Böcker av Megan Derr

Some smaller adventures of the High Court and beyond. Sarrica and Lesto when they were young, how Sarrica met his first husband, Chass touring the royal city, Kamir visiting his husband's homeland, and more... Author's note: Most of these stories have been published online, I've simply polished them up and collected them here for the ease of readers.

The Kingdom of Rinaha is all that stands between the violent, greedy Boorna and the rest of the continent, and they do so by way of their immense and heavily guarded Wall of Gamala, an enormous undertaking that runs the length of the southern end of the continent, standing strong for more than two hundred years. Maintaining the Wall and the forces that guard it is an expensive undertaking, one that other countries are reluctant to contribute significantly to, despite the fact they benefit greatly from its existence. In an effort to change that, the king of Rinaha arranges a marriage between the powerful Takahara family and a royal relation of the neighboring kingdom of Aaran. Hideki, better known as Warhammer, is playing escort for his brother Saburo, the chosen candidate being sent off to marry the nephew of the king of Aaran and bridge political divides once and for all. Shortly after arrival, though, Saburo runs away, with only a letter of apology left to explain what he's done. Now it is Hideki, ill-suited to political games, who must keep anger and wounded pride from erupting into war. Meanwhile, back on the Wall, his twin brother Daisuke discovers the enemy is using children to do what their soldiers cannot, and in rescuing them, finds himself in exactly the sort of situation he prefers to avoid. On top of that, his brother Jiro, General of the Wall, expects him to entertain foreign guests, despite the fact everyone knows not to trust delicate situations to the man known as Gunpowder.

Phoenix sacrificed everything to become one of the greatest necromancers in nightwalker history-including his beauty, though that was by accident rather than design. As beauty is everything to vampires, he has been a pariah ever since, disowned, discarded, and largely forgotten by everyone he once called family and friend. Nowadays, he lends his skills to sorcerer Jackie Black and the notorious Clan Mordred. If he still feels lonely and isolated, and rejected by the man he'd been stupid enough to think returned his interest, that's his own problem, no one else's. He's used to rejection anyway. Then his brother shows up on his doorstep begging for help with a blackmail problem-and offering the one thing Phoenix cannot refuse as payment. But if there's one thing he's learned about nightwalkers, it's that nothing is ever as it seems, and problems always get worse before they get better... Night-blooming Hearts is part of the multi-author Carnival of Mysteries Series. Each book stands alone, but each one includes at least one visit to Errante Ame's Carnival of Mysteries, a magical, multiverse traveling show full of unusual acts, games, and rides. The Carnival changes to suit the world it's on, so each visit is unique and special. This book contains a lonely vampire convinced he's unloveable, a pining cowboy who wants to prove him wrong, and a guaranteed HEA.

After months away, attending to family matters in a distant city, Olaf is grateful to at last be returning home. Rochdale is a small village, and life as a ropemaker is simple and unexciting, but it's a life Olaf deeply treasures-especially his son, Lukas. Instead of a warm welcome, however, he's greeted by screams and nightmares, people who are clearly dead walking around feeding ravenously on the living, and nothing remains of the home he loves so dearly. Fleeing for their lives, Olaf, his son, and their few companions make for the next village over, praying for the nightmare to end. Stopping the Risen Dead is not a simple matter, however. Even the might of holy magic wielded by priests is not enough to do more than hold them back. To end the nightmare once and for all, Olaf will have to travel through dangerous territory to find a nigh-legendary necromancer, who gain their power over death by consuming their masters...

Massy has been notorious since birth: the son of the infamous Creawick, kidnapped as a child, and a legendary dualwick. He is feared, admired, studied-and alone, long abandoned by his childhood best friends, and betrayed by one lover after another. In the wake of yet another betrayal, though, he is ordered to go with his old friends to save a woman he met briefly while studying abroad. She has gone missing, and given her connections, his friends fear the worst. As they set out on their journey, the trio soon realizes the matter is even more complicated than they feared-and Massy learns that everyone, even his beloved father, has been keeping an important secret from him...

At the conclusion of the famous Tournament of Losers, Warloff finds himself one of the coveted winners, set to marry Lord Marian, second son of the Earl of Bellowen. The marriage promises a life for his children that Warf never could have provided them on his own, a dream come true. Even better, his betrothed by Right of Tournament seems a genuinely good man, sincerely interested in marrying Warf and helping to raise his children. Not everyone feels like celebrating, however. Somebody wants Warf out of their way, and just days after Warf and Marian begin to build a new life together, Marian goes missing. Everyone says he's run off with his former lover, a woman he could not stop loving or leave behind. Everyone tells Warf to forget him, accept Marian is gone, take the money offered by the throne, and build a new life with that. He'd be stupid to refuse it. He'd be an absolute fool to go after Marian and do whatever it takes to bring him home.

Tashi is a body catcher, paid by inhabitants of the poor districts of Ossiri City to dispose of inconvenient corpses. The fewer questions he asks about them, the happier everyone tends to be. It's not an easy life, and the money isn't great, but it's better than the life he led when he was first thrown out on the streets with nothing but the clothes he was wearing. Then a colleague asks him to help with the bodies of a woman and babe who died in the birthing. Not just any woman and child, either, but a royal princess and her secret bastard. Though he wants no part of the mess, Tashi agrees, and finds himself facing his past and enough trouble to kill him and anyone stupid enough to help him.

