The Sword Of Summer

Seven years ago, my husband, the King of the Humans, banished me to the Everfrost Plains, where my life came to a tragic end. Seven years later, a grave illness befalls the Queen of the Humans, and blood spills endlessly from her lips. The clerics claim that I have cursed her. Only the blood taken from my heart can cure her fully. Gareth Lancaster, my former husband, comforts his new wife, the queen, and says, "You have nothing to fear. To think she's still trying to harm you, her older sister, even when she has been exiled! "I'll march to the Everfrost Plains right away and carve her heart out to use as your cure. Then, I'll have her soul sent to hell to suffer in torment for all eternity." Sword in hand, Gareth heads to the Everfrost Plains. He finds a Serpentkin, one who should've died in the Great War of the Beasts and Men seven years ago. The Serpentkin has frozen solid, standing before my grave with his hands clasped together as if in prayer. In front of my grave sits a young girl. She says, "You won't be able to take my mother's heart. She died many years ago. I stayed here to let the truth be known to all…"

"Brother, please spare my life!" Sera cried out. She kneeled and bowed down to show sincerity but her brother's eyes did not show any emotion. "There is no mercy for traitors, Sera. That's the family motto, remember?" Xander's voice was stern and filled with contempt. "I didn't do it! I don't even know what the Duchess looked like!" She was desperate but none of her family members even tried to listen to her. "We shouldn't have accepted you. The prophecy was true when it said that you will only bring tragedy to this family!" Her father's voice was filled with rage. All her life, all she asked was to be acknowledged. All she wanted was to feel the warmth of a family. Was it too much to ask for? "I wish I was never born," she mumbled. "Prepare to die, Seraphina. This is the punishment for taking my mother's life." Xander lifted his sword and drops of blood splattered when the blade cut through Sera's head. "Sera!" Seraphina jolted when she heard her mother's voice. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the familiar small room and she immediately touched her neck to confirm that her head was not severed. What happened? Why am I back to my ten-year-old self?

Sebastian Cruz has three rules: 1. Protect your team. 2. Never show weakness. 3. Hate your stepbrother. Julian Frost has one secret: He's been in love with Sebastian since before they were family and Sebastian doesn't even remember. Now they're trapped. Two weeks. One cabin. One bed. A blizzard that won't stop. A father who wants to destroy them both. An injury that could end everything. And a memory that's finally starting to return. By the time the ice thaws, Sebastian will have to choose: His career. His family. His future. Or the man he was never supposed to love...But was always destined to keep. What if the person you're supposed to hate is the only one who's ever really seen you? What if the summer you forgot holds the key to everything you've been searching for? What if the man who could destroy your career is the same man who would die to protect you? What if loving him means losing everything? And what if losing him means losing yourself?

* The fourth book in the Love and Other Sorcery Series - Book One, The Mage's Heart, Book Two, The Golden Dragon's Princess, Book Three, Akyran's Folly * Love's Sacrifice Will Make You Stronger Tarragon, the first-born child of Queen Diandreliera of Uyan Taesil and her dragon husband, Aurien, is the child of prophecy in every way. She is beautiful, talented, well-learned, and a master of the sword she was born to wield. She is also as magnificent a golden dragon as her father when in dragon-form. Daethie loves and adores her older sister and envies her for all that Tarragon is and Daethie isn't. Short, small, dark haired, and unable to shift into a dragon, Daethie is fondly known as "the runt of the dragon litter." Whilst her siblings excel at Prince Akyran and Princess Ecaeris' Monster Hunting training, Daethie is a disaster more likely to harm herself than any monster that she encounters. When Prince Akyran brings Aien, the son of a local warlock who is well known for his villainy, to the castle as his hostage, Aien singles out Daethie to befriend, and Daethie falls hard and fast for the enigmatic warlock's son. With the increasing danger of monsters roaming their land, Tarragon leads an expedition to locate the portal that is allowing the creatures to cross from their world, but it is a dangerous, testing journey and one that not all will complete alive. What sacrifice will be made for love and the rescue of their world?

Born a servant, hunted for a legacy she never knew she had, Khalifa’s life is about to ignite in flames of betrayal, prophecy, and blood. Marked with the red crescent of the Warrior Moon, she carries the secret of the lost House Rashad, a royal lineage destroyed in a war no one dares speak of. When assassins strike under the cover of night and the Temple of the Moon burns to the ground, Khalifa is thrust into a dangerous world of conspiracies, treacherous alliances, and secrets that could shatter the kingdom. Prince Louis, noble and battle-worn, is forced to protect her, but every glance hides suspicion, every gesture carries weight, and every decision could mean life or death. Khalifa must learn to wield the skills she never knew she had, confront the ghosts of her family’s past, and navigate a labyrinth of spies and traitors. Shadows move in every corner, enemies wear faces of friends, and betrayal comes from where she least expects it. As the prophecy unravels, Khalifa realizes the ultimate choice is hers alone: embrace her destiny and claim the throne, or risk the destruction of all she loves. Loyalties will fracture, hearts will break, and the line between survival and sacrifice will blur. In a world where every sword could be the one to pierce her heart, the fate of the kingdom rests in the hands of a girl who never asked to be royal.

Strength is everything in our world. I was born without it. My name is Maeve Nightwhisper—the royal family’s shame. I can’t shift. I don’t heal like a true Alpha. I was never meant to rule. That future belonged to my twin brother, Reeve. Until he was poisoned the night before enrolling at Lycan Spirit Academy. If the academy discovers the heir is dead, our uncle Garson claims the throne by dawn. So I bury my brother and become him. I cut my hair, bind my chest, suppress my scent, and enter the all-male academy under Reeve’s name. One injury that heals too slowly, one slip in the communal showers, one crack in my control, and I’m exposed. The academy is a battlefield disguised as a school. Ranking matches are merciless. Alphas dominate or get crushed. I can’t overpower them, so I awaken the Forbidden Arts—an outlawed technique once practiced only by women of my bloodline. They call me weak. Until I start winning. Now Alaric, the Academy’s Sword Bearer, watches me like prey. Dorian, the potions prodigy, looks at me like a secret he’s desperate to uncover. Then the Mate Bond snaps. If they discover I’m Maeve... The throne won’t be the only thing I lose.

My best friend was obsessed with playing the part of a socialite, always chasing after rich heirs. When she saw posts online about guys making money over the summer by 'renting themselves out,' she decided to copy them. Two thousand for a hike. Five thousand for a dinner date. Twenty thousand for a trip. The prices kept climbing. I was worried she would run into the wrong kind of people, so I tried everything to talk her out of it, to keep her from walking straight into trouble. Later, the wealthy guy she had her eye on went public with another influencer who had built the same 'socialite' persona. She took it out on me. Sold me to a nightclub. I was abused in every way imaginable until I died. There was not even enough left of me to bury. Then, I opened my eyes again. She was already scheming: "Guys like that can make 500 just tagging along on a hike. I'm way prettier. Charging 2,000 isn't too much, right?"

My younger sister, Rosalie White, and I are twin mermaids, born with the divine gift of bearing sacred beasts. On the day we come of age, Father presents us with all the unmarried princes of the beast clans. Rosalie picks Charles Summer, the powerful prince of the zilant clan, in hopes of birthing a sacred beast and claiming the beast throne. However, her five babies are all dark, frail half-zilants of the lowest rank. I, with my weak and sickly body, join with Jasper Warren of the serpent clan, the most despised of them all. I end up succeeding in giving birth to a sacred beast hatchling. On the day of the coronation, Rosalie refuses to accept it. She strangles my hatchling and rips out my beast core. Then, she throws our bodies into the beast furnace, destroying us completely. … After my reincarnation, I see Rosalie pointing at Jasper and says, "I only want him." I know that she has also been reincarnated. I chuckle coldly. I'd like to see if she can bear a sacred beast in this lifetime.

During summer break, I took my son, Luke Thorne, diving at our private beach. Ralph Foster, a hotshot TV actor, suddenly showed up with a whole entourage and barged in. "This is a private beach that Gloria personally secured for me to entertain VIPs. You two nobodies had better get lost right now!" He threw his weight around and even dragged my wife, Gloria Stokes, out as a threat. When he learned who I was, he went a step further and mocked me as a kept man living off my wife. I actually laughed. I was the head of the Thornes, the most powerful family in Frenkinston. Since when did I become some freeloading, useless husband? On top of that, Gloria's film studio and every bit of her backing came from me. But when Gloria arrived, she sided with Ralph and actually tried to force Luke to put on a show for some sleazy investors. Sneering, I made a call that only the head of the Thornes had the authority to make. "Shark Vanguard, clear Crescent Bay. Now."

The rule was simple: No sex in school. But I broke it. It was supposed to be the perfect first time with my boyfriend, the moment I had been waiting for all summer…until everything went wrong! We were caught by my lecturer. My boyfriend abandoned me without a second thought, leaving me to face the consequences alone. Desperate to protect my reputation, my grades and my future, I begged for mercy. And he listened, but at a heavy cost. “Suck me off,” he ordered and in no time, I went down on my knees. From that day on, I was no longer just his student. I became his secret, his obsession, and his favorite slut to fuck behind closed doors. I should hate him, I should even run away from him. But the more he takes me, the more my body betrays me. This is wrong, forbidden and so fucking dangerous because if anyone finds out, it'll ruin everything! But when he fucks this good, how can I stop craving him?