Royal Assassin

Royal Assassin, the second installment of Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy, continues the story of FitzChivalry Farseer, the illegitimate grandson of King Shrewd and a trained royal assassin in the medieval fantasy kingdom of the Six Duchies. Fitz possesses two rare abilities: the Skill, a telepathic magic tied to the royal bloodline, and the Wit, a forbidden Beast magic that lets him bond mentally with animals. The novel opens with Fitz recovering in the Mountain Kingdom from poisoning and beatings inflicted by Prince Regal during the events of Assassin's Apprentice.

Broken in body and spirit, Fitz announces to Burrich, Buckkeep's stablemaster and his lifelong guardian, that he will not return home. That night, a Skill-vision pulls him into King Shrewd's consciousness, and he witnesses a raid by Red-Ship Raiders, seafaring enemies from the Outislands who attack coastal towns and subject captives to Forging, a process that strips away all human emotion and empathy. The vision reveals the weight of Shrewd's suffering, and Fitz resolves to return to Buckkeep.

At the ancestral Farseer stronghold, Fitz finds the Keep transformed under Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken, a Mountain princess married to Prince Verity. Verity, heir to the throne, is building warships to fight the Raiders but explains he cannot punish Regal without proof, as doing so could drive the Inland Duchies to Regal's side. The Fool, King Shrewd's cryptic jester, warns that the King is not well cared for. Lady Patience, Fitz's stepmother, forbids Fitz from seeing Molly, the candlemaker he loves, who now works as Patience's serving maid after losing her shop. Patience insists Fitz must have the King's permission to marry.

Wandering Buckkeep Town, Fitz is drawn by the Wit to a starving, caged wolf cub. He buys the animal and hides it in an abandoned cottage, intending to release it once it heals, but their mental connection deepens rapidly. Chade, the King's elder bastard brother who secretly trained Fitz as an assassin, instructs Fitz to watch over Kettricken and help her navigate court politics.

Fitz becomes Kettricken's unofficial adviser, teaching her to cultivate loyalty among her ladies. King Shrewd sends Fitz on an assassination mission to Bearns Duchy, where he neutralizes Virago, a warrior woman who advocates overthrowing the Farseer line. Shrewd also extracts a promise that Fitz will never harm any of the King's own, effectively shielding Regal.

Verity assigns Fitz to hunt Forged ones converging on Buckkeep. Fitz lures them with poisoned food, kills seven, and burns the bodies. When Kettricken is attacked by Forged ones during a ride, Fitz suspects Regal engineered the incident. Kettricken takes command of a subsequent hunt, transforming it into a solemn military operation that honors the dead as war casualties. Her leadership electrifies the soldiers, and when Regal sneers that she undermines Verity, the prince strikes his brother across the face.

Fitz and Molly confess their love and begin meeting secretly. When Fitz tries to abandon the wolf at a remote hut, the animal refuses to leave and later saves his life during an ambush by Forged ones. Fighting as one consciousness, they survive, and Fitz fully accepts the bond. The wolf reveals his name: Nighteyes. Verity begins training Fitz in the Skill. Fitz and Molly consummate their relationship. The Fool reveals his origin, describing himself as a member of a distant, long-lived race that keeps records of prophecy. He calls Fitz the "catalyst" and warns that the fall of the Farseer line will consume the world in darkness.

When Fitz asks Shrewd for permission to marry Molly, the King assumes he means Celerity, Duke Brawndy of Bearns's daughter, and reveals he has already approved that match. He forbids Fitz to court anyone else. Verity launches his warships, and Fitz serves as an oarsman on the Rurisk through a brutal summer of naval combat. Molly grows resentful of his absences and secrets.

Kettricken discovers old scrolls and a map pointing toward the Elderlings, a legendary people Verity hopes to find in the Rain Wilds beyond the Mountains. Verity gains Shrewd's permission to quest for them, and Regal endorses the plan, seeing a chance to remove his brother. Before departing, Verity asks Fitz to carry his Skill presence indefinitely and to protect Kettricken. Burrich joins the expedition.

With Verity gone, Regal strips Buckkeep of wealth, shipping livestock, grain, and treasures to Tradeford Castle in Farrow. King Shrewd deteriorates under Wallace, a servant who controls access to the King and burns mind-dulling Smoke herbs in his chamber. Regal's coterie, a team of Skill-trained agents, stalks Fitz and probes his defenses. Regal confines Fitz to the Keep, and Molly is attacked by masked riders warning her to stay away from "the Bastard."

Burrich returns alone, badly wounded. Verity's party was ambushed on the road; only Burrich survived. Kettricken confides she is pregnant with Verity's child. Fitz realizes the coterie has served Regal since Galen, the late Skillmaster, created them, and that Regal has intercepted all Skill communications. When five Red-Ships besiege Neatbay, Kettricken overrides Regal and rides to battle, fighting alongside her soldiers and earning the title "Vixen Queen."

Regal declares Verity dead and schedules his own King-in-Waiting ceremony. Fitz contacts Verity through the Skill, using Shrewd as a conduit, and confirms Verity lives. During this contact, Fitz discovers that coterie members Justin and Serene have been parasitically draining Shrewd's Skill strength. Molly tells Fitz she is leaving Buckkeep, saying there is "another" in her life who must come first. She departs without explaining further.

Chade and Fitz plan to smuggle Shrewd and Kettricken out during Regal's ceremony. On the escape night, Fitz takes Shrewd's hand for a final Skill farewell to Verity, but in the Skill current, Shrewd's consciousness vanishes: The old King is dead, drained by Justin and Serene. Fitz kills Serene with the King's belt knife and pursues Justin into the Great Hall, stabbing him before guards intervene. A brawl erupts, and Fitz is knocked unconscious.

In a dungeon cell, Fitz learns Kettricken and the Fool have escaped and that Regal accuses him of killing Shrewd with Beast magic. The Coastal Dukes negotiate: If Regal proves Fitz is Witted, he may execute him; if not, Fitz commands Buckkeep. Regal has Fitz beaten while Will, the remaining coterie member, assaults his Skill defenses. A witness from Neatbay claims she saw Fitz transform from a wolf into a man after the battle, and Regal reveals that Rosemary, Kettricken's little maid, was his spy.

Burrich visits the cell feigning drunkenness and secretly delivers a pellet of carryme, a Mountain herb that simulates death. Through Nighteyes, Fitz understands the plan. He takes the herb and, through the Wit bond, releases his consciousness from his dying body to join the wolf.

Fitz is declared dead. Patience requests that his body be buried whole rather than burned. Days pass while Fitz exists entirely as a wolf, gradually losing his human identity. Burrich and Chade dig up his body from the frozen graveyard. Burrich places the corpse's hand on the wolf's head and calls Fitz back. In a moment of agonizing choice between wolf freedom and human duty, Fitz returns to his battered body.

To the world, FitzChivalry is dead. Only Burrich and Chade know otherwise. Fitz turns his back on the crumbling Six Duchies and follows Kettricken's path, seeking his king. The narrative continues in Assassin's Quest.