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The Warrior's Guild #3
Her Subtle Investigations
A Tired Blade
The Knife has long been the Warrior Guild's invisible answer to complicated problems—silent, sharp, and gone before her enemies even notice. She loves the work, loves helping people no one else will, but the years of endless travel—of lonely assignments, empty beds, and temporary allies—have worn her thin. Every new mission feels heavier, and Southport's nostalgic foods and familiar heat stir a deeper ache: the yearning not just for a solid home, but for a shared life with someone to whom she's just Kia, not the Knife...
A Collision Course
Chasing down a string of kidnappings, the Knife crosses paths—and blades—with two surprising Southport natives, both hunting for missing family. Masako wields nature magic with steely fury, but knows almost nothing about Southport's criminal underbelly. Nukunya carries an encyclopedic knowledge of the city along with a dry wit that cuts as deep as any blade. After a violent first meeting the trio form an uneasy alliance, then a true team as their search leads them closer to their quarry… and each other…
A Branching Path
Pinned down and hiding out in a brothel's back room, the Knife finds the lines between partnership, friendship, and romance blurring. Southport—and the people in it—has started to feel dangerously like home, but the Knife's Guild assignments never let her stay anywhere for long. With duty pulling her to one path and the temptation of Masako and Nukunya pulling her to another, she'll have to decide: Is it time to walk away again, or finally lay down roots?
The Knife has long been the Warrior Guild's invisible answer to complicated problems—silent, sharp, and gone before her enemies even notice. She loves the work, loves helping people no one else will, but the years of endless travel—of lonely assignments, empty beds, and temporary allies—have worn her thin. Every new mission feels heavier, and Southport's nostalgic foods and familiar heat stir a deeper ache: the yearning not just for a solid home, but for a shared life with someone to whom she's just Kia, not the Knife...
A Collision Course
Chasing down a string of kidnappings, the Knife crosses paths—and blades—with two surprising Southport natives, both hunting for missing family. Masako wields nature magic with steely fury, but knows almost nothing about Southport's criminal underbelly. Nukunya carries an encyclopedic knowledge of the city along with a dry wit that cuts as deep as any blade. After a violent first meeting the trio form an uneasy alliance, then a true team as their search leads them closer to their quarry… and each other…
A Branching Path
Pinned down and hiding out in a brothel's back room, the Knife finds the lines between partnership, friendship, and romance blurring. Southport—and the people in it—has started to feel dangerously like home, but the Knife's Guild assignments never let her stay anywhere for long. With duty pulling her to one path and the temptation of Masako and Nukunya pulling her to another, she'll have to decide: Is it time to walk away again, or finally lay down roots?
526 pages, ebook
First published August 16, 2025
12 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 28, 2025
Scarlett gale you've done it again. given us a great romantasy that's queer, happy, AND poly? I owe you my firstborn child for this one
August 20, 2025
If I could rate this 10 stars, I would. Even 100 stars.
October 19, 2025
This was a fun follow up to the first two books in the series. This book follows The Knife and I think it can probably be read on its own, though there are definitely several references to the first two books in the series (we see Glory and Lucien at the beginning and end) and probably less world building in this book.
In the book, The Knife (member of the Warrior’s Guild) gets sent south to investigate people disappearing in the city of Southport. She investigates undercover for a while and eventually runs into Masako (a shrine priestess) and Nukunya (a city auditor) who are both looking for missing siblings. As the three investigate together, they start unraveling the secrets of people’s disappearances and developing an attraction between the three of them.
I love The Knife’s personality. She is a pure cinnamon roll, with gooey feeling on the inside that she prefers not to acknowledge (and heaven forbid having to manage other people’s feelings on a mission). Masako is amazing as a magic user but also cute in her naivety about most sexual things (which makes it funny when the three have to hide out in a brothel for part of the book). I personally loved Nukunya — they have this totally dry sense of humor and an amazing ability to sort through information. The three characters have one of the funniest meet-cutes I’ve read.
The writing style of this book continues to be snappy and hilarious, as in the first book, and I highlighted many passages. Because this is a single book and not a duet, the sexual tension isn’t as drawn out (though it’s definitely there). There is definitely a good amount of spice (not too much and not too little) and even the acknowledgement that figuring out the logistics with three people can be awkward at first. I really appreciate the level of communication between the characters before and during the spicy scenes, it was a good model of healthy communication in a situation that’s even more complex with three people.
