trigger a large brawl in the town while Sam sabotages the harbour mechanism. With the harbour chain destroyed, the slave ships escape the bay, and Celaena forces Rolfe to sign written renunciations ending the agreement and committing him to stop trading slaves. Celaena and Sam depart Skull’s Bay alive, returning to Rifthold with the deal broken and the slaves freed.
The Assassin and the Healer
Celaena is sent away from the Assassins’ Keep and is temporarily stranded in Innish while awaiting onward passage. At a local inn, she observes Yrene Towers, a barmaid, being exploited and threatened by the inn’s patrons. Over multiple nights, Celaena trains Yrene in basic self-defence and keeps watch for escalating danger. When armed men attempt to assault Yrene, Celaena intercepts and incapacitates them, taking their money and valuables. She gives Yrene the stolen funds and a weapon, leaving written instructions to use the money to reach Antica and train as a healer. Celaena departs on her ship, and Yrene leaves Innish with the resources to travel.
The Assassin and the Desert
Arobynn sends Celaena to the Red Desert to train with the Silent Assassins under the Mute Master, on the condition that she must earn his formal approval. At the desert fortress, Celaena endures harsh training and competes for status among the trainees, including Ansel of Briarcliff. During a mission to a desert city, Celaena encounters a merchant trading in spidersilk and leaves with a piece of it. Ansel and Celaena steal rare Asterion horses and return to the fortress, triggering punishment and increased scrutiny from the Mute Master. Ansel later drugs Celaena and betrays the Silent Assassins by opening the fortress to Lord Berick’s attack. Celaena fights through the assault, confronts Ansel, and prevents the Mute Master’s murder, allowing Ansel to escape. The Mute Master grants Celaena his approval, provides payment and supplies, and gives her an Asterion horse. Celaena leaves the Red Desert with formal endorsement, gold, and spidersilk.
The Assassin and the Underworld
Celaena returns to Rifthold determined to clear her debt to Arobynn and end his leverage over her. Arobynn assigns her a high-paying contract to assassinate Doneval, arranged through a client with personal and political motives. Celaena carries out surveillance and infiltration to reach him. She commissions protective gear for Sam, incorporating her spidersilk into the equipment as armour. After completing the assassination, Celaena discovers that Doneval was connected to efforts that could have undermined slaving operations — meaning the contract was designed to eliminate him before he could act. She confronts Arobynn over the manipulation and makes a clean break by moving out and ending her operational dependence on the Keep. She liquidates assets, including selling her Asterion horse, to pay her remaining obligations and clear Sam’s debt to Arobynn without allowing him to retain any financial claim. Celaena and Sam leave the Keep and establish a shared residence, operating independently of Arobynn’s control.
The Assassin and the Empire
Celaena attends the annual Royal Theatre performance alone and sees Arobynn publicly seated with Lysandra. Sam secretly earns money fighting in the Vaults, and he and Celaena decide to leave Rifthold permanently. This requires securing Arobynn’s permission to exit the Assassins’ Guild without becoming targets. They meet Arobynn at the Keep and negotiate a parting fee. Arobynn sets a price that drains Celaena’s funds, and she pays it to finalise the separation.
Sam then obtains an off-the-books contract to kill Ioan Jayne and Rourke Farran, offering enough money to rebuild elsewhere. They accept, despite the targets’ security. Arobynn warns Celaena that the contract is a trap and confirms he knows their movements. Sam scouts Jayne and Farran’s patterns, and the plan is set: Sam will kill Farran first while Celaena prepares to kill Jayne the following night.
Sam does not return from his mission. Celaena searches, then learns from Arobynn that Farran captured and tortured Sam to death. Celaena escapes confinement at the Keep and infiltrates Jayne’s house by leaping through a second-floor window, but the room is an ambush: guards are masked, the window is sealed, and gloriella smoke is used to paralyse her. Celaena kills Jayne before being subdued. Farran explains that the sequence was arranged to make her the public culprit for Jayne’s death while positioning Farran to take over.
Farran transfers Celaena to the King of Adarlan as a political gift, and she is imprisoned in the royal dungeon. At a closed trial, Celaena is charged and sentenced to forced labour in the Endovier salt mines instead of execution. As the prison convoy leaves Rifthold, Arobynn and Farran watch and confirm their alliance and the decision not to intervene. During the journey north through Oakwald, Celaena sees a white stag before arriving at Endovier and entering the mines as a prisoner.
Next in Series
The official first book in the series, Throne of Glass, is next. Celaena Sardothien is pulled from the Salt Mines of Endovier by Crown Prince Dorian to compete for the role of the King’s Champion.
∫∫∫