As a paladin of the Dark Goddess, sworn to protect humanity against the Goddess's evil sister the Bright One, Ginnevra has dedicated her life to fighting monsters, especially the werewolves who are the pinnacle of the evil goddess's creation. But when a fatal confrontation seems to put her under the Goddess's condemnation, Ginnevra must leave her paladin company to discover why. In a village plagued by monsters on the edge of civilization, Ginnevra believes she understands what she faces. But when she meets a werewolf who challenges her understanding of who monsters really are, the encounter tests her faith to its limit. And when she learns the truth about the monsters attacking the village, she must choose between doing her duty and forging a new path—one that may condemn her forever.

Willow North is a thief, and despite her secret magical talent for sensing worked metal, she has never wanted to be anything else. But when her former fiancé appears on her doorstep with the eight-year-old King of Tremontane in tow, she is drawn into the political conflict surrounding the boy King's ascension. His uncle, a powerful Ascendant with the magic of manipulating the elements, murdered the old King and intends to kill young King Felix.Willow intends only to take the boy to safety, but as the days pass, she finds herself increasingly attached to Felix and unwilling to leave him once he's safe. But the pretender to the Crown has a long reach, and as his men close in on the fugitives, it seems nowhere may be safe.

The four hundredth anniversary of the city of Fioretti's founding brings Sienne's family to Fioretti, with news that changes her life and threatens her association with her companions, as well as her relationship with Alaric. To escape her fate and Perrin's vengeful father, the friends accept a job that takes them far from the city, to the eastern mountains.The job seems simple. A struggling community of settlers needs scrappers to clear out a ruin where something dangerous lurks. But the companions soon discover that nothing is as they expected. What the settlers actually want proves complicated even for these experienced scrappers. And a confrontation with a terrible enemy may end in someone's death.A thrilling tale of duty, honor, and the choice between the two.

The dragon Lamprophyre prefers poetry to politics and would rather fly than hunt. But when humans intrude on dragon territory for the first time in centuries, only Lamprophyre wants to know why. Her search leads her to meet the human Prince Rokshan—and ends with her mother, the dragon queen, appointing her ambassador to the humans of Gonjiri. Alone in the humans' capital city, with Rokshan her only friend, Lamprophyre learns quickly that not all humans can be trusted. Some want dragons gone from Gonjiri. Others want to use them in political intrigue. And a few want all dragons dead. Unless Lamprophyre discovers the culprits behind all these plots, the first contact between humans and dragons will end in war.

For over seventy years, the use of familiars—monsters bound by magic to fight beside humans in the Long War—divided magery into two factions. Now, the monsters strike back.As Helena prepares for the Conference of Neutralities, reports of familiars breaking their bonds to attack and kill their masters raise tensions between the factions to an unprecedented high. Faced with the challenge of keeping her relationship with Malcolm Campbell secret from more than a hundred of her fellow custodians, Helena must also protect herself from rogue familiars—and they're closer than she thinks.

The wizard Sienne hopes to make a name for herself as a scrapper—someone who scours the ruins of the Empty Lands for treasure and lost magical artifacts. But first she must find someone willing to take a chance on a desperate beginner.When Sienne finally catches a break, she becomes part of a ragtag group of adventurers—a desperate scrapper named Dianthe, her wizard-hating partner Alaric, a drunk priest, and a young fighter.But finding the treasure proves only the beginning. They must learn to work together as a team. Their very survival may depend on it.

Elspeth North, born and raised far from her Tremontanan homeland, wants nothing more than the peaceful, holy life of a priestess. Although born a princess, she believes her father's abdication means politics and intrigue have nothing to do with her. But her cousin King Francis's untimely death and a twist of Tremontanan law changes her whole life...and makes Elspeth Queen of Tremontane. With no formal training, no experience, and very little support, Elspeth must learn the complex rules and traditions of a role she never expected to fill, and she must learn them fast—because the fate of a kingdom lies in her hands.

Men and women come to Castle Always to receive a destiny. Few of those questers survive to return home. Mysterious, difficult to find, and possibly sentient, the Castle keeps its secrets hidden away where no one thinks to look for them.Unlike other questers, Ailanthe just wants to return to her forest home. She travels to the Castle searching for something to send her back, not for a destiny. But the Castle refuses to let her leave—and worse, it wants her dead.With the help of another man trapped by the Castle, Coren, and the mysterious cat Miriethiel, Ailanthe sets out to unravel the truth about the Castle not only to gain her freedom, but to save her life.

Willow North has safely brought the boy-King Felix out of Tremontane and secured the support of neighboring Eskandel in his bid to recover the Crown. Now she faces her greatest challenge yet: convincing the Counts and Barons of Tremontane to support Felix as he confronts his uncle, the pretender to the Crown. With Tremontane on the verge of civil war, success hinges on discovering true allies amid those who would take the Crown for themselves.But Willow's true plan—to choose a new ruler for Tremontane and give Felix a chance at a happy life—hits a snag when it seems none of the potential candidates for the Crown are suitable. With her army racing to meet the pretender's, time is running out. Willow will have to choose a King...and that choice will be one even she doesn't expect.

PERU, 1815. Bess Hanley, fresh from service with England's War Office and grieving the loss of her dearest friend, embarks on a sea voyage that ends in disaster. Shipwrecked off the coast of Peru, Bess's Extraordinary ability to mentally communicate with anyone is not enough to prevent her from being kidnapped by a lost tribe of Incas. An Inca Seer's prophecy that Bess will help the Incas regain their dominance over South America tangles Bess in a political struggle that may mean her death. With the help of her Speaker friends, a mysterious Inca warrior woman, and a man who keeps his identity secret, Bess will try to stop a war—and fall in love with a man she has never met.

Spain, 1814. The warrior woman Amaya, born Imelda Salazar, has the power to alter bodies with a touch—to heal, or to destroy. Having left behind her Inca rescuers for a new life in England, she finds herself lost in this new world, surrounded by people who insist she use her talent in ways at odds with her warrior upbringing. When the opportunity to find her father's family arises, Amaya journeys to Spain, hopeful of finding the truth about her past. But in Spain, everyone she meets wants to control her: the Spanish king wishes her talent for himself, her grandfather demands she take up her lawful inheritance, and a mysterious revolutionary wants her to fight for Spanish independence at his side. With conflicting demands on every side, Amaya must take control of her own destiny and discover who she truly is.

A SPOT OF BLACKMAILFor months, Sienne and her scrapper team have faced many challenges in their quest to free Alaric's people from the wizard enslaving them. But when a new, unexpected challenge threatens to end their quest, the companions have no choice but to give in to a blackmailer's demand: retrieve an ancient stone artifact from an abandoned village.Their new adventure takes them north to the edges of the Empty Lands, where monsters roam free and even the land is dangerous. Someone else wants what they're after—someone who will kill to get it. And in a deserted castle past the borders of civilization, the companions encounter evil unlike any they've fought before.A thrilling adventure of powerful magic, dangerous foes, and the triumph of free will.

The first short story in the collection by the same name.