TheOtherNoble

“You are the least objectionable groom of all the ones I’ve seen,” Anaisa replied seriously. 

“Thank you for the glowing compliment,” Trace grinned, “but that didn’t quite answer my question.” 
___

Anaisa is an orphan and a pariah. In an ultimate act of betrayal, her father, a Count of the Realm, is accused of deserting and betraying the army in a time of war. Not only is he immediately executed for the offense, but the king declares he must have been a fake all along! His two daughters are stripped of their titles and inheritance, replaced by a distant cousin and cast out of their home with nothing. Anaisa swears someday she will get her title and lands back, but in the mean time, she and her sister Katia have to figure out how to survive. 

Trace is an anomaly among his people; instead of revealing their son as a magic user and thrusting him into the public eye, his parents kept it a secret to allow him to choose the kind of life he wanted. Trace found himself content to rest and play in his own dream world instead of invading the nighttime visions of others.

As an adult, his choice to remain unknown is thrown into jeopardy when a mysterious blackmailer forces Trace to enlist in the territorial war between nations, threatening to reveal his secret if the demand is not met. With the war now over, Trace believes he can finally go home to his farm and live the simple, unremarkable life he’s always desired. 

When Anaisa and Trace are thrown together by a royal edict, the sisters find themselves unwittingly tangled in the web of mystery and intrigue that surrounds the blackmailer’s escalating assignments for Trace. Anaisa begins to suspect it may be connected to the plot to replace her family in the noble court. As the scheme continues to unfold, lives, loves, marriages, and magic will be put to the test to see what forces in the world are strongest.

Dreamwalker's Bride

Trace held his tongue while the women talked. When Anaisa brought up the prospect of past suitors, he cringed.

Given her background, it should have occurred to him that it was likely she had men pursue her hand before.

If Count Oakdown's deeds and past ever came to light and Anaisa was restored to her position, she probably would have many more again, urging her to divorce her country bumpkin farmer husband and take them on instead.

He wasn't sure at the moment how receptive she would be to such overtures. So when she looked at him over her shoulder with mischief in her eyes, his heart beat twice as fast.

She was flirting with him. Again.

He retreated deep into his thoughts as he weighed the implications. She said she hadn't forgiven him, but obviously she was not cutting him off forever. He'd been afraid of that when she sequestered herself in her chamber for two days.

Masking emotions