I'm hiding in my father's closet, desperately picking the lock on a box containing an ancient evil...when he emerges. He doesn't seem all that evil, but neither did my friends before they turned into monsters. I'd like to think that I don't need him. But I love books and he loves battles. I'm used to drinking tea and he's used to drinking the blood of his enemies....or whatever his kind drink. In a world stricken by plague, all my friends have become terrifying monsters, and I have no other option but to trust him to keep me safe.

Sixteen-year-old Seleska never meant to cause any trouble when she rescued a baby dragon on the beach. After all, she'd been rescued as a child by a dragon and didn't that mean that she owed their kind a debt? But now her new dragon friend has gotten her in a lot of trouble and if she doesn't find a way to help him, the whole world might fall apart. Magic is slowly draining from their land, and with its loss, enemies appear, intent on taking every bit of

She's the village hunter--born and raised to protect them from danger. But there is one danger too great for her skills. They stole her sister. They stole her sight. And now they’re going to steal everything else…unless she can stop them. He's a gorgeous and tricky fae who is used to seeing his desires come to pass--one way or another. To him, lies are truth, power is sustenance, and every action ripples into violence. He is glamor, violence, and deadly temptation, and he's not being honest about why he came to the mortal world.

Disabled and rejected in her community, Sersha has never had a best friend. Until one day, a phoenix enters her world, tied to her heart in a way no one can break. Now, this great fiery beast has adopted her as his best friend and he wants to take her away from the world she’s known until now. But Sersha’s village is in trouble, and unless she can learn to work with her phoenix friend right now, they might both lose the future they were counting on.

Heroes come from unexpected places. Eighteen-year-old Tor is scarred by war and starvation. When he is given a chance to be on of the Dominion’s famed Dragon Riders, he leaps at the chance. But Tor’s dragon and mission are out of the ordinary and to serve them both, he’ll have to learn to be something he’s never aspired to be...a hero.

Tennegan Felter (Ten) is a humble servant in Epoch Sol, a beacon of light in a world full of darkness. Her deepest desire is to serve the city she loves and defend it from the creatures of the Dark that live all around. The only way to do that is to join the Dragon Guard. There’s one big problem, though. She is a mere servant and faces near insurmountable odds just to get in.

Ana de Navalles has almost nothing, aside from her friends. Having always been a child of the slums, her fortunes change when she’s admitted to Galfour’s Point, the prestigious and almost mythical academy, and the only place in the world where you can train to become a dragon rider. Just before she is set to leave, her friend Cien is murdered before her by a mob-affiliated criminal with surprising strength. But Ana does not cower. With dark magic seemingly on the rise, her hunger to make something of herself - and thirst for revenge - is revived.

At sixteen, Yanna Gray is already a skilled witch hunter, helping her family rid the world of anything—and anyone—imbued with magic. But when an enchanted amulet her family confiscated goes missing, a thief is revealed within their ranks. Before Yanna can reclaim the stolen artifact, the traitor escapes through an interdimensional portal. And Yanna is flung into Ragond… A frightening world of dragons and magic.

I just wanted to ease the suffering of Arimus, a gryphon blinded in combat. He’d lost his first rider, and his will to live. But when he forges a new psychic link with me to be his replacement rider, it brands me as “an affront to the gods” for daring to ride an avatar of the god of man.

Kira’s heart is broken when her stepfather dies in a dragon-riding accident. When it becomes clear that his dragon, Axel, is gravely ill, she knows she can’t take another loss. The only hope to heal him seems to rest with her mother’s old friend, who lives in the far-off city of Caravon. Kira has never left her village, but to save Axel, she’ll embark on the journey and soon discover that he isn’t the only one sick. In fact, a plague is sweeping through the dragons of Ragond, and no one knows the cause.

When Mallon the Undying threatened the land years ago, the elves stopped him - and then disappeared. Now Mallon's followers seek to bring him back to finish what he started. Only the Keepers - storytellers, historians, and magic-wielders - are left to stand against them. Alaric, who betrayed everything he believed to save his wife - and still failed. Will, a storyteller who’s convinced his weak magic makes him useless. And Sini, a former slave girl with unimaginable power but no way to wield it.

Holt Cook was never meant to be a dragon rider. He has always served the Order Hall of the Crag dutifully, keeping their kitchen pots clean. Until he discovers a dark secret: dragons do not tolerate weakness among their kin, killing the young they deem flawed. Moved by pity, Holt defies the Order, rescues a doomed egg and vows to protect the blind dragon within. But the Scourge is rising. Undead hordes roam the land, spreading the blight and leaving destruction in their wake. The dragon riders are being slaughtered and betrayal lurks in the shadows.

After a terrible shipwreck near a deserted island, rescue seems impossible for Del, a stowaway street rat; Etenia, a merchant’s daughter; and Lathan, a retired dragon rider—especially when there’s a kraken lurking offshore, hungry for their only possible means of escape: dragon eggs they’re protecting. Yet the kraken answers to the even deadlier Qapira, a forgotten race sleeping deep in the ocean. No setback will stop them now that they’ve awakened. To survive, they must triumph over the people of Pothena, and they will destroy anyone who stands against them.

