Showing results by narrator "shiromi arserio" in All Categories

After nearly dying within the all-encompassing Void Fog, Solvei—the fire elemental—returns to a war-devastated New Vetus to find the invading army slaughtered. She quickly leaves the country, soaring through the skies in her hawk form, searching for the friends she was separated from, and discovering a new reason to kindle her flames.

At the end of the 21st century, the world has changed dramatically, but life continues 1,000 feet below the ocean's surface. In Great Britain, sea creatures swim among the ruins of Big Ben and the Tower of London, and citizens waver between fear and hope: fear of what lurks in the abyss and hope that humanity will soon discover a way to reclaim the planet. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Leyla McQueen has her own problems to deal with.

Siriaa has been destroyed at the command of an enraged criminal. The poison infecting that planet has been flung into the universe, landing upon hapless worlds in its path. The Orb has dropped Quin onto another world five years in the future, where she is compelled to seek revenge against Vardil Cayetes, the one responsible for Siriaa's destruction.

It's the week of Hunter's Eve, a yearly celebration of monsters, ghosts, and things that go bump in the night. But for Huntress Isabeau Agarwal, the event is a stark reminder that in her line of work, there is never a day's rest. Murders rock the city, and Isabeau is charged with solving them before the killer strikes again. One, a macabre accident during a dangerous magician's trick gone awry. The other, a slain politician, his disfigured body displayed atop Lamplight's most memorable landmark.

Nura has worked all her life in the mica mines, earning just enough to keep her family afloat–and enjoy the odd delicious gulab jamun from the market. Some day she's going to find the Demon's Tongue, a legendary treasure buried deep in the mines, and her family will never have to worry about money again. But when a terrible accident buries her best friend below ground, Nura goes in search of him and passes over into the magical and terrible world of the jinn. Across a pink sea and under a purple sky, she finds her way to a palace, where great riches and a whole new life are on offer.

Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Earl of Enzie, has made a devil's bargain: he's going to sell Rowena, Isla's beautiful and innocent younger sister, to a known murderer in exchange for forgiveness of his debts. Tristan Mountbatten, the infamous Duke of Darkling Reach, has a habit of marrying such women and then disposing of them...horribly. For this and other reasons, there are rumors. That he practices the dark arts; that he's a necromancer; that he is, in fact a demon.

In the frigid woods at the edge of a storm, I'm going to find myself or die trying. I'm a fugitive of the fae city of Windhelm, framed for a murder I didn't commit. I only made it out of their dungeons by luck, and now I'm on the run - but so is the Prince.

At the request of Lady Harcourt, Charlie and Lincoln begin searching for her missing stepson. Still recovering from her ordeal at the hands of a diabolical villain, Charlie is supposed to be resting. But resting is dull, so she throws herself into the task at hand, much to Lincoln's frustration. The search leads them down a dark path littered with family secrets and titillating scandal. Using her necromancy to expose those secrets, Charlie unwittingly raises a spirit with the power to override her control.

It's a prick of blood, the bite of an apple, the evil eye, a wedding ring, or a pair of red shoes. Curses come in all shapes and sizes, and they can happen to anyone, not just those of us with unpopular step-parents.... Here you'll find unique twists on curses, from fairy tale classics to brand-new hexes of the modern world - expect new monsters and mythologies as well as twists on well-loved fables. Stories to shock and stories of warning, stories of monsters and stories of magic.

Princess Alyrra has never enjoyed the security or power of her rank. Between her family's cruelty and the court's contempt, she has spent her life in the shadows. Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future. But powerful men have powerful enemies - and now so does Alyrra. Betrayed during a magical attack, her identity is switched with another woman's, giving Alyrra the first choice she's ever had: to start a new life for herself or fight for a prince she's never met.