I think I liked the first two books in this series a little more but this was definitely worth the read and very enjoyable. If you liked the writing style of the previous books, definitely pick this one up.
In the book, The Knife (member of the Warrior’s Guild) gets sent south to investigate people disappearing in the city of Southport. She investigates undercover for a while and eventually runs into Masako (a shrine priestess) and Nukunya (a city auditor) who are both looking for missing siblings. As the three investigate together, they start unraveling the secrets of people’s disappearances and developing an attraction between the three of them.
I love The Knife’s personality. She is a pure cinnamon roll, with gooey feeling on the inside that she prefers not to acknowledge (and heaven forbid having to manage other people’s feelings on a mission). Masako is amazing as a magic user but also cute in her naivety about most sexual things (which makes it funny when the three have to hide out in a brothel for part of the book). I personally loved Nukunya — they have this totally dry sense of humor and an amazing ability to sort through information. The three characters have one of the funniest meet-cutes I’ve read.
The writing style of this book continues to be snappy and hilarious, as in the first book, and I highlighted many passages. Because this is a single book and not a duet, the sexual tension isn’t as drawn out (though it’s definitely there). There is definitely a good amount of spice (not too much and not too little) and even the acknowledgement that figuring out the logistics with three people can be awkward at first. I really appreciate the level of communication between the characters before and during the spicy scenes, it was a good model of healthy communication in a situation that’s even more complex with three people.
I think I liked the first two books in this series a little more but this was definitely worth the read and very enjoyable. If you liked the writing style of the previous books, definitely pick this one up.
January 16, 2026
“Hey, this might make everything even more awkward, but I’m extremely attracted to both of you and have been for a while, so if you’re at all interested, maybe we could act on that once we get out of this closet, unless you’re not interested, in which case I’ll never mention it again."
“You are a truly spectacular woman, and I am but a humble seeker of flowers."
“Which I intend to let you fuck me about later,"
“You say things sometimes that make me very sad, because I know that you’re right but it seems horrible to try to go through the world thinking that way.” “It is horrible,” Kia agrees, spreading her hands helplessly. “I don’t actually think that way, but a lot of my job is manipulating people who do think that way so I can use it to my advantage to help other people.”
“But you couldn’t have known that in advance, so getting mad about a thing you couldn’t have known is neither useful nor helpful. You have to look forward, and we have things we need to do now.”
"It’s silly. People tell each other their given names literally every day! Normal people. Not Kia. She can’t promise forever. She can’t even promise months. She can’t promise she’ll stay, but she can at least give them this; give Masako and Nukunya something real they can hang onto when she’s gone. They’ll have each other, and they’ll know her real name."
“You are a truly spectacular woman, and I am but a humble seeker of flowers."
“Which I intend to let you fuck me about later,"
“You say things sometimes that make me very sad, because I know that you’re right but it seems horrible to try to go through the world thinking that way.” “It is horrible,” Kia agrees, spreading her hands helplessly. “I don’t actually think that way, but a lot of my job is manipulating people who do think that way so I can use it to my advantage to help other people.”
“But you couldn’t have known that in advance, so getting mad about a thing you couldn’t have known is neither useful nor helpful. You have to look forward, and we have things we need to do now.”
"It’s silly. People tell each other their given names literally every day! Normal people. Not Kia. She can’t promise forever. She can’t even promise months. She can’t promise she’ll stay, but she can at least give them this; give Masako and Nukunya something real they can hang onto when she’s gone. They’ll have each other, and they’ll know her real name."
August 25, 2025
An excellent follow up to Scarlett Gale's first two Warrior's Guild books. This book is a stand alone, following The Knife, a minor character in the first two books who is traveling out of town to follow up on reports of missing people and suspiciously uninterested magistrates. She also bemoans her lack of a steady relationship in the first chapter, and as this is an adventure/romance book, promptly meets two people in the course of her investigation.
Both the romance and the investigation into the disappearances are well handled. Scarlett Gale is writes both realistic characters, and engaging plots.
Both the romance and the investigation into the disappearances are well handled. Scarlett Gale is writes both realistic characters, and engaging plots.
December 18, 2025
I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two. I didn't feel like I could relate to Kia as I did with Lucian in the first two books. I think it's because she has a completely different personality. But I did like the humor. And I also liked Nukunya a lot. They were my favorite. Also, I didn't care for the spicy content. It was nice when Lucian and Glory showed up as minor characters at the beginning and end. I wanted to read more of them, since they're my favorites.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews