Showing results by author "R. A. Steffan" in All Categories

Unfortunately, running away from your problems only works for so long. Since I got pulled into the secret underworld of demons, fae, and vampires, it’s been one crisis after another. I’ve been dodging and ducking, rather than hitting back. Reacting instead of acting. Ransley Thorpe and I have been gradually backed into a corner, and we’re about to take the offensive. We may be punching way above our weight class, it's true. But if the alternative is death or captivity at the hands of our enemies, do we really have anything to lose?

When the Archangels slammed the pearly gates shut on the great war between the Demons and the Fae, the angel Shemasiel missed the memo. Trapped alone on Earth, she’s spent the past millennia sticking her nose in where it’s not wanted and generally being a nuisance to the people in charge. Posing as human investigative reporter Neveah Lane, she’s first on the scene of a mysterious death with hallmarks of the supernatural. But when one of Hell’s most notorious demons is also sent to investigate, it quickly becomes apparent that more is at stake than the death of a single woman.

So… yesterday was hell. Literally. Now, I find myself asking how a day could be that terrible, while also being the most amazing day of my life.When I fled my safe haven in the demon realm to deliver news of betrayal and conspiracy to Rans, I thought it meant I was losing everything. Again. Instead, I've just gained the most valuable gift I could ever receive. I’m hopelessly in love with the last vampire on Earth. That’s hardly a news flash at this point. But I never expected my feelings to be returned…and I’ve never been happier to be wrong.

The Fae Queen and the ruler of the Demon Council can agree on one thing. They want a war to end all wars, and they'll flatten anyone who gets in their way.

Or rather, he can try - but it should come as no surprise when he’s crushed by the vast powers arrayed against him. Caius Oppita knows this, but after what he’s seen, it suits him better to go down fighting than to crawl on his hands and knees. The empire he’s served faithfully since he was a boy now wants him dead, and the lover he thought he could trust has betrayed him in the worst possible way. Maybe Caius can’t win the fight he’s about to undertake, but he’ll damn well drag the imperial family's corruption into the light of day if it kills him.

I never thought I’d see home again. Now, I almost wish I hadn’t. After giving myself up to the Fae, I expected to become the latest casualty of a war that should have ended centuries ago. Instead, I ended up inextricably bound to the last vampire on earth. My life since the Fae marked me has become unrecognizable. Inside, I’m still the 26-year-old waitress who struggled with working two jobs while being serially dumped by a parade of disgruntled boyfriends. Now, I’ve somehow become a figurehead, coveted, and despised in equal measure by two warring supernatural races.

My father has been kidnapped by my worst enemies. Either that, or he willingly sold me out to them. Whatever the case, I’m going to find him. Mind you, this would be a lot easier if every Fae in Chicago wasn’t already out for my blood. They’re not getting it, though.

Favian of Draebard has been a Seer since he was 13. His visions are never wrong. Now, he's leading a slave revolt along with a crazy shapeshifter, a ghost with an attitude problem, and the most stubborn, amazing woman he's ever met. The good news is, it looks like they might succeed. The bad news is, he'll have to die before they do. But if Favian tells the others what the future holds, he knows they'll move heaven and earth to stop it happening - even if doing so sentences untold thousands to subjugation and slavery at the hands of an evil tyrant.

Kathrael, Favian, and Ithric are traveling back to Rhyth - a city in the grip of chaos and rioting, teetering on the verge of full-blown rebellion. There, they hope to make a difference by lending their unique talents to the mysterious leaders of the slave underground. But with Favian having prophetic dreams, Ithric fighting his inner lion, and Kathrael questioning her sanity as the ghostly voices around her grow ever more consuming, can their fragile new relationship survive in a city that takes no prisoners?

Kathrael is a nobody - an escaped Rhytheeri slave with a face disfigured by an acid attack and a giant chip on her shoulder. Despite being alone in the world, with no possessions other than the clothes on her back, she has vowed to lead a rebellion against the brutal overseers who once owned her. First, though, she's going to murder the cowardly bastard of a shape-shifter who was prophesied to save them all, and didn't.

