The girls ran to the door—well, one toddled—along with Met and Moma. Piers could’ve sworn Met held back to help Zoe along and let the little girl, whose fist curled into her coat, use her sturdy frame for balance.

“You’re helping us bake the Bûches de Noël this year!” Sophie called after their daughters. “You, too.” She squeezed Piers’s waist, gazing up at the bright Christmas star one last time before the door flew open and all hell broke loose for the entire weekend.

Piers smiled. He couldn’t wait. The cozy red house would smell like mulled cider, cake, and chocolate, the family would laugh and tease and gossip, especially when Pappou and Sophie’s brothers—some with wives and children now—showed up “unexpectedly” for dinner, and Piers would know he’d ended up exactly where he was meant to be when the Fates decided on his future.

A Note to Readers

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoyed Of Fate and Fire. If you’d like to find out more about Cat and Griffin and their epic adventures in Thalyria, I hope you’ll check out The Kingmaker Chronicles. You can also find out more about Piers’s family and friends in a brand-new novel, A Curse of Queens, coming next in that exciting fantasy world.

Curious about what happens with Novalight’s family? You can find out just how terrifying one of his descendants becomes as rebel captain Tess Bailey and her crew of Robin Hood-like thieves fight him and his oppressive regime for all they’re worth in the steamy and action-packed Nightchaser series.

Thank you for reading!

EXCERPT FROM A CURSE FOR SPRING

A malevolent spell strangles the kingdom of Leathen in catastrophic drought. Prince Daric must break the curse before his people starve. A once-mighty goddess trapped in a human body might be the key—but saving his kingdom could mean losing all that he loves.

PROLOGUE

Prince Daric touched his fingers to the giant column of mist and then jerked them back. He stared at his fingertips, but nothing had changed. His skin hadn’t reddened; the nails weren’t blackened. Nothing, in fact, had happened.

With a nervous swallow scraping down his throat, he turned his head to check that no one had followed him from the royal encampment. The dying forest stared back with gnarled eyes, everything brittle, creaking, and ready to catch fire. Nothing disturbed the too-dry branches, but it was only a matter of time before someone noticed he’d snuck off and came looking for him.

They were still days from home after a long journey to neighboring Raana followed by a pilgrimage to their own sacred Wood of Layton. Negotiations with Raana’s Royal House of Nighthall had not gone well, putting everyone in a foul mood, especially Daric’s father. King Wilder worried for his people, and Queen Illanna Nighthall had shown more greed than humanity, as usual.