Generations ago, shifters -- many with magic powers -- were accepted throughout Emylnor. But a war with the nearby dragon nation bred concern, and though Emylnor's forces beat back the invasion, the shifters retreated into hiding.<br><br>Akton is a weasel shifter who seems to have no magical talents. When he is hunted, Talfryn joins the fight, finally able to flex his salamander flame powers. But while they make a good team, the thrill quickly wears off when they uncover recruitment orders. A shifter named Basil is building an army.<br><br>Someone has to warn Queen Ylenia before Basil can launch Emylnor into another war. When Akton and Talfryn volunteer to deliver the information to her, they have no intention of getting deeply involved with the fight -- or each other. But to stop Basil, they need to learn to trust each other completely, and fast. Or all of Emylnor will burn ...

Flame and Snow

“We’re not all the same,” he said.


“I raised you to heal, not to kill,” she said, voice ticking up. “You’re not all the same? You’ve done a shitty job proving your kindness. How am I supposed to look Verne in the eye and tell him this town is safe?”


“How do I know that?” She took a step closer to him. When she spoke again, she was nearly shouting. “How do I know the man I called son isn’t lying to me?”


“You lied to me all these years.” Glenna thrust a hand at the charred remains of the wolf. “That is accuracy. That is training. You’ve been practicing—and for how long? Since you were fifteen? Ten? Five?”


“It’s part of me. I have to work with it,” said Talfryn. He’d been learning to control his abilities since he knew he had them. It was that or burn up from the inside out. “You weren’t going to help with that.”


Chapter 8