Shadow of Death by Diane E. Samson

A homeless prince, a grueling mission, an unlikely hope

An unspeakable tragedy leaves Prince Jack with one desire: vengeance. Living in exile, Jack perfects his talent with the sword. He’s sent to the desert for assassin training, dreaming of the day he’ll drive a dagger into that usurper Ingvar’s heart.

Jack plunges into training and finds a new family of sorts, whose morally gray members rid the city of vile criminals. But as the desert Lord Anwar readies for battle, allegiances shatter, blood runs in the streets, and the shadow of death looms near. During a last effort to complete his seemingly impossible mission, Jack chances upon a slave girl with a Northern accent and eyes so familiar that he makes a hasty vow.

He always thought he’d defeat his nightmares by becoming one. Could that nightmare fade into a new dream? And could that strange slave girl be at the heart of it all?

Category: Fantasy – Coming of Age

Princess Anna can never escape the castle’s cold walls and scorning disapproval of her father and his brute royal counsel, Seamus.
A riding accident lands Anna in the hands of traders who sell her as a slave in distant Kasdod to none-other than her father’s enemy, Lord Anwar. After overhearing a dangerous plot to conquer Sunderland and kill the royal family, Anna must escape and warn her father.
With the doom looming over her, Anna is approached by a dangerous-looking man in the dark. He claims to want to help her, but can she trust him with her secrets? The perils of the journey ahead will push Anna to the limit and answer the one question that has always plagued her. Will she ever be enough?