Book Description

She needs to find an assassin before he finds her, but it's already too late.Two Villeleian monarchs are dead, and the last living heir is a frightened 14-year-old girl. And a desperate refugee population from famine-stricken Nandala is growing within Villeleia's borders.Jiandra Stovy isn't planning on getting involved--she just wants to keep her parents' farm going so she can afford to raise her younger siblings. But then she finds a mysterious, magical blue stone on the same day a Nandalan arrow narrowly misses the new queen in the castle courtyard, and a vicious witchhunt ensues for the foreign assassin, sweeping up innocent, starving women and children in its wake. Jiandra has no choice but to turn to the Old Gods for help.Their response is clear: Take the stone, use its powers, and find the Nandal assassin.Jiandra sets out with two of Queen Solange's guards to hunt the killer, trusting that the Knowing power of the Omaja Stone will help her recognize him. But when a tall, muscular Nandal appears out of nowhere to help her rescue a group of drowning Nandal refugees, she's a little too distracted by his exotic silvery eyes to notice he's been tracking her with dangerous intentions.And he isn't traveling alone.Yajna and Yavi are identical twin brothers, the highest trained killers in Nandala's Black Armies. Yajna specializes in archery while his brother is an expert with dual swords, and they've been sent on an urgent mission to assassinate Villeleia's inexperienced queen and start a war. When they run into a powerful shapeshifting sorceress who is also looking to get rid of the young queen, the three of them join forces to take control of prosperous Villeleia together.Unfortunately, a common farm girl and her magical stone stand in their way, and she's headed straight for them with her guards. Yajna and Yavi have no choice but to intercept her, kill her, and take the stone. But Yajna starts to have second thoughts--every minute he spends in the beautiful peasant girl's company makes it harder to follow through on his mission. He's a wanted man, and Jiandra has only to use the Knowing power of the stone around her neck to recognize it. He knows he should kill her and take the stone before that happens, but it's difficult to murder the one person in Villeleia who's trying to alleviate the suffering of his people.Especially when she feels like pure heaven in his arms.(This novel was formerly titled The Omaja Stone.)