Born of Ice

Born of Ice by Sherrilyn Kenyon


To the readers, past and present. Thank you for the

support. As always, to my friends, family, and staff,

a special thanks for all you do.

Much love,

Sherrilyn



AUTHOR’S NOTE


To everyone who’s read the previous version of this book, the book you hold in your hands has been completely rewritten. It is my original vision for the worlds I had all of those years ago. If you’ve read the first one, you’ll be surprised at all the changes, the new characters you’ll meet, and the turns of events that take place. I hope you enjoy Born of Ice.



For Born of Ice bonus material, please visit





PROLOGUE


“That right there is the meanest son of a bitch ever born.”

Devyn Kell jerked his head up from his paperwork as he heard that deep, familiar voice coming from across the room.

No. It couldn’t be . . .

He barely bit back his smile as he saw the newcomer instantly through the group of milling soldiers who separated them in the mess hall.

Adron Quiakides. Braggart. Womanizer. Lunatic . . .

And his best friend since birth.

Only a handful of years older than him, Adron had snow-white hair that fell in a braid down his back. A League assassin, Adron wore the uniform well. So black it absorbed light, it was a stark contrast to his hair and molded itself to every muscle the assassin possessed.

His eyes were covered by a pair of opaque shades, but even so, Devyn knew their color better than his own. As a kid, he’d saved the right one from blindness after they’d had a race through a briar patch that had all but ripped it out.

Devyn had won the race. But Adron claimed it was only because he’d almost lost his eye.

As if that could ever slow one of them down . . .

He hadn’t seen Adron in almost six months, a record for their tight friendship. He was definitely glad to see him now.

“You mean Kell?” Devyn’s commanding officer choked as Adron draped his arm over Quills’s shoulders. “Are you high, Commander? He’s a friggin’ doctor. The only part of me he scares is my tonsils.”

Adron tsked at Devyn’s CO, who’d done nothing but rag on him for the last two months since Devyn had been reassigned to this unit. The man really was lucky Devyn had learned to control his temper.

Most days, anyway.

Adron cuffed the CO on the back so hard, Quills actually staggered from the blow. “Yeah, that’s what he wants you to think. But trust me. I know his skills firsthand. His father was the notorious filch and assassin, C.I. Syn. His mother the legendary Seax, Shahara Dagan.”

Devyn clamped his jaw tight to keep from drawing his blaster and shooting his best friend for letting out a secret he’d done his damnedest to keep.

You asshole.

Quills gaped at them both. “He . . . Kell is their son?”

“Oh, yeah. And I’ll do you one better. He was trained from birth to fight by the best assassin The League ever created.”

Quills scoffed. “You mean there’s someone out there better than your father?”

Adron shook his head as he shoved Quills away from him. “No, idiot. My father trained him.” He flashed an evil grin at Quills. “Just FYI, my father is also his godfather. So you want to be real nice to Dev. All of us take it personally when people aren’t.”

Devyn rose to his feet as Adron closed the distance between them. He held his hand out and let his friend pull him into a tight man-hug. “It’s good to see you again, aridos. But really . . . some discretion would have been nice. Out of character for your rotten ass, but nice.”

Adron laughed good-naturedly as he released him. “C’mon, Dev. You need to let these assholes know what you can do. Who you really are. They think you weak, they’ll step all over you.”

A true assassin’s philosophy, but it wasn’t in Devyn’s nature to push people around. He was too easygoing for that.

Well . . . again, most days.

Devyn glanced around the room, noting they were the recipients of way too much attention.

Yet true to Adron’s words, the soldiers in the room now held a respect for Devyn in their gazes that they’d never had before. “Being an arrogant braggart just doesn’t work for me.”

Adron took his insult in stride. “You should try it. It really does grow on you, trust me.”

Devyn laughed at his friend, who was much more like an older brother to him. “So what brings you here?”

“People needed killing.” Adron’s tone was completely stoic about his brutal trade. “I was actually on my way back to The League and heard your unit had been dropped here. I just wanted to say hi before I left.”

“Who was your target?”

Adron leaned in to whisper so that no one else would know who he’d killed. “Emperor Abenbi.”