The newly crowned Prince Jared, ruler of All Archenfield, has inherited a kingdom in crisis. The murder of his older brother has revealed a traitorous plot in his court, calling into question who, if anyone, Jared can trust as he ascends the throne. Now the realm is on the brink of invasion from the brutal Princes of Paddenburg, and Jared must travel to neighboring kingdoms in search of allies to defend his throne. Little does he know that an even more dangerous plot is hatching in the Archenfield court—one put in motion by the very people he left in charge. The second book in Justin Somper’s Allies & Assassins series delivers another twisted tale of high-stakes betrayal and political machinations in a court where no one can be trusted and everyone is a suspect.

Young servant Lara embarks on a daring plan to find her one true love. She steals one hundred silver schlips from her master to buy a magical faerie that will glow when her one true love is near. In order to pay back the debt, she turns her master's empty house into a gambling den.It's all going so fabulously well, until her master's youngest son, Cezar, turns up.Winter, 1812. Napoleon is marching through northern Brugel, on his way to Moscow.Most sensible people have fled south. Some folks have to stay behind in the villages and look after the animals This is where we find our heroine, young Lara, who yearns for her one true love to sweep her off her feet.Lara undertakes a daring endeavour. She steals one hundred silver schlips from her master to buy a magical faerie that will glow when her one true love is near. In order to pay back the debt, she turns her master's empty house into a gambling den.It's all going so fabulously well, until her master's youngest son, Cezar, turns up.

Here is an extraordinary mix of fantasy and science fiction from one of the masters of science fiction, Larry Niven. The stories in this collection include some collaborations with authors such as Jerry Pournelle (Spirals) and Steven Barnes (The Locusts), as well as stories written by Niven himself. Larry Niven’s credits include the award-winning Ringworld series, his “Known Space” novels and the Man-Kzin anthologies. His collaborations with Jerry Pournelle include such titles as Lucifer’s Hammer, Inferno and The Mote in God’s Eye.

When a powerful woman's soul is stolen, private detectives Indal and Molon (werewolves) must race to solve the mystery--before the victim dies, and her soul is destroyed by the monster responsible.Indal and Molon are private detectives in Phoenix, Arizona--except Indal is a chronomancer werewolf, and Molon is an anthropomorphic wolf. Together they make a great team, with Indal covering for Molon's wolf face with a variety of excuses.When they receive a strange email from an employee at Southvista software, claiming that his boss's soul has been stolen, they are plunged into a strange mystery involving supernatural powers, and beings from other worlds.Now they must unravel the mystery, before the stolen soul is turned to nefarious uses by a ruthless criminal who will stop at nothing to accomplish his goals. Can Indal and Molon stop him, or will their wolfish natures get the better of them?

From bestselling indie author Laura Thalassa comes the newly revised and edited second book in her smash-hit dark fantasy romance between a siren and the "bargainer" she owes countless favors to.She survived the mad king...but the nightmare isn't over.Siren Callypso Lillis still wears the physical reminders of her time as Karnon's captive, even after reuniting with soulmate Desmond Flynn, the King of Night. Not only that, but mounting evidence suggests the Thief of Souls, the being responsible for the disappearance of countless fae warriors, is still out there. Invited to an annual Solstice celebration, Callie and Des journey to the Kingdom of Flora to continue their investigation. But under the bright lights and striking blooms of the realm, new complications arise, ones that no amount of bargaining can undo. Soldiers begin to go missing from the gathering, and some of the fae begin to suspect Des is the man behind it all. To Callie, one...

