Three fated lovers: a shieldmaiden, a Troll Queen, and a Valkyrie. One price: the fate of all Midgard. Turiel is crown princess, but from the outlawed Northern Holds, bloodbound to Troll Queen Jarngrimr, and best friends with the stablelass Yolanda, her first love - until her poison kiss turned Yola into a Valkyrie, and whisks Yolanda from Turiel's grasp. Now, Turiel has been stolen into wily Queen Jarngrimr's realm, with only the goddess Skadhi and Yola - back from the dead! - to guide her. Lussi, the Snow King, craves a bride - and it is Dia's troth alone. Dia, the last blood mage from the line of the Isa, is all that is left of Turiel's legacy. Dia has been raised as Lussi's Magdalene - his ritual Bride - and ritual Slayer - for the past three years. Every Winter Solstice, Lussi can die, and Dia must kill him. But as Dia falls deeper into Lussi's sexy web - and in love - her heart is on the line! Other works and Ko-Fi: linktr.ee/avnelson
"The Dead travel fast, but Death travels faster."
Prologue:
This is what I remember:
He stands by the howling void. Chalk white cliffs plummet downwards to the raging sea. The blue-blackness froths beneath him. Wind screams. It is absolute zero.
Shadows fall like dolls into the abyss. There are no cries of pain. Merely silence.
The Legion stands before him. Michael brandishes his flaming sword. His face is raw with suffering.
"Don't do this, brother," he pleas.
His cry falls on deaf ears. It is a corpse that stands before him. Razor thin. Pale as winter snow. He towers over the archangel, still as the grip of death.
He opens his hollow eyes. All Heaven holds its breath. The void yawns, grating its jowls. Its master smiles wretchedly. His flesh cracks like ice as he speaks:
"Either way, I win." His voice is like bitter wind.
The pull of the Pit wraps around the Host like a vise. The weakest crumple like smashed mica. Their shards plummet into the abyss.
Michael's bones shake. His sorrow turns to wrath. He roars, then delivers the killing blow. The serpent is crushed beneath him.
The corpse laughs as the sword pierces him. "Come with me, my brother," he whispers. He takes him by the heel. Lightning strikes fire as they embrace. Michael surrenders himself to his adversary. Finally, the Host is freed.
The brightest stars blaze into the darkness. The void is sealed shut. They leave a graveyard of angels behind them.
Time begins.
Death is born.
"You should run, human girl."
Chapter 1: Disposable Teens
I woke in a sweat again, screeching. Running my hands through my hair, I bolted upwards, struggling for breath. The same dream again, probably spurred on by the chili corn dog of questionable origins the cafeteria had served up for dinner. "Holy frappacino," I whispered as a slamming headache hit me. My stomach rolled, whether from fear or indigestion, I couldn't tell.
My roommate flipped on the lights, groaning: "Again, Fianna?" She tossed her pillow at me, eyes bruised like a racoon's.
I clutched it to my chest and collapsed. "Yeah," I sighed. "I'm so, so sorry." I glanced at the alarm: 3:00 AM. Just the latest in a string of witching hours I'd awakened to in the past month. Perhaps it was the darkness of winter that drew out the strange visions each year. The unyielding cold that dug into one's marrow weighed heavily on us all, stirring upsets that lay buried in the subconscious.
"Quinn? Quinlan?" I asked, tossing the pillow back at her. She caught it drearily.
"What?" She lounged on her bed, eyes dead. "Was it them again? The twins?"
"Yeah. I think the caf's food was laced with something. Roofies. Crack..."
"Holy water? No offense, but you have religious wing-nut dreams."
"But I'm an Atheist-"
"Zip! I've had to put up with this for..." she glanced at her hands. "Three, four, five weeks. And girl, early morning wakings do not bode well for beauty. I've had to change foundations three times for these skull hollows under my eyes."
I flinched, reminded of the dream. "He was bones in the end. Charred bones. Like those medieval plates of villagers dancing with the dead."
"Never seen 'em," Quinn said flatly. "Look, I have an organic chem test in the morning, which we both know I'm going to fail. You now owe me dinner at Peter Chang's and a seriously large shoulder to cry on."
I pulled at my PJs, distracted. "I do have man shoulders, don't I? Moulders. Crap."
"That wasn't the point, Fee. I need your empathy, not your masculinity."
"I am not a guy! See? No five o' clock shadow."
"Every girl has an inner dude. It's your animus. Embrace it."
"Like a spirit animal?"
"Sure. Your inner hot man totem. It's for balancing your psyche-"
There was a soft knock at the door. I paled. "Oh crap, it's Phoebe. Come in!"
Our RA stood in her Amish-worthy nightgown, bleary-eyed. "Everything alright, girls?" she asked, voice cloying with concern.
"Just a nightmare," I said flippantly. "It was... nothing."
