She’s tired of being a sheltered bird, protected in the Hanami. What Yumi really wants is to strike a blow against all the forces that control her life. The time has come.

    Experience firsthand the beginning of the end and behold the apocalypse through the eyes of characters you only thought you knew. Ashes to ashes . . .Evie Greene’s story of the Flash is just one of many. All over the world, those connected in some way to the lethal Arcana game—like Death, Jack, and Fortune—must first survive a horrifying night of blood and screams. We all fall down.Some will have to grapple with new powers; all will be damned to a hellish new existence of plague, brutality, desolation, and cannibalism. Find out who they lost, why they endure, and what they sacrificed in order to live past Day Zero. . . .

    Adne is haunted by her past actions, Logan is running for his life, and the Searchers still don't feel safe. What they thought was the end of the War of All against All may just be the beginning of something even more sinister...

    He's a paranormal prince with more money and power than he knows what to do with, but something is missing—a mate. He only has until college graduation to find her.Allie's perfect but she wants nothing to do with him. When attraction becomes something more, will he take a chance and show her who he really is or will he lose everything?

    She forgot to tell me that sometimes they're not all fluffy and nice." Seventeen-year-old Caleb Wood has seen people he calls the walkers since he was a baby. It didn't take long for him to realize something…no one can see these strangers but him. They never stuck around or tried to touch him. And they never said a word. That was until one day on the first day of class in his senior year when an incredibly gorgeous girl strolls into his life…and things are never the same again. Soon Caleb realizes he has stepped into the middle of a growing conflict between two ancient groups. And his ability to see the invisible ones, the half-breeds that want to modify the human race, just might be the only hope both he and the mysterious, but infuriating, Gia, have of making it out alive.

    In fact, Dominic is unlike any vampire she's ever met, but is she desperate enough to put her trust in another noble? Her heart says yes...Word Count: ~ 21,700

    Centuries of inflicting pain and punishment on anything and everything he deemed worthy slowly stole whatever light had been in him when he was born. His angelic nature fell victim to the god of war within him, just as Ares had intended.After an enigmatic encounter, a vision of Ruby comes to Sean and changes all of that. Her piercing blue eyes bear their way into his soul, awakening it as though it had never slept. Struggling against his inner darkness, Sean fights to keep that light from fading again and eventually goes to extremes to ensure that it won't.

    Madeleine, a young but powerful warrior, is duty-bound to fight the demonic, and she lives for this pursuit above all else. Then, on a routine night of tracking, she is ambushed by a cadre of reapers and, though she defeats them all, she is left wounded and at the mercy of their lord, the notorious Bastian.Madeleine is astonished when Bastian lets her live. She goes deeper into the world of the demonic and is shocked to meet him again—this powerful reaper whose touch makes her restless and gives her a thrill unlike anything else. When they fall into a dangerous clandestine affair, her head and her heart must wage their war: can their love overcome his demonic nature? Will her dance with darkness burn her or bring Bastian into the light?

    There's nothing ordinary about me. I'm "special." I know this because I'm reminded of it every stinking day. I can kick a Daemon's ass with both hands tied behind my back. I can run up a mountain without breaking a sweat. Know what I can't do? Get guys to notice me, or hang out with friends like normal people do. I can't just be ordinary because I have an Arch Angel for a mentor who is always breathing down my neck, and a family of angelic Guides and Protectors who scrutinize every little thing I do. Just for a day I want a life where I'm no longer some anomaly, where I don't have to feel like a lab rat. And then I met Emrys. Okay, so my mentor and family hate him, but probably for good reason. After-all, he is a Soul Trader, and they aren't the most trust worthy beings. But, he is sooo hot with his green eyes, leather jacket and the sexiest tattoo you've ever seen running down his back. And-he doesn't treat me like a project.I've got myself in quite a little quandary here. Choosing between my responsibilities and the Trader that holds my heart is something I didn't sign up for. Torn between two different worlds, I must now decide who to trust and who to walk away from. What's a girl to do? See what I mean? I am an anomaly. I am Jordyn.

    This novelette now forms Part II of the novel The Faerie Guardian.Guardian trainee Violet Fairdale has officially been suspended for bringing a human into the fae realm. No assignments, no training, and goodbye to that position at the top of the class. While this sucks, it at least allows her time to secretly keep visiting Nate, the human boy who caused her suspension in the first place. It’s not the wisest move to continue breaking Guild Law, but no one’s going to find out. And Nate is worth the risk, isn’t he? To prevent herself from going into assignment withdrawal, Vi throws herself into investigating Nate’s real mother, Angelica, a woman who seems to be mysteriously connected to the world of the fae. Nate’s never given her much thought, but that was before an insane faerie abducted him in order to blackmail Angelica out of hiding. Now Nate wants answers, and Vi’s got the perfect ability to help him.