“We haven’t brought you hack from the freeze-chamber because we’ve had any change of heart about the treatment of condemned criminals. You’re aboard a starship—a long,long way from Tanagar. “You’ve been sleeping for a long time. The only way you can actually find out if someone will last a million years is to try it. You were put away in the earliest years of the penal system—one of the first individuals sentenced to eternal life. We chose you partly for that reason—all the others we’ve revived come from a more recent period. You’ve been frozen for eight thousand years, Cheron Felix.You’re the oldest active human being in the universe

Winter arrives early and with it dangerous complications for Willow and Micah. A lethal storm sweeps in without warning. When Micah goes missing, Willow has to reach out for help from unexpected sources. As the snow piles up, Bear fears the worst, but there are some bright surprises on the horizon that no one saw coming.

Dark Elves blanket the land with death while two brothers fleeing from demons are saved by a sorcerer and discover that their fates are more intertwined with the evil than they would have ever imagined. As unlikely heroes are born, enemies unite as one against the greatest threat the world has seen. And just when the war is swallowed by darkness, from the hands of an ancient magic light is shed.Fallen into darkness by their lust for power, a band of rogue Elves claim all magical talismans as their own, absorbing powers so strong that they cannot bear the strain, losing themselves completely and becoming banished, changed into Dark Elves. The Dark Elves create an evil life form that spawns dark minions of its own to sweep through the land and take all magic for itself. Its Takers run unchallenged, destroying all life forms that could threaten their master. Massed by the thousands, they descend across the land leaving death in their wake.As war between Elves and Men begins, sorcerers are called to intervene, only to discover the demon army closing in fast. Elves and Men must form an alliance as their only chance to survive. The Elves race to create talismans, as a band of Men discover that they may hold the one key to defeating the horde: an ancient sword with unlimited power.As a group of men search for the fabled sword, they realize that a demon posing as one of them is also searching. If it can get the sword before they do, then hopes for winning the war are over.Meanwhile, Tane and Qenn, two brothers fleeing from demons, are saved by a sorcerer and discover that their fates are more intertwined with the evil than they would have ever imagined.Tane and Qenn depart from each other and begin their own perilous quests, with the fate of the world resting in their hands.

A short story. Deafness separates her from the words of the people around her, but she is determined not to be separated from their hearts.The world was once a place of plenty and wonders: famine and disease were largely unheard of, cities floated through the sky, everything appeared to be perfect. But it could not last. When the magic called Ve collapsed, society collapsed along with it: millions starved and the floating cities crashed to the ground. In the wreckage the byproducts of Ve use, magical beings called Amekt, went feral. This along with the ensuing wars rendered the mainland uninhabitable.In the last days of the old empire, as things began to fall apart, a small group split off an island-sized piece of rock and seeded it with a plant that would allow it to float. For nearly 500 years, the island of Ansau has drifted in isolation on the ocean currents. Life is more difficult than it was, but the Island’s inhabitants have learned to use the trickle of Ve and stability has been the rule. But things are about to change again.The Ash Tree is the first story in the Broken Shores series, in which events are set in motion that will change life on the Island forever. Beyond that, it is about the cost of those changes to those who bring them about.

Gawain was Arthur's champion, and the champion of the ladies. He loved many women, but none too much -- until one lover told him she intended to marry another man. A year later, he is running from his disappointment, traveling north to fight against a mysterious warrior who has taken the hill-fort of the lady Ragnell. But there is a mystery to Ragnell too ...Gawain was not only Arthur's champion, he was the champion of the ladies as well. He loved many women, but none too much -- until one of his lovers told him she intended to marry another man. Now, a year later, he is running away from his disappointment, traveling north to fight against a mysterious warrior who has taken the hill-fort of the lady Ragnell. But there is a mystery to Ragnell too, the beauty with the ravaged face. And Gawain learns he must solve both mysteries, that of the warrior and that of the lady ... Gawain and Ragnell is a short story of approximately 17,000 words, or 65 pages.Publisher's Note: Gawain and Ragnell is an expanded version of an episode in Shadow of Stone, so readers who have read the second novel of the Pendargon Chronicles will already be familiar with the story. The ebook includes an excerpt from the first book in the series, Yseult.

A Newford artist must come to terms with the power she creates with her work--and make peace with a past that haunts her.