In their new Keeper roles, these extraordinary women must balance the fate of the world with their desires….

Alessande Salisbrooke has been warned about the legend of the old Hildegard Tomb—how human sacrifices are being carried out by the followers of a shape-shifting magician.

As a Keeper, Alessande understands the risks of investigating, but she can't shake the nagging feeling that the killings are tied to a friend's recent murder, and she can't turn her back.

With the help of Mark Valiente, a dangerously sexy vampire cop, Alessande narrowly escapes becoming a sacrifice herself. But as the bodies continue piling up, completely drained of blood, one truth becomes all too clear: life is an illusion, and no one—not even those you care about the most—is who they seem.

COPYRIGHT ©, 1978, BY C. J. CHERRYH

All Rights Reserved

Cover art by Gino D'Achille

Frontispiece sketch by the Author

For DON WOLLHEIM with most especial appreciation

FIRST DAW PRINTING, AUGUST 1978 123456789

PRINTED IN U. S. A.

Two opponents must confront the cause of their obsessive fury in the latest Novel of the Elder Races…

As a harpy, Sentinel Aryal is accustomed to dealing with hate, but Sentinel Quentin Caeravorn manages to inspire in her a burning ire unlike anything she’s ever known. Aryal believes the new Sentinel to be a criminal, and vows to take him out as soon as the opportunity arises. But the harpy’s incessant wrath has pushed Quentin to the limit, and forces him to make a deadly vow of his own.

To put an end to the conflict, Dragos, Lord of the Wyr, sends them on a reconnaissance mission to the Elven land of Numenlaur. Forced to work together, Aryal and Quentin’s mutual antagonism escalates. Each fight draws forth more passion—culminating in an explosively sexual confrontation. But when their quest reveals real danger, Aryal and Quentin must resolve their differences in ways beyond the physical, before the entire Wyr is threatened.

Vampire Lord Sebastian Arsov is everything Katja has ever wanted. Unfortunately, after ten years of servitude as his blood slave, she’s being returned to mortal society. In order to experience a night in his bed she decides to make the ultimate sacrifice. Disguised by a hint of magic, Katja enters Sebastian’s chambers to immerse herself in pleasures she’s been long denied. Before the sun rises, she’ll discover what it’s like to be loved by the man who’s weaved his way into her heart, mind, body and soul—even as she succumbs to the bite that will end her life.

HIS OBSESSION...

Sabine, Sorceress of Illusions: the evil beauty who surrenders her body, but not her heart.

HER DOWNFALL...

Rydstrom Woede: the ruthless warrior who vows to keep her at all costs.

THEY WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO WANT EACH OTHER THIS MUCH...

With each smoldering encounter, their shared hunger only increases. If they can defeat the sinister enemy that stands between them, will Sabine make the ultimate sacrifice for her demon? Or will the proud king lay down his crown and arms to save his sorceress?

Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.

 Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would've been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.

Then Sienna changes the rules—and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other's secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight...

A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna's darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home—and the alpha who is its heartbeat.

What do you get when you have one immortal Viking warrior no one can remember five minutes after he leaves their presence, a princess on the run for her life, and one seriously annoyed demigod? Basically, you get my life.

It started out simple enough. One night I went to save a woman in trouble. The next thing I knew, the doorway to hell had opened and out stepped Daimons--vampires the likes of which I'd never seen before. Led by the son of Apollo, they are out to end the curse that has banished them all to darkness. The only problem with that is they have to kill Cassandra Peters to do it and if she dies, so dies the sun, the earth and all who dwell here. Life's just a bowl full of cherries, ain't it?

Brought together by fate, it's now my job to protect a daughter of the very race I have been hunting for centuries. Neither of us dares to trust the other. But she is the only one who remembers me... More than that, with her courage and strength, she is the only one who has ever touched a heart that I thought had died centuries ago.

The only way for a Dark-Hunter to regain his soul is through the love of a woman. But what happens when that woman isn't exactly human?

Ivy and Tristan have the love of a lifetime-until Tristan dies in a car accident. Now Tristan returns as an angel, but Ivy is unable to feel his presence.

The Faded Sun Trilogy Book 3