The crow hissed: "Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t cut your throat here and now. One single damn reason."

The prince froze with fear and said nothing. At last, his behavior was logical. His facial features had lost any order. Shivering, he closed his eyes in expectation of certain death.

But then there was a whispering. "Could there be three reasons maybe?" She suppressed the reflex to laugh—she hadn’t laughed aloud for years and was not sure if the muscles needed were even still functioning. Despite herself, she responded: "One good reason is sufficient, but alright, you have exactly three attempts."

Let’s see if the smartarse has anything else up his sleeve.

In the heart of the medieval world, Prince Karek crosses paths with a professional murderess—an encounter that could alter the kingdom for all time. Yet her contract specifies assassinating none other than Prince Karek himself.