A couple of weeks ago, I was stolen from my home and forced to take part in an ancient fae ceremony; only someone made a mistake because I'm not fae, and if Winter's prince finds out, I'm dead. When an unexpected twist suddenly narrows the Royal Selection to a razor's edge, the best that I can do is put my head down and try to survive, but the prince has other plans. Part of me screams for me to keep him at arm's length, but the other part draws me closer to the brutally gorgeous fae, and it's going to get me killed.

Wylend Arden, Fifth-level warlock and King of Karathia for more than 20,000 years, had quite a story to tell. "It began like this," he said, his smile slightly crooked as he lifted his cup of wine to me. "I had an older brother, born to one of my father's legitimate mates. His name was Wellend and he was heir to the Karathian throne. On his 16th birthday, my father gifted him with the Heir's Ring, as was proper." After thousands of years, Wylend's niece and nephew are making a bid for the Karathian throne.

Only Rae knows the extent of the corruption at the heart of the kingdom of Menaiya, from the noble lord who betrayed her, to the Circle of Mages whose wards protect the slavers from discovery. Injured and imprisoned on a slave ship, Rae's options are quickly running out. When a desperate escape attempt goes terribly wrong, she finds herself indebted to a terrifying Fae sorceress. Now Rae will not rest until she has rescued her fellow prisoners and freed her land from the darkness that has taken hold.

When most girls get engaged, at most they face a disapproving mother-in-law, but in Tessa Sharpe's case, it's a nation. No one in the tiny kingdom of Avonia wants the former anti-royal blogger to wed Prince Arthur. The anti-royals haven't forgiven her for abandoning ship and swimming over to the Prince's yacht, and the royal watchers won't ever forget all the horrible things she wrote about their beloved Royal Family. Up against all odds, Tessa has only six months to prove herself worthy of the title of Princess. Her nasty father-in-law is going to throw every obstacle in her way.

Earth isn't a safe place for the Fae, but it had to have been safer than staying in Arcadia where some horrible monster was about to end my life . . . right? So, I made a snap decision, opened a portal, and threw myself, Valerian, and Tallin through it. Totally thought that through. There's no way that decision wasn't going to come back to bite me in the butt. Only it did, because now we're stuck here, in London, where my mother used to live.

I have come back to Arcadia, but all is not as it should be. An impostor sits on Windhelm's throne, and calling herself Queen. I don't know where my parents are or what's become of them. I don't know where my brother is, or if he's even still alive. And in less than two weeks, Fate itself will hunt me down and end my existence as if I wasn't meant to exist in the first place. This is it. If I don't figure out how to fix the mistake I made, Arcadia itself could fall and become something entirely monstrous. I just wish I knew where to start.

Lucy Clairmont's family treasured the magic of the past, and her childhood fascination with stories of the high seas led her to become a marine archaeologist. But when tragedy strikes, it's Dashel, an American forensic astronomer, and his knowledge of the stars that may help her unearth the truth behind the puzzle she's discovered in her family home.

Having survived the harrowing experience of her courtship, Isla must now make a decision - a decision that will affect the course of her life and that, if she chooses unwisely, indeed might end that life before it's truly begun. But before she can take control of her future, there are things she needs to know about the lover who remains so much a stranger. Is this dark, tormented man merely misunderstood? Or is he, in fact, the Devil made flesh? What truly motivates him - and what does he want from her?

In the kingdom of Adania, everyone knows what Princess Alyrra did to earn the court's contempt, her mother's disdain, and her brother's hatred. She betrayed her own. Yet, the truth hides another story - one of honor and honesty, of a princess gambling her own life for another's. It's a tale of courage, consequences, and a choice that can never be undone.

Eileen has never been interested in love. Ever since her father's abandonment, she's vowed to never experience such pain again. But the enchanted forest has different ideas. When the continuously shifting pathways lead her to a mysterious stranger, Eileen finds her promise to fiercely guard her heart increasingly difficult to keep. One night when she becomes lost in a storm, the enchanted forest's pathways lead her to the castle, home to the kingdom's Dark Prince, where Eileen finds herself entangled in what many consider an opportunity but which Eileen believes to be a curse.