Before a happily-ever-after, there are a lot of disappointments. These are stories of people struggling to find their place, but not quite finding it yet. Stories of people who know their place and are scared of losing it. And stories of people who discover themselves, only to find something quite unpleasant. Prequel stories to Reunion Vale.

Playing the hand you are dealt is something everyone has to learn. It doesn't matter if you're a sorceress or a schoolgirl, a princess or even a king. You might have a magic ring or be the queen, but none of this means your choices will be easy when it comes to marriage, love, or war. In this short story collection, you will see how 6 different characters figure out how to lead, follow suit, or fold. Also, enjoy a preview of Old Habits Die Hard, Book 5 in the Reign of the Eagle series, and a never-before-seen floorplan of the Prince's Palace in Rawdon, one of the vital locations in the Myrcia novels.

Choices have consequences, whether it's studying for an exam, going out for that fancy job, or marrying in haste. Sometimes, the consequences are immediate, but they can also take an entire career to unfold or even centuries. See how just a few of the choices made by bankers, sorcerers, and monks can shape the future in these standalone fantasy short stories.

These stories are about hopes and dreams and wishes. They're about characters realizing they've wanted the wrong things all along. They're about characters getting their fondest dream and finding it's not what they expected.They're about wishes that can never be fulfilled. They're about people who achieve their deepest desires, without understanding that it's all slipping away from them. We've got Morwyn Byrne, beautiful and intelligent daughter of a proud noblewoman, who discovers a higher calling. There's Molly Coburn, running out of money and ready to do anything to change her fortune. There's Timothy Woolrich, a promising young man who doesn't yet understand how far down the social ladder he is. There's Penny Ostensen, who only wants to find a school to match her intellect, but instead gets a front row seat to her parents' collapsing marriage. And there's Lawrence Swithin, Earl of Hyrne, who's started a relationship with a woman out of his league, but she's got plans for him that he never sees coming.

The old king is dead, leaving 8-year-old Prince Edwin as his heir. Broderick Gramiren is the most popular man in Myrcia, and as the illegitimate son of a previous king, he has always felt the throne should be his. With only a weak boy in his way, Broderick has decided that his moment to rise has come. Yet not everyone in the kingdom is willing to allow Broderick to wrest the throne away from the legitimate successor. The boy king's sister Elwyn is thrust into a leading role in helping her brother keep his crown, working alongside a lovely spy from the world's most powerful empire. But will their best efforts be enough to overcome the talents of Broderick's most trusted henchman? Book 1 in the exciting new Reign of the Eagle series, Black Eagle Rising picks up where the Of Duty and Silver series leaves off, but can be enjoyed independently.

After five years at the most exclusive boarding school in Myrcia, it's time for young sorceress Moira Darrow to leave the mundane world behind. Traveling to a hidden mountain retreat, she hopes to continue her esoteric studies, but she'll have to contend with challenges she never imagined, and not all of them are magical. A collection of short stories, A Sorceress Made is the second book in The Moiriad series, following A Sorceress Born, and is perfect for existing fans of the Myrcia world and Moira as a character from The Last Bright Angel, or those new to this world of magic.

Muriel Ostensen, handsome, clever, and a bitch, has no desire to get married. Broderick Gramiren, natural son of the king, has other ideas for her, and so does her family. In the wake of a shocking royal assassination, Broderick maneuvers secretly to become his father's official heir. But first, he just needs the right wife to help press his case. The Duke of Severn's daughter would be the perfect woman to help Broderick in his quest, especially with his father, the king, pressuring him to marry. Muriel, however, loves her independence, and she feels her family is selling her short by trying to marry her to a bastard, even if he is the king's bastard. If she has one scheme to avoid marrying Broderick, she has a dozen, but Broderick might just have a dozen and one. Book 2 in the political fantasy series Of Duty and Silver, For Her Own Good picks up where The Queen's Tower left off, but it can also be read as a standalone romance.

Sir Quin Porcher is hard up for cash, but the newly announced Grand Trahernian Tournament might be the answer to all his problems. And there is Gloria Weekes, daughter of the most famous tournament expert in the world. She has her own theories on how to create a tourney champ, and she quickly realizes Quin is just the man to help her prove them. But when the tournament is under threat, can their friend, Fransis Sigor, save the day?

Love is not necessarily any easier in a world with magic. From teenagers at school, just beginning to understand who they are and what they desire, to a twice devastated princess, these stories examine the love lives of the next generation of Myrcian nobility and the devastation love can sometimes leave in its wake. They also just might begin to hint at how those loves could one day change everything in kingdoms and empires.

What's the worst thing that can happen to a neurotic academic whose classes have just been canceled? A surprise visit from his fiancee and mother-in-law-to-be. This is the fate of Soren, a seminary student and teacher who was betrothed years earlier to a cousin he barely knew. The cousin, Winnie, is an energetic girl, longing for adventure, not the staid life of academia. Soren's only hope is his best friend and classmate, Ollie, who might be more than he—or she—appears. But Ollie has problems of his—or her—own thanks to a busted telescope and her—or his—crush on the best lens maker in town. But what they all must decide is whether love is a matter of contract or something magical written in the stars.