Gods are forbidden in the kingdom of Middren. Formed by human desires and fed by their worship, there are countless gods in the world—but after a great war, the new king outlawed them and now pays “godkillers” to destroy any who try to rise from the shadows. As a child, Kissen saw her family murdered by a fire god. Now, she makes a living killing them and enjoys it. But all this changes when Kissen is tasked with helping a young noble girl with a god problem. The child’s soul is bonded to a tiny god of white lies, and Kissen can’t kill it without ending the girl’s life too.

Orphaned and sold to a harsh master, Lera's life is about mucking stalls, avoiding her master's advances, and steering clear of the mystical forest separating the mortal and fae worlds. Only fools venture into the immortal realms, and only dark rumors come out... Until four powerful fae warriors appear at Lera's barn. River, Coal, Tye, and Shade have waited a decade for their new fifth to be chosen, the wounds from their quint brother's loss still raw. But the magic has played a cruel trick, bonding the four immortal warriors to... a female. A mortal female.

In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled - taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army. Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire. Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations. But fate has bound the heir and the mage. War looms on the horizon....

Kyra is the youngest Markswoman in the Order of Kali, a highly trained sisterhood of elite warriors armed with telepathic blades. Guided by a strict code of conduct, Kyra and the other Orders are sworn to protect the people of Asiana. But to be a Markswoman, an acolyte must repudiate her former life completely. Kyra has pledged to do so, yet she secretly harbors a fierce desire to avenge her dead family. When Kyra's beloved mentor dies in mysterious circumstances, and Tamsyn, the dangerous Mistress of Mental Arts, assumes control, Kyra is forced on the run.

Everyone dreams of marrying a prince - except for me. I am nothing more than a pawn in my adoptive mother's diabolical plot against the seven kingdoms. I was the chosen tool, her sharpened blade that would cut the deepest into the heart of the kingdom of Baist. But like all deadly weapons, my wedding is two-edged sword that could cost me my soul. For I am Rosalie, one of the adopted daughters of Lady Eville, and it is my duty to enter into a loveless and hate-filled marriage with the narcissistic Crown Prince of Baist.

You define life or it defines you. In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both. Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story that Shawn could sell to help alleviate those bills—and suggested he ask the same of his other writer friends. Unfettered is the result: An anthology built in order to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.

In the tradition of Jane Eyre and Rebecca - The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea in which a young woman follows her new husband to his remote home on the Icelandic coast in the 1680s, where she faces dark secrets surrounding the death of his first wife amidst a foreboding landscape and the superstitions of the local villagers.

As niece of the king, Elise Lysander cares about two things: sneaking into gambling dens, and avoiding an advantageous marriage at all costs. When her uncle holds the life of her deathly ill father over her head, reluctantly, Elise puts her fate into the hands of Legion Grey, the handsome and mysterious dowry negotiator. He may be arrogant and infuriating, but soon Legion incites a blistering, forbidden passion she can’t ignore.

Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her.

The Red Swords came with the sunrise and took everything Shawna Llewan held dear. Her family massacred, her home destroyed, she escapes with nothing but her mother’s heirloom and the desire for vengeance. When she’s found by Dormael, a Warlock of the Conclave, she learns that her mother’s keepsake - the very reason her family was killed - holds the power to unleash boundless destruction.

Deep within Gloamingard Castle lies a black tower. Sealed by magic, it guards a dangerous secret that has been contained for thousands of years. As Warden, Ryxander knows the warning passed down through generations: nothing must unseal the door. But one impetuous decision will leave her with blood on her hands - and unleash a threat that could doom the world to fall to darkness.

For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister, Nadia, as payment to enter the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal - kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom. But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic.

Elfreda Raughn will avoid pregnancy if it kills her, and one way or another, it will kill her. Though she's able to stomach the gruesome day-to-day duties, the reality of preserving the Order's magical bloodline horrifies her, but the Sisters of Aytrium have sworn to pay a price for the safety of their nation. Elfreda wants out, whatever the cost. So when a shadowy cabal approaches her with an offer of escape, she leaps at the opportunity. As their spy, she gains access to the highest reaches of the Order....

Evoking Beyoncé’s Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler’s heirs have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that puts Black women and gender-nonconforming individuals at its center. A Phoenix First Must Burn will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters through which you cannot help but see yourself reflected.

Jia's people learned the hard way that there are no second chances. The Egril, their ancient enemy, struck with magic so devastating that Jia's armies were wiped out. Now terror reigns in the streets, and friend turns on friend just to live another day. Somehow Tinnstra - a deserter, a failure, nothing but a coward - survived. She wants no more than to hide from the chaos. But dragged into a desperate plot to retake Jia, surrounded by people willing to do anything to win the fight, this time Tinnstra will need to do more than hide.

Below Forsaken Mountain, a plot is being hatched to overthrow the tyrant king of Trollus, and Marc is the right-hand man of its leader. His involvement is information more than one troll would kill to possess, which is why he must keep it a secret from everyone, even the girl he loves. After accidentally ruining her sister's chance to become queen, Pénélope is given one last opportunity by her father, the Duke d'Angoulême, to make herself useful: she must find proof that the boy she's in love with is conspiring against the crown.

At 16, Bleak lost the only person she cared for when her mentor died at sea. Now 19, she still misses him terribly. She needs him more than ever. That’s why Bleak drinks. But the haze of the mead and wine has hidden something from her. Her powers have grown more than she knows. Others have noticed. When the king sends his top commander to take her, Bleak is too hungover to resist. But he isn’t the only one who needs her for their plans. What does he want?