    She is becoming stronger and faster and even the elements seem to bend to her will. In the midst of these changes, she meets Josh Klein and she experiences a love that has waited thousands of years to rise again but will she be able to learn to control her new abilities before she ends up hurting, or even killing, him? Look for Exposed, the second book in the Eliana Brennan series coming soon!

    I’d been hoping that once I’d arrived on Crestwood’s campus, the nightmare that I’ve been having would go away. It hasn’t.I may be an inexperienced seventeen-year-old, but I’m grounded…sane. I look for rational explanations to even the strangest circumstances. Since meeting sophomore Reed Wellington, however, nothing makes any sense. Whenever he’s near, I feel an attraction to him–a magnetic kind of force pulling me towards him. I know what you’re thinking…that sounds fairly awesome. Yeah, it would be…if he liked me, but Reed acts as if I’m the worst thing that has ever happened to Crestwood…or him. But get this, for some reason every time I turn around he’s there, barging into my life.What is the secret that he’s keeping from me? I’m hoping that it’s anything but what I suspect: that he’s not exactly normal…and neither am I. So, maybe Crestwood won’t be the making of me, but it could be the breaking of me. I’ve been left to wonder if the dark future my dream is foretelling is…inescapable.

    Her debut solo trapping experience should be a breeze, just a harmless Grade One after all. But throw in some dippy hippies (whose peace signs and Patchouli really aren’t driving any demons away), one mischievous demon, and a run-in with the police, and Riley might not be able to pull it off...

    “Mental” or “screwed up” is what I’m labeled. But actually feeling other people’s pain does that to a girl. I’m not an empath. I’m crazy! That is until I meet one guy who makes it all go away. The problem is, he’s even crazier than me. At least I thought that in the beginning before the coincidences became undeniable. But, if what he was saying were true, he would not only become my savior, he would also open my eyes to a world filled with angels, demons, witches, and an ancient curse that I’m caught smack bang in the middle of. Either way, I already knew he’d be the death of me.

    With fancy-dress balls, faery bargains, time travel, blood sacrifice, and festive cocktails, these stories will delight lovers of fantasy and romance, with a dash of seasonal joy.Ballgowns & Butterflies by Kelley ArmstrongThe North Yorkshire moors are always a magical place, but they’re particularly enchanting at the holidays…especially if one gets to travel back in time to a Victorian Christmas. For Bronwyn Dale, it is the stuff of dreams. Fancy-dress balls, quirky small-town traditions, even that classic one-horse open sleigh, complete with jingle bells. There’s just the tiny problem of the Butterfly Effect. How does a time-traveler make a difference without disrupting the future forever?The Long Night of the Crystalline Moon, a prequel novella to Heirs of Magic, by Jeffe KennedyShapeshifter Prince Rhyian doesn’t especially want to spend the Feast of Moranu at Castle Ordnung. Among other things, his childhood playmate and current nemesis, Lena, will be there... Princess Salena Nakoa KauPo nearly wriggled out of traveling to Ordnung, but her mother put her foot down declaring that Lena can suffer through a feast and a ball for one night. Even if that Rhyian, insufferable Prince of the Tala, will also attend. But this year, Moranu’s sacred feast falls on the long night of the crystalline moon—and Rhy and Lena discover there’s more than a bit of magic in the air.Blood Martinis and Mistletoe by Melissa MarrHalf-dead witch Geneviève Crowe makes her living beheading the dead--and spends her free time trying not to get too attached to her business partner, Eli Stonecroft, a faery in self-imposed exile in New Orleans. With a killer at her throat and a blood martini in her hand, Gen accepts what seems like a straight-forward faery bargain, but soon realizes that if she can't figure out a way out of this faery bargain, she'll be planning a wedding after the holidays.Echoes of Ash & Tears, an Earthsinger Chronicles Novella, by L. PenelopeBrought to live among the Cavefolk as an infant, Mooriah has long sought to secure her place in the clan and lose her outsider status. She’s a powerful blood mage, and when the chieftain’s son asks for help securing the safety of the clan, she agrees. But though she’s long been drawn to the warrior, any relationship between the two is forbidden. The arrival of a mysterious stranger with a tempting offer tests her loyalties, and when betrayal looms, will Mooriah’s secrets and hidden power put the future she’s dreamed of—and her adopted home—in jeopardy. A Memory Of Summer, a Wraith Kings Novelette, by Grace DravenSpinsterhood has never bothered or embarrassed the independent Emerence Ipsan, and the winter festival of Delyalda keeps her far too busy managing her father's shops to worry about matters as trivial as marriage.Until the arrival of a young Quereci warrior with old eyes and an admiring gaze makes her question that notion.