The Dragon's Lover
The first novel in “The Chronicles of Arianthem,” prequel to the entire series. The adventure and romance begin here.
Dragons are a lusty lot known for grinding their lovers into dust. Talan’alaith’illaria is no exception and has found no man or woman her match or equal in a thousand years. That changes when Raine, the sole survivor of two mythic races, stumbles across the ancient dragon queen in her lair. Raine possesses her father’s strength and her mother’s passion, and the combination ignites the dragon’s desire to an inferno. Talan, greatest of the twelve ancients, at last finds her perfect lover.
Their domestic bliss does not last long, however, as events conspire against their peace. The Hyr’rok’kin, monstrous demons of the underworld, are spewing forth from the Empty Land. Raine is called to join a band of humans, elves, and dwarves in a quest to stop the invasion. She fears no enemy, no injury, not even death itself. But something is waiting at the Gates of Hel, something that seeks to separate Raine from the dragon she is bound to for all of time.
The Sjöfn Academy
Arguably, the fan favorite of the entire series. The school we all wish we had attended.
The Ha’kan, an all-female race that reveres sexuality and views monogamy as unnatural, have been at war with the Tavinter for centuries. Queen Halla seeks to end this long-term dispute with the nomadic forest people by extending a unique offer to the Tavinter Chieftain. She invites his daughter, Skye, to attend the most prestigious school in all of Arianthem: the Sjöfn Academy.
Skye accepts the invitation and sets out with determination and trepidation. She does not know what to expect, for the Queen’s own daughter, Dallan, is but a few years older than her and will serve as her mentor at the Academy. Skye has only to meet the laughing dark eyes of the princess once before she realizes she is going to get far more of an education than she ever dreamed possible.
Syn is a womanizer and a rogue. Her name fits her perfectly for she is indeed a sinner, flawed and unrepentant. She also happens to be the best thief in all of Arianthem, a career that would be most lucrative without her inconvenient attacks of conscience. She stays one step ahead of the Guild of Thieves, a shadowy organization that seeks to recruit her, and failing that, to stop her permanently.
Syn enters into a contract with Raine and her dragon lover to steal a series of enchanted stones, but before she can even begin her spree she runs headlong into the roadblock that is the Lady Jorden. Jorden, a noblewoman far above Syn’s station in life, pursues Syn like no other. And Syn, who has run from everything in her life, finds herself wanting to give in to those blue-green eyes and that wicked smile.
The Rival's Concord
The elves take the stage, bringing their own sensuality into the fray.
Raine has always been more of a warrior than a diplomat, but now she must use all of her charisma to bring the rivals of Arianthem together. Her close bonds with the all-female race of the Ha’kan ensure that alliance, but negotiations with the Empire go poorly until they receive an unexpected boost from a sultry ally. The reserved elven leader of the Alfar hints to Raine of cooperation, yet also hints that sexual conquest might be her price.
Events seem to sabotage the alliance as the Alfar leader kidnaps an imperial, the daughter of the wealthiest landholder in Arianthem. Raine is baffled by the strange actions of the elven noblewoman, actions that bring the entire land to the brink of war.
Raine enjoys a respite with her dragon lover in the land of the Ha’kan, recovering from the wounds sustained battling the dark demons of the Underworld. Skye is melancholy, thinking she has endangered everyone with her uncontrolled magic. But her despondency does not last long when she meets the ravishing mage who is to be her mentor, one who believes that sexual energy and magical energy are intimately related.
The high elves, the Alfar, enter into negotiations with the Ha’kan, and all progresses with promise as the beautiful Queen of the all-female race is gracious beyond measure. It seems the treaty will be signed and the alliance formed when rumors of an assassination threaten to derail all. Raine does not know the target or the assassin, but she must prevent the death of a head of state at all costs.
The dragons have returned to Arianthem, and four of the Ancients go to war. Talan is joined by her seductive ally from the Great War, while her enemy uses her carnal ways to stand against the Queen of all Dragons. Both Talan’s children must stand with her, and Talan gambles that her trust in them is not misplaced.
Raine must deal with the Shadow Guild, the upper echelon of all Assassins in Arianthem. These vampyres are contracted to kill a head of state and Raine must stop the assassination before it destroys the Alliance. Raine must bargain with the impulsively sexual creatures whose manipulations put even the Goddess of the Underworld to shame.
Skye is reunited with her friends and lovers in the Ha’kan, but the shadow of the sorceress looms over her. Even as her magical power increases, she knows she is no match for the woman who seeks vengeance. But Skye is no longer a child, and her years with the highly sexual Ha’kan have taught her a few things as she considers an entirely new way of dealing with her nemesis.
Raine can’t help but feel that the hand of fate is tightening its grasp around her. As clouds gather over the Empty Land, a prophecy is heavy on her mind. The Goddess of the Underworld stirs, having waited centuries for this moment. Her goal and focus are solely on the object of her lust. Hel will take what she is due, and the Dragon’s Lover will bow before her, by choice or by force.
Raine has been captured by the Goddess of the Underworld and her fate is exactly as she feared. The curse of the Arlanians, their intense sexual desirability and uncontrolled physical response, plays against her as Hel demands that she share her bed.
The allies in the mortal realm know that Raine is held prisoner, and there is no word of Raine’s love, the Ancient Dragon Talan. Still, that will not stop them from mounting a rescue. Planning moves forward until the final line of the prophecy reveals an unexpected translation, and all is thrown into disarray. Resolve falters as the ominous meaning becomes clear. The people of Arianthem must decide a course of action, for now they battle not merely a god, but fate itself.
The Dragon's Night
The saga continues in the first book of the 2nd Chronicles of Arianthem.
Two years have passed since the fateful battle in the Underworld. The mythic warrior Raine and her dragon lover, Talan’alaith’illaria, have settled down to a life of domestic bliss. The peoples of Arianthem enjoy a peace unknown for centuries.
A storm brews in the Underworld, however, as the Goddess Hel fumes in her realm. Enraged by her defeat at the hands of mortals, she schemes revenge against those who humiliated her. She will risk the Allfather’s wrath to obtain what she believes is her right and destiny: Raine at her side. And she will unleash an ancient evil to gain what she covets the most.
