Kingdom Tales Series

Unlike everyone around her, Princess Azalea has never been especially troubled by the curse placed on her at her christening. But, as her sixteenth birthday approaches, even Ben-usually her only sanctuary from her well-meaning protectors-starts to worry. Not to mention he begins acting strangely about the betrothal that's bound them since childhood. Being forced to marry her best friend has always seemed like a far bigger problem than a mere curse-until the unthinkable happens. Prince Bentleigh has been in a quandary for some time. How do you go about winning a girl who's already yours, whether she wants to be or not? Any hope of finding an answer withers the moment Azalea pricks her finger and is ripped from him. The magic powering her enchanted sleep is so strong, the whole kingdom succumbs during the hours of darkness. And nothing else matters but finding a way to wake her up. Except Azalea isn't asleep. At least, not once the sun sets. And with the rest of the kingdom in an unnatural slumber, there's no one but her to fight the deadly magic creeping into the heart of her kingdom. As the curse becomes more aggressive, Azalea and Bentleigh grow increasingly desperate-enough to risk war with the dragons, their own lives . . . even their hearts.

After a lifetime with a grief-stricken father and a self-absorbed brother, Felicity isn't daunted by sacrifice. But when protecting her father means falling afoul of the curse that has swallowed the Summer Castle, and Prince Justin along with it, her own safety is not all that's at stake. The prince's monstrous form is the least of her concerns-the whole castle has been trapped by his pride, and his absence from the capital is driving the kingdom to ruin. Justin was born to be a king, not a beast. Between the inhuman coldness he learned from his father, the humiliation of his cursed form, and his powerlessness against his hidden enemies back in the capital, laughter is the last thing on his mind. But even though she's a prisoner, nothing seems to dampen the intruder's maddening cheerfulness. Justin has to break his curse, and he needs someone like Felicity to do it. But as she begins to thaw the ice around his heart, he discovers her past is not what it seems. With time running out, not just for the castle's inhabitants, but for the kingdom of Albury, they will need more than the help of a dragon to break the curse and prevent disaster before it's too late.

Born into a kingdom where power is outlawed, Penny has little reason to love her magic. She barely remembers her mother, and even her father dies unaware of her abilities. Now, magic or not, Penny is powerless to escape the bitter tangle of competition her stepmother has created between her and her stepsisters. And a series of chance encounters with the crown prince only adds to her troubles. The last thing she needs is to attract the notice of the very royals who have turned her existence into a crime. Prince Rian has never been sure about his parents' ban on magic, but he has no choice but to embrace it. The weight of a kingdom is on his shoulders, after all. With the departure of his younger brother to a neighboring kingdom, he's never had more pressure and less support. His parents are ready to choose Bansford's future queen, and the last thing he can afford is to get distracted by a servant girl . . . no matter how intriguing she might be. But the king and queen aren't wrong to be afraid-the darkest kind of magic is coming for Bansford. It's time for Penny to decide where her loyalties truly lie, and Rian . . . he will have to decide just how much he's willing to sacrifice for the kingdom he's sworn to serve.

Princess Wren is not the crown princess. Everyone else might think her six older brothers are dead, but she knows the truth. They're very much alive, and her oldest brother will absolutely assume the throne. Once he becomes a little less feathered . . . and beaky. The trouble is, that requires Wren to fulfill the terms of the curse that transformed her brothers into swans-which means she can't speak a word to a living soul. For six years. Prince Basil wants to become king at eighteen about as much as he wants to inherit the war that's burdened his kingdom for six long years. With the death of his father, he's determined to ignore all advice and reach out to their enemies for an armistice. Even if there's no one to negotiate with except the kingdom's silent, timid crown princess. After all, there must be more to her than meets the eye . . . otherwise the dragons Basil regards as friends wouldn't take such an interest in her. But other forces are at work, ones with no desire to see the war end. If Wren and Basil want to save their people, they'll have to learn to trust each other. Because the only way to uncover their true enemies might be to embrace the ones they thought they knew.

Stolen as a baby by an egotistical enchanter, Aurelia has spent her entire life locked in a tower, her impractically long hair serving as a vessel in which her captor can store his magic. Every day is predictable-at least, until Cyfrin's manner and experiments take an inexplicable turn. Now Aurelia's biggest challenge is convincing her fellow prisoner-the only mother she's ever known-that she's strong enough to handle the truth behind the enchanter's strange behavior. The trouble is, she'll first need to convince herself. Prince Amell might be known for his restlessness, but he's grown out of his childish dreams of heroics . . . mostly. When a break out occurs at the prison containing all the continent's criminal magic-users, he's eager to join the manhunt. Little does he expect that, with help of some dragons, he'll find something else entirely, lying hidden in the heart of his kingdom. But the magic that holds Aurelia and her mother captive is like nothing Amell has seen before, and his failure to rescue them shows how far he actually is from the hero of his childhood fantasies. Both Aurelia and Amell will have to find a strength they didn't know they had in order to overcome the dark schemes in which Aurelia has played an unwilling part. And if they fail, more futures than hers will be lost to the man who stole her past.

With eleven younger sisters, Princess Zinnia usually has little choice but to be responsible. But if she had her way, she'd spend her time exploring the seashore and cavorting with the dragons often found there. When she sees one of those dragons flying mysteriously over her castle one night, the temptation to sneak out after it is too strong to resist. Except, by the time she realizes she doesn't recognize this dragon, she's already witnessed something much bigger than she was ready for. And now she's trapped, her sisters along with her. Lieutenant Obsidian hates using his magic. But when his king specifically seeks his help to uncover the reason behind his sister's uncharacteristic deception, Obsidian has no choice but to answer the call. To his surprise, the deeper he delves into Princess Zinnia's secrets, the more he finds himself wanting to help her. And his magic might be the only way to do that. But someone else wants Obsidian's magic. Someone determined to see Entolia fall. Someone with much more power than either magic or crowns can fight. And if Zinnia and Obsidian can't find a way around the magic that binds them, and soon, more kingdoms than theirs will pay a terrible price.