Susan Stradiotto

He can taste success. She’s hiding behind her love of the "single" life. Tonight’s the debut; Seattle’s the stage.Alder’s company, DjinnX Gaming, is launching the most anticipated game platform of the year. After all his and his team’s hard work, every last piece is in place. When he wakes up tomorrow, his face will be on the cover of every major newspaper. Social media will be chirping with the news. Alder’s blood is thrumming with the high his success is bringing. He’d moved to the West Coast on his own, away from his family in Minnesota. He wanted to make his own mark, and now, here he is—in America’s spotlight. Finally. So, when the reporter asks if he has a special someone, why does he flash back to a time in Germany? To Jordan, and the fling they shared a million miles away?Marriage, while great for some, is not in Jordan’s vocabulary. She had a magical interlude with Alder while attending her best friend’s wedding in Germany. For the event, she took an extended leave from her portfolio management job to tour Europe. But now she’s returned to Minnesota and work, sun-kissed from her time in sthe Greek isles—Santorini and Mykonos had been her absolute faves! On the first day back in the office, she arrives just in time for her best friend to receive an emergency text. Jordan starts trembling when she reads the name on the Alder.

A witch. Small Folk. The casteless. After abdicating the Serpentine Throne, Mairynne flees from Arashi in search of her father. Gensui Thalaj Northerngale, her only companion and protector, travels at her side. The forest provides cover, but for how long? Her sisters and the council will be searching. Through the Yubar Forest, across the Central Grasslands, into trading towns, and beyond, the journey winds through Nantai. And for the first time, Mairynne faces the hardships of those who do not belong to the elite caste. The stones she wears draw her onward, the people she meets guide her forward, and the witch reveals a prophecy. She makes unlikely friends, encounters formidable foes, and learns. But someone or something follows. Her search leads her to the City by the Sea, demands she leave Nantai’s shores, and guides her toward Syrensea into the true unknown. Another step and another still . . . Mairynne seeks something far more important than duty. Family. But will the price be too high?