Winter Flame

By C.L. Carhart

“No ice witch can steal you away from me.”

For a lifetime, Vreni has moved among the Teuton people as an outsider, her fire magic lurking just beyond her reach. With the help of her beloved partner Stefan, her elemental gifts creep ever closer to the surface, escalating her hopes. And her impatience. She needs her fire magic to show itself so she and Stefan can start a family of their own.

Now two Las Vegas billionaires appear on the scene, wielding enchantments suggestive of the dark path. One of them is an ice witch, and she’s looking to snare herself a mate. She sets her sights on Stefan, while Vreni fights to awaken her slumbering magic.

Can Vreni seize a fiery Christmas gift? Or will her frosty rival bewitch Stefan’s heart?

Winter Flame is a holiday paranormal romance and is part of the His Name Was Augustin series. This novella can be enjoyed as a standalone and is Vreni and Stefan's complete story.

Buy now to start reading this hot fantasy romance today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.L. Carhart
• Release date: Dec 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9781954807204

C.L. Carhart

C.L. Carhart has been writing since the age of 4, dabbling in everything from children’s books, to fantasy, to historical fiction. Eventually, her lifelong interest in European history inspired her to create a paranormal fantasy realm based on the Teutonic people groups. The His Name Was Augustin series provides a first glimpse at this other-world—a place rife with ancient mysteries and dark magic.Born and raised in southern New Jersey, C.L. spends her free time hiking with her husband, enjoying metal music, snuggling her feline familiars, and dreaming of the wonders of Germany.

Book preview

Winter Flame

His Name Was Augustin

A Bonus Story

C.L. Carhart

Table of Contents

Blurb

Author’s Note

Yearning for Fire

The Vegas Teutons

Consulting with Swanie

Wintry Spies

Elemental Victory

An Equal Match

Also by C.L. Carhart

About the Author

Copyright © C.L. Carhart 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing from the copyright owner except in the case of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

ISBN: 978-1-954807-20-4

https://www.clcarhart.com

Cover by Fantasia Cover Designs

For Jenna

whose wit and tenacity

inspire me to this day

Blurb

No ice witch can steal you away from me.

For a lifetime, Vreni has moved among the Teuton people as an outsider, her fire magic lurking just beyond her reach. With the help of her beloved partner Stefan, her elemental gifts creep ever closer to the surface, escalating her hopes. And her impatience. She needs her fire magic to show itself so she and Stefan can start a family of their own.

Now two Las Vegas billionaires appear on the scene, wielding enchantments suggestive of the dark path. One of them is an ice witch, and she’s looking to snare herself a mate. She sets her sights on Stefan, while Vreni fights to awaken her slumbering magic.

Can Vreni seize a fiery Christmas gift? Or will her frosty rival bewitch Stefan’s heart?

~*~

Winter Flame is a holiday paranormal (mf) romance with witches and is a bonus story in the His Name Was Augustin series. It is Vreni and Stefan’s complete story.

Author’s Note

All stories in the Teutonic Fantasy Realm take place in a world much like our own. Major historical events—like the World Wars—occurred similarly to those in our present world. Major locales—like München and Mittenwald—can also be found in modern Germany.

However, all Teutonic history, customs, and magic, are utter figments of the author’s imagination. As far as she knows, no actual elemental witches roam modern Germany in secret, nor is it possible for outsiders to seize their magnificent gifts. And no, the demon lord Wuotan is not a real being.

We hope.

Words in the fictional Teutonic dialect are italicized.

~*~

This book includes content that might be triggering for some readers. There are instances of graphic sexuality, profanity, social prejudices, and mature themes. This book is an MF romance with a HEA.

Sign up for the author’s newsletter to download Veiled Magic, a story about how Vreni and Stefan first met.

https://bf.clcarhart.com/jp1vp51i52

Chapter One:

Yearning for Fire

Two days after Christmas, Vreni woke to the sound of gulls crying in the sky above her family’s seaside cottage in Kampen, Germany. When she opened her eyes, she remained still for a moment, basking in the familiar peace of her favorite vacation home. She and her partner, Stefan, had spent the week here, taking a long-awaited break from the working world to lavish attention upon each other. Memories of how ardently he caressed her in the Jacuzzi the night before prompted Vreni’s cheeks to flush. Her lips parted into a smile, and she nestled herself closer to where he lay beside her.

It had been a marvelous holiday, but the real world waited in the wings. Today, they would fly back home to München, and then Stefan would strike out on a skiing trip with his parents and sister. Vreni had tagged along with them last year, so this year she must stay at home and take part in her family’s extravagant celebrations. While Vreni had been raised a billionaire, Stefan had expanded her bubble to include the middle class—along with an insular magical community she had yet to officially join.

As a full-blooded Teuton, Stefan wielded power over the element of Föhn, the warm Alpine breeze that infiltrated their hometown in summertime. His warm wind enchanted Vreni, especially when his body seemed to radiate otherworldly heat this time of year. But although she hesitated to admit it, the fact that his magic had not yet stirred her own remained a thorn that dug deeper into her psyche every year.

Neither of Vreni’s parents claimed elemental magic, their mystic bloodlines weakened thanks to Hitler’s mad obsession with breeding German children. The Teutons kept their magic hidden from the Nazis, and a fair number of non-magical offspring entered the world as a result. Vreni first sensed an affinity for fire deep within her at the age of eight, but twenty years later she remained unable to ignite that fire through the power of her blood and spirit. She could