The only things standing between me and my dreams are all the other elite fighters and magic users who want their spot on the Slayers too. I will battle them all-fae warriors, river demons, and a vicious animage who hates my guts. I've got my hands full, but a certain vampire princeling further complicates my life even as he saves it. He's powerful, handsome, and deadly—a combination I find hard to resist.

It was a dark and stormy knight, and nine dark defenders embarked upon a most perilous quest. They're the ultimate defenders of humanity, modern day knights who do dark deeds for all the right reasons. In this all-star collection, nine of today's hottest paranormal authors bring us thrilling, all-new stories of supernatural knights that are brimming with magic mystery and mayhem.

Few people know the name Vesper Quill. To most folks, I’m just a lowly lab rat who designs brewmakers and other household appliances in the research-and-development lab at the powerful Kent Corp. But when I point out a design flaw and a safety hazard in the new line of Kent Corp spaceships, everyone knows who I am—and wants to eliminate me. I might be a seer with a photographic memory, but I don’t see the trouble headed my way until it’s too late. Suddenly, I’m surrounded by enemies and fighting for my life.

Raina Bloodgood has one desire: kill the Frost King and the Witch Collector who stole her sister. On Collecting Day, she means to exact murderous revenge, but a more sinister threat sets fire to her world. Rising from the ashes is the Collector, Alexus Thibault, the man she vowed to slay and the only person who can help save her sister. Thrust into an age-old story of ice, fire, and ancient gods, Raina must abandon vengeance and aid the Witch Collector or let their empire—and her sister—fall into enemy hands.

By night, they fight in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse. By day, they are friendly next-door neighbors. Neither of them know that their alter egos are archenemies. I’ve spent my life training in the family business of slaying vampires, but I’m tired of all the death. I want to prove we slayers can help society, not just break it. I start my new life by joining the Magiford supernatural task force, which exists to protect humans and supernaturals from harmful magic.

Compiled by intrepid journalist Neve Pride, this archive of recordings spans the months after dragons emerged on earth, chronicling the communities that sprang up amid the destruction, the scientists, military leaders, and experts searching for a defense, and those steadfastly seeking the missing. Neve and her young daughter Bex travel among the wreckage speaking to those left behind and surviving, against all odds. Neve records everything for history, and in the hopes of locating a clue as to where the dragons came from and how one might stop them.

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

Annie has always had high hopes for her future. But the reality of her life just isn’t measuring up. She loves her fiancé, Greg–doesn’t she? She’s going to get her degree and open her own business–won’t she? Then, a strange old woman shows up outside her house, and she seems to know a lot about Annie. An awful lot. Annie could tell the old woman to get lost. Yet there’s something about her Annie just can’t shake. And what she learns could change her life forever–but is it the life she envisioned?

For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.

The only things standing between me and my dreams are all the other elite fighters and magic users who want their spot on the Slayers too. I will battle them all-fae warriors, river demons, and a vicious animage who hates my guts. I've got my hands full, but a certain vampire princeling further complicates my life even as he saves it. He's powerful, handsome, and deadly—a combination I find hard to resist.

My name is Lexie, and I raise the dead. Necromancy isn't all I can do. But that's for another time. It's my first week at the university, and an accident has sent our world spinning. A decision that should be years in the making now has to be made in mere days. The repercussions are big—not just for my life but for the guys' as well. Everyone will feel my choice. Everyone will have to live with it. What the hell do I do?

Jess Bailey hates her restricted world. With an abusive father keeping a tight leash, she dare not reveal the secret scar on her hand that kills anyone it touches. But when her drop-dead gorgeous stepbrother moves into the house, she sees the perfect escape route into some thrilling shenanigans. Enjoying the lingering attention of her stepsibling and his two hot friends, Jess crushes hard on each of the bad boys in the crew. But when a drunken night out ignites a dangerous chain of events, she confronts the fateful purpose behind her lethal touch.

Even better, no one suspects she is human. Masquerading as a goblin Traveler, she roams Reality in her glittering van pulled by her two trusty world walking birds, Warp and Weft. But when a storm of cosmic chaos strands her in an outer thread, the only refuge in sight is the legendary Darkhouse of Doom. Goblin legend says it is cursed; that the appearance of the wandering darkhouse foretells the appearance of world-devouring monsters and the death of all who see it.