"Nothing?" Phoebe cocked her brows. "Because it sounded like murder. Are you sure you don't want to go to the Health Center?-"
"Yes," Quinn and I said shortly.
"Right. Well, maybe cold water. There's medication for this, you know."
"No, and thank you, Phoebe!" Quinn said sunnily. "And a good night to you too." With that, she closed the door. Face flashing grimly, she glanced back at me. "She's right, you know. You can end up in the hospital for this stuff. Nightmare syndrome. I Googled it."
"Which totally makes it legit," I said, sardonic. "It's just stress, or the weather, or- oh, I don't know, Quinn! Maybe I'm the reincarnation of some fire and brimstone preacher."
"Well, Miss Billy Graham. If that's the case, I must have lived on the island of Cyprus, like a priestess of Aphrodite! A slave to beauty and piña coladas, not a dredge to chemistry." She made the sign of the cross against her textbooks. "Can you damn them for me, preacher?"
"By the power invested in me by God, burn, unholy tomes!"
We giggled, ominously fanning the flames.
"Twin psychos through and through," Quinn observed sagely. She flipped the lights. "Back to bed, Fee. And the General Tsao's chicken tomorrow better make up for this lovefest."
I tossed her pillow back at her, smiling. "Pinkie-swear, roomie," I said, voice dripping with sweetness.
She harrumphed and promptly began to snore. So much for beauty sleep.
Katya is in love with Azovka, the Mistress of Copper Mountain. Katya's fiancee Danilo dares carve Azovka an impossible flower of stone. They witness the ruthlessness of the Romanovs and clutches of corrupt Bailiffs in the Ural Mountains, where Azovka's Copper Men have ruled since they were first mined out of Mount Azov. But when Azovka begins to turns to stone, Katya fears the worst - and that Danilo will follow Azovka to a Hell of malachite shadow. With Baba Yaga's guidance, and the magick in her veins, Katya must save them all! retelling of pavel bazhov's "the stone flower"
Death has a mate - a teenage girl, the Grim Reaper's Bride. All Callie has known is that someone watches her in the woods - Samael, the Grim Reaper. Drawn into his intoxicating web of desires, secrets, and shadows, and hating him with a burning passion - can these two unlikely heroes stop the Apocalypse? Or will Samael start it for love?
The Frost Demon Morozko, Prince of Russia's immortal land of Buyan, has waited ages for a mate. And she is Stravinksy's fabled Firebird - incarnated as an orphaned witch! Cast out by the King of the Ice Kingdom, Morozko wanders Buyan, a Miyazaki haven for cherti, nechist, and witches - but a dark curse plagues the land - Koschei the Deathless. Can this bastard prince and the young human girl Anya that conniving Baba Yaga gave Morozko to raise with his found family of cutthroat spirits stand a chance against the immortal sorcerer King Kaschei, who has trapped Anya's soul in the Deathless realms, in gardens of dead wives? Anya is burgeoning with power, living a double life between Cold War Russia and D.C., and coming into her own as a witch to rival Baba Yaga. When her newfound love for Morozko is at stake, she will risk it all to follow the darkly tempting Kaschei to the Deathless lands, face the travails that put all Russia in peril - and save Morozko, as much as he saves her. With epic love, sorcery, adventure, treachery, a Slavic inn for spirits, and plenty of blini warm by the fire, come read this daring journey, and find out if an immortal love can withstand death Himself!
Mom, Dad, Help! - I'm Mated to the Alien Alpha! Ziggi Moondust Collins is a manic pixie dream girl that went on a bender and never recovered. At least, that's what her bandmates think. Pink-haired with a moonbow on her butt, Ziggi is your average punk barista searching for meaning in suburbia. Too bad her artistic roommate Cyrus. He's experimenting on her, manipulating Ziggi's genome in order to accelerate humanity's evolutionary conga line. Oh yeah, and he's been at it for centuries, meddling with human biology so long the Sumerians started a religion after him. At least he makes a mean fettucine alfredo? After a concert goes sour, Ziggi and Cyrus blast off into space in Cyrus' VW Beetle when Ziggi tries to turn off the radio. Stranded on a spaceship suited for amphibians, not punks, Ziggi learns that her new tenant Cyrus, real name Lahmu, isn't remotely human! Gone are Lahmu's good looks, replaced by beautiful tentacles - he looks like a sexy sewer mutant! Lahmu is the heir to the Milky Way's dysfunctional overlords, the Anunnaki: shapeshifters who feed off information. In order to sexually mature, Lahmu has to shepherd humanity into his parent's galactic dictatorship via good old genetic manipulation - and taking Ziggi to bed! Galactic pirates, space rock bands, and tons of hot and heavy tension between an Alien Alpha and his Chosen Mate abound!
