BOOK 1
In a world where magic has been outlawed by a power-hungry king, 17-year-old orphan Celaena Sardothien works as an assassin. She only accepts jobs where she doesn’t have to kill children or people from her hometown. She works up the reputation of being a famous, notorious assassin, although many people imagine a much older woman when they hear about her.
When Celaena got captured and sent to a death camp, the news spread all over. Most people only last a few days in the mines, but Celaena has already survived a year there. Most people only make it a few feet when they try to escape, but when Celaena tried, she almost made it out.
The king is hosting a competition for filling the position of his Champion, which is his own private assassin. Each councilman selects his own candidate to compete. The Crown Prince (Dorian) selects Celaena. The Captain of the Guard (Chaol), who is 22 years old and has climbed the ladder in just two years, is assigned to keep watch over Celaena. It’s not long before both Chaol and Dorian grow feelings for Celaena.
Celaena displays a soft, compassionate side as she convinces the Crown Prince to rescue a puppy who is shy around most dogs and people. The Crown Prince gifts it to her, and she names the puppy Fleetfoot.
Celaena is advised to keep her real name a secret so that she doesn’t get ganged up on during the early stages of the competition. She goes by the alias of Lillian, and her fake backstory is that she was a simple jewel thief. In the beginning, no one regards her as serious competition, and Celaena intentionally doesn’t show off her skills in archery and sword fighting. She just aims to be not the worst, not the best.
In each round of competition, the worst candidate is sent home. (For example, whoever gets furthest from bullseye in an archery test, whoever is the slowest in a race, and whoever misidentifies the most poisonous goblets.) However, some candidates are also whittled off when a mysterious creature kills some of the candidates overnight. Celaena wonders if Princess Nehemiah is behind this, considering how strange it is that Nehemiah pretends to not be fluent in a common tongue but was caught reading a complex book in that language, so who knows what else she’s lying about.
Not long before the final stages of competition, a competitor named Cain shows up in Celaena’s room and opens a portal as he summons a demonic creature to kill her. It turns out that he’s been drawing strength from the dead victims. Celaena manages to escape, but because she got bit by the creature, she only has a few minutes to live. Luckily, Princess Nehemiah finds her and casts a spell to cure her.
During the semi-finals, Celaena duels Grave, who she had previously caught trying to sabotage someone else during one of the tests (by cutting their rope as they were climbing). Celaena easily beats Grave.
Right before the finals, the top two candidates (Celaena and Cain) are offered a congratulatory drink by one of the king’s servants. Celaena’s drink was poisoned, and her performance is heavily affected as she tries to fight Cain. Luckily, Princess Nehemiah again casts a spell to save her. Right after Celaena is declared the victor, Cain tries to stab her in the back, but Choal kills him first to stop him. (It’s revealed that the king was behind the poison and had given Cain permission to play dirty.)
The king reluctantly gives Celaena the 4-year contract, but he warns her that if she should ever “forget to return” during her missions, then he’ll kill Chaol and Nehemiah. Celaena is reluctant to serve such an evil man, but she has little choice. She’s looking forward to her promised freedom after the 4 years are up.
“We all bear scars, Dorian. Mine just happen to be more visible than most” (305).