At the ancient, doddering age of thirty, it's long past time Prince Amador married, at least according to his domineering family. Determined to see the matter attended at last, they have issued an ultimatum: find a betrothed before the year is out, or he'll be sent off to marry Prince Ottokar, Crown Prince of their oldest enemy, a man Amador has hated and feared for nearly all his life. Desperate to avoid that fate, he has one last chance: to win the affections of Prince Nazaire, who has notoriously turned away every single suitor barely before they make their introduction. When he arrives, though, Amador finds not a snooty prince impossible to please, but a castle so brimming with secrets and romantic pining that the whole mess would be worthy of a bard's tale. If there's one thing Amador loves more than mischief, it's romance. He won't ever be happy in his own marriage, but here's a chance to see that others will be happy in theirs-and if he's lucky, they'll all be so pleased with the results that the quiet, handsome King Sohan will insist that he remain to help with other matters.

The youngest son in a large family, easily overlooked by busy parents and siblings all significantly older than him, Remira has worked hard to get to where he is, though most would consider it little enough. A soldier at the local garrison, he spends his days protecting the village and surrounding land from encroaching beasts, and his nights assisting his parents with the family business. It's a better life than anyone expected for him, but still Remira longs for more, to visit places he only hears about, to see the stars through telescopes he's only ever seen in catalogues. Opportunities like that don't go to the youngest son of furriers, however, and so he makes do with ogre-slaying and stargazing. Then, in the aftermath of a traumatic event, he learns some surprising news: his parents have arranged a marriage for him, and not to the local he'd been dreading, but to a merchant couple they've recently contracted with who live in a city several days away and are seeking a spouse with both martial experience and mercantile knowledge. It's not the opportunity he ever expected, but it's certainly one he's determined to meet and exceed-until he arrives to meet his future spouses and learns they never really wanted the marriage at all and fully intend to send him away the very moment the trial period is over.

Fifteen years ago, several wolf pups were kidnapped by poachers to be illegally sold abroad. They were rescued by a Prince of the Blood, and the Wolves of the Moon vowed the debt would someday be repaid. Now of age, wolf Ilkay Thrace is determined to fulfill that vow. Before he can, though, the Wolves' home high in the peaks of Dragon Claw Mountain is ravaged by an earthquake that reveals an ancient, forgotten temple-and awakens something dark and terrible in its depths. Now, instead of repaying their debt, the Wolves must once again ask the King's Legion for help. Despite the time that has passed since the Legion was nearly wiped out, their greatest strength, the Princes of the Blood remain few. It is one of their newest, Prince Dalibor, who is sent to evaluate and assist the Wolves. But Dalibor is born of a demon of wrath, his greatest power the ability to drive all living beings out of their minds with rage and fear. He is brash, loud, and reckless, even by the standards of the Legion, and the very last person that should be going into dark, treacherous caves containing ancient evil.

Welcome to Midsummer's Night MIDSUMMER SONG Homeless, lonely, and desperate for a cure to his lycanthropy, Lowell chases a rumor of a cure to the small town of Midsummer's Night. What he doesn't expect to find is a town that accepts his kind, a mischievous vampire who immediately befriends him, or the beautiful, sad-eyed doctor he can't stop thinking about... MIDSUMMER CURSE Brayton is a jack of all trades, fixing problems of all shapes and sizes for the many supernaturals who call him for help. When a friend calls in a favor, he travels to the town of Midsummer's night. It should be an easy job: find out who cursed a gremlin and why, break the curse, over and done. But Midsummer's Night is like no town he's ever seen, and the gremlin he's come to help is definitely not what he expected... MIDSUMMER LAW Sheriff Kirby is lonely and worn out, and his latest unpleasant duty is contacting the brother of a recent victim of suicide. Given the complications surrounding the tragedy, and just how loathed the deceased man was in Midsummer, meeting his brother is not something Kirby is in a hurry to do. But Merry is nothing like his deceased brother-nothing like anything Kirby has seen in a long time. MIDSUMMER BAKER Marcell lives a quiet life working in his aunt's bakery. He is well-known for his manners, his shy demeanor, and his perfect cinnamon rolls. He's a classic good boy who's never stepped so much as a toe out of line. The Withers Boys are the town troublemakers-faerie half-brothers whose only talents are their green thumbs and an unmatched affinity for mischief. But things are never what they seem in a small town, and it's always the quiet ones... MIDSUMMER SONG Nobody ever really trusts a siren, but Daniel's never needed magic to make people like his songs. His bandmates, however, are more than willing to use his siren talents to get what they want-even if they do it against Daniel's will. Betrayed and distraught, Daniel flees in the dead of night, bound for anywhere that will keep him out of sight until his contract with the band expires, and soon finds himself is the strangest small town he's ever seen.

Bertin is a liar and a thief. Once an orphan on the street stealing purses, his life was forever changed when he saved a boy's life-and then became that boy to the rest of the world. But one lie always leads to another, and life as a Belemeren spy planted in the Engineer Corp has led him to the role of liaison in Ruemri, a kingdom he helped Ruemri's enemies steal. His primary duty is to watch King Sesta, which means he is himself watched by the whole of Ruemri's royal court. For a man used to being overlooked and ignored, the situation is a living nightmare. That situation is further worsened when he receives word of an unspecified terrible event that is going to take place-and then the last person he expected arrives, bringing Bertin's past and secrets with him.