He tipped his baseball cap. The stranger's grin revealed bits of crumbs. "And you are...?" I noticed the checkered scarf around his neck. "Hermes." "The brand?" "The man." He sent dancing fingers through the air in a snazzy salute. "G'morning, sweetheart. Loved the sandwich." "Apparently," I mumbled. "So, how did you get in? The doors are locked, and I didn't hear any breaking glass." I looked him up and down. "Get lost on the way to a toga party?" Maybe he was a crazy frat bro. "My life's a party - I bring it with me, or steal Dionysus' thunder." He sipped from a chipped coffee mug, then ah'ed appreciatively. "By Jove's hairy derriere, what a drink. Wine pales in comparison. To the gods of old, and young days long since gone." He wandered into my dining room. "We don't love them til they're gone." My eyes convulsed. "Sorry, but who did you say you were?" I looked at his hands. They were tapered like the fingers of an artist who smuggled on the side. His eyes bespoke whimsy. Looking at this stranger was, in fact, like taking the first, dangerous bite of a melty grilled cheese. "Hermes: the man, not the scarf," ___ My George Foreman grilled cheese was so unholily good, it summoned the Greek God Hermes! Now, I'm on an epic quest to save my father Prometheus from the clutches of Zeus, and restore Hestia's temple flame to Olympus with the fabled Prometheion flower my beloved father Prometheus spent his life hiding. But with the Titans plotting, Cronus rising, and Zeus as dastardly and cunning as ever, all enemies to Hermes and I, can the sexy Messenger God and I make it through, or will I become the ultimate Human Sacrifice?
Julia and Evan were the perfect couple-or so she thought. But everything changed when Evan abruptly ended their relationship, leaving her heartbroken and unable to tell him she was carrying his child. Years later, Julia has built a life for herself and her son, Andy, while Evan has risen to unimaginable wealth and success. Their paths cross again at a chance meeting, but Julia soon discovers Evan has moved on with someone else. Julia is done with the pain. She's fought battles alone, raising a son who deserves the truth about his father, even if Evan doesn't deserve her forgiveness. When Julia told Evan years ago she had something to say, he didn't listen. Now, it's time for him to listen. But is it too late to reclaim what he lost? "We should break up," he'd said, the words cutting through her like glass. The pregnancy test in her pocket stayed hidden, just like the child they would never share. Now, it's Evan's turn to hear the truth-and to face his deepest regret.
COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE SERIES BOOK ONE: THE 5-TIME REJECTED GAMMA & THE LYCAN KING BOOK TWO: THE ROGUES WHO WENT ROGUE BOOK THREE: THE INDOMITABLE HUNTRESS & THE HARDENED DUKE *** BOOK ONE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. What’s worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldn’t thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesn’t seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that he’s different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with?
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
She thought he was the villain. He was only trying to save his soul. Rena lives in a world of sunshine, sweets, and simple dreams. Until one reckless decision drops her into a dark realm of secrets, curses and werewolves. Kidnapped, heartbroken. She doesn't know who to trust anymore especially not Logan, the arrogant, cruel Alpha who's keeping her as a hostage. Until she discovers his dark secret. He's been hearing her thoughts all along. Now the walls between them are crumbling. And when feelings grow where hatred once lived, a curse demands that blood becomes a love that demands sacrifice. But how can she give her heart to the one who might need it to die?
When Zora was sick during the early days of her pregnancy, Ezrah was with his first love, Piper. When Zora got into an accident and called Ezrah, he said he was busy, when in actual fact, he was buying shoes for Piper. Zora lost her baby because of the accident, and throughout her stay at the hospital, Ezrah never showed up. She already knew that he didn't love her, but that was the last straw for the camel's back, and her fragile heart could not take it anymore. When Ezrah arrived home a few days after Zora was discharged from the hospital, he no longer met the woman who always greeted him with a smile and cared for him. Zora stood at the top of the stairs and yelled with a cold expression, "Good news, Ezrah! Our baby died in a car accident. There is nothing between us anymore, so let's get a divorce." The man who claimed not to have any feelings for Zora, being cold and distant towards her, and having asked her for a divorce twice, instantly panicked.
He told her to call him Daddy. Not because he earned it, but because he fucking owned her. The moment she signed that contract, she stopped being a woman with dignity and became his filthy little plaything. His holes to use. His mess to ruin. He didn't just fuck her, he rewired her. Stripped her clean of boundaries and filled her with sin. Every punishment made her scream. Every game dragged her deeper into his twisted world. And the way he praised her... Good girl. She should've run the first time he said it. But Daddy doesn't let his toys leave. He breaks them until they beg to stay. ** Mia's life changed the night she let a stranger ruin her. One night. She never expected to see him again. Until she walked into her new job... and her boss turned around. Ace.Her one-night sin in a thousand-dollar suit. Only this time, he wasn't asking her to be his assistant. She was to be his wife.