It is said that the Neverseen King comes for a bride every hundred years. I thought it was only legend—until he came for me. I am one of twelve assassins forced to compete for the hand of our unseen king, who I'm beginning to doubt is even human at all. Why he needs a bride, much less one who wields a blade isn't any of my business. All I'm trying to do is get out of here with my life and my heart intact. I don't want to care about the mysteries I begin uncovering about the king, about why he never shows his face, about his palace that turns into a nightmare after dusk.

Hell. Just do your time, they said. It will be easy, they said. What's a hundred years sentenced to prison in Hell? Well, I can tell you, for an Imp like me, it was a pretty long time. Like most Imps, I am a mischievous sort, and that tends to annoy people, said people like the prison guards. Which meant that my time in Hell had just gotten a lot more complicated. I was about to receive the type of punishment no living soul had ever come back from. Not a single one had ever survived.

As a child, Selene was left at the foot of the White Tower—given to the sorceresses who train those with magic. Her life has been spent honing her powers. But she can't fully join their ranks until she fulfills a single, impossible task: bring the Demon King, Lust, to his knees. Lust has ruled his kingdom for centuries. He is the reason his people live without remorse and indulge in their senses. Life is mundane and boring… until he runs into a dark-haired enchantress with eyes the color of the night sky. With one whispered sentence, she changes everything. I'm the beginning of something new.

Sarah Rainsford has been on the run for more than three years. She's changed identities yet again in hopes of throwing her violent estranged husband, a police lieutenant, off her trail. Since she's still legally married to him, and he is willing to bend any laws to get his hands on her inheritance, he'll stop at nothing to locate her.

Amber Benson has no idea what to do for the rest of her life, let alone what major to pick for college. So when she inherits an apartment in Manhattan from a grandmother she never knew, she moves there faster than a New York minute. Her plan to find herself is soon derailed—on the subway, where she’s attacked by demons. Even crazier? She defends herself with something she never knew existed: magic.

On the night of the blood moon, the Vampire Lord must die. Floriane's position as the forge maiden of Hunter's Hamlet is one of reverence, for it is her skill that arms and protects the vampire hunters. She knows her place and is a faithful servant to the Master Hunter and her community... until the night of the blood moon. Until her brother is dying at the hands of the Vampire Lord Ruvan.

I'll never forget the sight of my little sister's lifeless body—or that my rogue magic killed her. Sorcery like mine is punishable by death. So I live in the shadows, stealing from the corrupt to give to the needy. Maybe a little good can wash the blood from my hands. It seems like a decent plan... until I try to help a dying noblewoman and somehow steal her soul instead. Now her ghost is demanding I take up the quest that got her killed: exposing a conspiracy at the royal college to unleash a deadly power on the entire kingdom.

As a human domina, Camille's only purpose in life is to birth vampire children for the powerful Quiet King. Trapped within the castle walls under strict rules and constant surveillance by guards, Camille has spent the last two years witnessing the brutal slaughter of innocent babies and insurmountable atrocities against other women. Camille decides to take matters into her own hands and plans to escape with the help of a vampire Path Finder named Xander, who is known for aiding many humans out of slavery.

Poppy had always loved the night, so it wasn't too much of a bother to wake one evening in an unfamiliar home far from London, weak and confused and plagued with a terrible thirst for blood, to learn that she could no longer step out into the day. And while vampirism presented several disadvantages, it more than made up for those in its benefits: immortality, a body that could run at speed for hours without tiring, the thrill of becoming a predator, the thing that pulls rabbits from bushes and tears through their fur and flesh with the sharp point of a white fang.

Life was far from perfect after my mother's sudden death, but it was one I'd grown to love. And now, it's a life I'll never know again. Not after she and her two cruel sons entered our lives. My father swore he'd never love again, but just as suddenly as Merelda arrived, she became the very center of his world . . . and just as quickly, I was all but forgotten. Still, I did not complain . . . if only for my father's sake. Not even when cruel words turned into even crueler punishments at my new step family's hands.

Winter break wasn't supposed to turn into a whirlwind romance for Charlotte Hodges. She finds her dream pack landing in her lap, just a year before she's due to graduate. But life is never that easy, especially when the men she falls in love with are all getting drafted to different hockey teams. Long distance is hard. It's even harder when the people you trusted the most aren't there for you in your worst moment. Charlotte thought she could move on. They would never put her over hockey and Charlotte knows her worth. Unfortunately, she can't seem to forget about the men she fell in love with.