The bard carves a tale of friendship, sacrifice, and unexpected endings…even when you think you already know the tale. Returning home after a long voyage, Aldwyn and Meilyr ask the woman they love to choose between them, but before she can answer, a dangerous stranger arrives to threaten their village, demanding a sacrifice. Who will be chosen and how will the others respond?

The potter-mage down the lane seems intent on putting Bram out of business, but when Bram offers a small kindness to a stranger, will it help or hurt his efforts to thwart his rival's plan?

The solitary superhero must walk her path alone, concealing her identity and pushing all of her loved ones away. This is the way the superhero before her acted, but is this the way it has to be? A masked vigilante ponders these questions of connections to others and comes to her own conclusion.

Will her recent promotion to detective be enough to help Sonja move past the man she loved and lost? With her memory update, it seems unlikely. But a new partner and a new case centering on mysterious magical attacks might just be the recipe she needs to finally lay her past to rest.

With the southern portion of the kingdom in rebellion, the Crown has begun accepting commoners as candidates for its elite fighting force, the Prince's Legion.Tyna decides to ask if they are also willing to take a woman.

With the intergalactic war over, they were supposed to be enjoying retirement. Instead, Mona learns that her husband has died in a gravcar accident, leaving her to hunt his killers. But the couple has too many enemies, and she doesn't know where to start. She'll have to untangle this new threat before she can retire in peace.

Love, betrayal, loss, and regret. She refuses to cry over the man she once loved. But he asked her to have one last drink for him, and at the very least, she owes him that.

When his brother falls for a pretty face and unwittingly lets a threat on board, it is up to Konstantin to stop the hacker before it is too late. There's just one problem—Konstantin is the ship, with his brain hardwired to its systems. By attacking the ship's computer, the hacker is attacking him, and in order to gain complete control, she just might have to shut him down for good.

This collection includes seven stories by Beth Powers:Captain Sable's Crew: Some would call him a pirate, but Captain Devlin Sable tries not to call himself much of anything. He's more concerned with putting together a reliable crew. However, the Empire has other ideas--it wants him dead, and it's willing to pay in gold.Konstantin: When his brother falls for a pretty face and unwittingly lets a threat on board, it is up to Konstantin to stop the hacker before it is too late...

Thomas was having a bad day. And that was before his ship started drifting toward a Molasses storm.

The future invades in the middle of winter, bringing people, buildings, and technology. The scientists are stumped, but how will the average person react to all of these changes?

This collection includes nine stories by Beth Powers:A Small Kindness: The potter-mage down the lane seems intent on putting Bram out of business, but when Bram offers a small kindness to a stranger, will it help or hurt his efforts to thwart his rival's plan?Retirement: With the intergalactic war over, they were supposed to be enjoying retirement. Instead, Mona learns that her husband has died in a gravcar accident, leaving her to hunt his killers. But the couple has too m...