Samel Dorwen is a young, shopkeeper, trying desperately to save his family's business during the throes of a nationwide crop shortage. .Mired in debt and struggling to care for his ailing mother, Samel is working himself to death. Constantly ground down by the apathetic nobility and their tax collectors, Samel is close to admitting defeat. Until he meets Joren, the assassin. Desperate to rid himself of debts, and finance a cure for his mother, Samel apprentices under the brutal tutelage of...

A look at Celaena Sardothien's life before the events of Throne of Glass.When the King of the Assassins gives Celaena Sardothien a special assignment that will help fight slavery in the kingdom, she jumps at the chance to strike a blow against an evil practice. The misson is a dark and deadly affair that takes Celaena from the rooftops of the city to the bottom of the sewer-and she doesn't like what she finds there.

A trilogy of short stories from the worlds of Master of Crows, Entreat Me and Radiance.STRONG BLOOD (3,504 words) – Ballard de Sauveterre from ENTREAT ME crosses time to share a drink with Silhara of Neith from MASTER OF CROWS and discovers a connection that spans generations.CROW AWAKENED (2,975 words) – A short follow-up to THE BRUSH OF BLACK WINGS in which a terrified Silhara finally learns why his beloved wife Martise is fading before his eyes.A MATTER OF TRUST ...

"The Desecrator" is an original short story from the Draegaran Empire, by bestselling author Stephen Brust. This is a tale of the Hawklord Daymar, and of a particular Morganti blade. Vlad Taltos fans will enjoy new insight into Stephen Brust's fantasy series.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

After months of working in his uncle’s mine, Yanko longs to see his family and friends again, especially Arayevo, the woman he has adored from afar since he was a boy. When she travels two days and asks to see him, his mind dances at the possibilities.But the mines are busy: there’s a political delegate to humor, a maiden in distress to help, and a wedding that must go perfectly—or else. Yanko will be lucky if he finds a chance to talk to Arayevo before she disappears from his life...

Our favorite battle junkie charges headlong into hell, chasing the greatest Hero in history!After Kelvin’s party defeats Estoria, one of the Apostles, another immediately appears before them. And who is it but Serge Flore, the previous Hero who once defeated Demon Lord Gustav! Even Melfina proves powerless against her. Their entire party brings everything to bear against a fighter said to be the pinnacle of fighting prowess, but she still manages to get away.Kelvin, of course...

Fresh from the collapse of his marriage, and with the criminal Jhereg organization out to eliminate him, Vlad decides to hide out among his relatives in faraway Fenario. All he knows about them is that their family name is Merss and that they live in a papermaking industrial town called Burz.At first Burz isn't such a bad place, though the paper mill reeks to high heaven. But the longer he stays there, the stranger it becomes. No one will tell him where to find his relatives. Even ...

ORIGINAL ANTHOLOGY featuring rollicking, tongue-in-cheek tales of women warrior fighting against the stodgy and in the name of freedom of expression, Chicks in Chainmail style!Continuing a great tradition, Chicks and Balances is not what you might think (or it is what you think, depending on which way your mind runs). What we have here is a bunch of perfectly healthy women who happen to be of the brass-bra-wearing and chain-link bikinis sort. Each is fighting in h...

In this post-apocalyptic romantic urban fantasy short story by New York Times and #1 internationally best-selling author Lara Adrian, a tough female mercenary known as Nisha the Heartless is hired to transport mysterious cargo arrived from exotic New Asia to a well-paying client.But things are never what they seem in a dark world now populated by humans and the Strange: shapeshifters and telepaths, nymphs and hobgoblins. It is a lesson Nisha learns all too soon--one that p...

Book 2 of the Dralin Trilogy:Dark secrets are hidden within the Pallon Estate in Dralin. The matron of the family is a pariah and she keeps her granddaughter hidden away from society. Young Ebudae Pallon studies arcane arts, surrounded by ancient tomes. Magic corrupts the body and can kill those who start young, but certain protections have kept her healthy and made her powerful beyond her youth.Pelya Jornin is a young swordswoman raised in the Dralin City Guard. Every day ...

A horror tale about the Witch Bride, second wife of a King, and the discord between her and her young stepson.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Ghoul of the School of Fools is a ghostly tale about friendship told in verse.The fools' graveyard contains a well,A murky stagnant pool.This gloomy place in which to dwellIs where there lurks a ghoul.The ghoul is shocked to find one nightA boy who sits aloneAnd watches stars with great delight,His back against a stone.The ghoul decides to join the boy,In spite of feeling shy.A bond is formed that brings them...