Caius Oppita has served the Alyrion Empire for more than half his life, watching with growing revulsion as the royal family descends ever deeper into corruption and depravity. Powerless to do more than stand by as the land he loves slides toward civil war and social upheaval, he longs for his days as a general on the battlefield rather than a tame palace lapdog.

Ash is dead. Okay, that’s a lie. He’s not. Not really. Somehow, that doesn’t make things any better. After reports of a fatal hovercar accident outside the Capital - complete with a charred body and DNA identification - it seems at first that all is lost in the Shadow Wing’s quest to infiltrate the Premiere’s inner circle. But one member of the vigilante group refuses to accept the evidence of his human comrade’s death. Draven knows Ash. He knows that devious mind, and more importantly, he knows the martyr complex that lies beneath it.

Xander hates werewolves. In all fairness, they’re not too keen on him either. Normally, avoidance would be the obvious solution. At least, it would be if the werewolves in question weren’t holding a newly turned six-year-old vampire child as a prisoner. Alone in London, it’s up to Xander to rescue the boy before he can fall into the hands of Bael’s sadistic servant, Bastian Kovac.

His fate is to save a planet in crisis. Survival comes second to that. That’s what Kade of House Shadow Wing has always believed, ever since his parents were executed for their political beliefs, and he was jailed for daring to be their son. Just his luck that a female human diplomat with hard eyes and a silver tongue would choose the most inconvenient possible moment to barrel in, upending all of Kade’s carefully constructed plans.

No, cyborgs are only good at three things: following orders, destroying whatever target you point them at, and walking calmly into the vaporization chamber when it’s time for them to be decommissioned. PX-12, better known to his friends as Pax, adequately performed two of those functions during his stint in the Ilarian military. D-8, his unit-sibling, performed all three exceptionally well. For that reason, when D-8’s unique distress beacon activates some seven years after Pax saw him destroyed, it would doubtless be quite surprising if Pax were still capable of being surprised.

Ryder isn’t a stupid woman, and she knows better than to volunteer for things. Volunteering always gets you into trouble. So it’s really no surprise when her undercover operation to retrieve Temple Akenzua from the belly of a Regime prison goes tits-up in fairly short order. With Ryder stuck on the wrongs side of the bars, the rescue mission has now become a mission of survival. Her only hope - and Temple’s - lies with her comrades in the Shadow Wing. Ryder just needs to stay alive until they come up with a plan.

Skye Chantrell has just escaped a war zone. She's carrying the stolen antidote to a deadly bioweapon. When her damaged shuttle crashes on a remote lunar outpost, she's captured by the leader of a rogue group of barbaric aliens. Now her people's survival - not to mention her own - rests in the hands of the Seven Systems' most feared and hated criminal. A man with the face of a brutal thug, and the eyes of an angel. Hunter Tarthasian has every reason to hate the Regime. He and his comrades have turned vigilante.

War is coming to the island of Eburos. Andoc, Carivel, and Senovo can no longer live quietly in the shadows of the village of Draebard. As tribal Chieftain, Horse Mistress, and High Priest, it now falls to the three of them to organize a defense against the terrifyingly powerful Alyrion Empire. Senovo - a shape-shifter - has a desperate plan to save them all. But if he succeeds, it just might end up tearing the triad apart forever.

Carivel, Andoc, and Senovo have refused to let circumstances tear them away from each other. Draebard's tribal chieftain does not approve of Andoc's decision to continue with the unconventional relationship, and now, on top of everything else, war is looming after the combined forces of Draebard and Meren destroyed the Alyrion Empire's military outpost in northern Eburos. Senovo and Carivel have long relied on Andoc to be their rock. Their touchstone. But when Andoc's future is shattered by betrayal.

Carivel, Andoc, and Senovo have defied convention by declaring their love for each other. Carivel is a pariah - a female who has been quietly living as a man. Senovo has been hiding his shape-shifting curse, believing the wolf inside him to be a vicious killer. When their secrets are finally revealed to the village elders, they fear dragging Andoc down with them. Next in line to become Draebard's tribal chieftain, Andoc risks his position by continuing with such an unorthodox relationship.