Showing results by author "R. A. Steffan" in All Categories

Caius Oppita has served the Alyrion Empire for more than half his life, watching with growing revulsion as the royal family descends ever deeper into corruption and depravity. Powerless to do more than stand by as the land he loves slides toward civil war and social upheaval, he longs for his days as a general on the battlefield rather than a tame palace lapdog.

Become a bartender at the Vixen’s Den, they said. The owner isn’t really a vampire, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. And suddenly, I’m neck deep in a world I’ve never really believed in, no matter what my crazy Great Aunt Mabel used to say. Seriously, I have more than enough drama in my life already, without adding an irresistibly mesmerizing nightclub owner to the mix. My boss - a man with a penchant for trouble and the echo of tragedy lurking behind his dark gaze.

My father has been kidnapped by my worst enemies. Either that, or he willingly sold me out to them. Whatever the case, I’m going to find him. Mind you, this would be a lot easier if every Fae in Chicago wasn’t already out for my blood. They’re not getting it, though.

Unfortunately, running away from your problems only works for so long. Since I got pulled into the secret underworld of demons, fae, and vampires, it’s been one crisis after another. I’ve been dodging and ducking, rather than hitting back. Reacting instead of acting. Ransley Thorpe and I have been gradually backed into a corner, and we’re about to take the offensive. We may be punching way above our weight class, it's true. But if the alternative is death or captivity at the hands of our enemies, do we really have anything to lose?

So… yesterday was hell. Literally. Now, I find myself asking how a day could be that terrible, while also being the most amazing day of my life.When I fled my safe haven in the demon realm to deliver news of betrayal and conspiracy to Rans, I thought it meant I was losing everything. Again. Instead, I've just gained the most valuable gift I could ever receive. I’m hopelessly in love with the last vampire on Earth. That’s hardly a news flash at this point. But I never expected my feelings to be returned…and I’ve never been happier to be wrong.

Despite decades spent in service to the Alyrion Empire, Caius Oppita has betrayed both Decian and the imperial family he purports to serve, all within the space of a few weeks.

The forces that took him aren't of this world. I've barely recovered from the revelations that my boss is a vampire and magic is real. Now, my child has been kidnapped by Fae who want to rule humanity, and I've acquired powers I can't control. Blowing doors off their hinges and starting fires with the power of my mind won't help me find Jace.

A week ago, Trynn thought she had the best job in the world. By day, she’s a globetrotting corporate security consultant. By night, she and her fellow hacktivists in the anonymous group MASQUE hunt down the worst criminals the underworld has to offer. Now, those underworld criminals are hunting her. But who is the dark, mysterious stranger who keeps appearing to save her? Why does the merest brush of his skin ignite her passion?

Humanity has always been hopelessly outclassed in the war between the realms. But if we want to save our world, it’s time to step up. Magic isn’t just the purview of eccentrics and the gullible. It’s real, and some humans have it.

Xander hates werewolves. In all fairness, they’re not too keen on him either. Normally, avoidance would be the obvious solution. At least, it would be if the werewolves in question weren’t holding a newly-turned six-year-old vampire child as a prisoner. Alone in London, it’s up to Xander to rescue the boy before he can fall into the hands of Bael’s sadistic servant, Bastian Kovac. That mission that becomes exponentially more difficult when Xander discovers the identity of the mysterious female werewolf acting as the boy’s guardian.

Favian of Draebard has been a Seer since he was 13. His visions are never wrong. Now, he's leading a slave revolt along with a crazy shapeshifter, a ghost with an attitude problem, and the most stubborn, amazing woman he's ever met. The good news is, it looks like they might succeed. The bad news is, he'll have to die before they do. But if Favian tells the others what the future holds, he knows they'll move heaven and earth to stop it happening - even if doing so sentences untold thousands to subjugation and slavery at the hands of an evil tyrant.

Kathrael, Favian, and Ithric are traveling back to Rhyth - a city in the grip of chaos and rioting, teetering on the verge of full-blown rebellion. There, they hope to make a difference by lending their unique talents to the mysterious leaders of the slave underground. But with Favian having prophetic dreams, Ithric fighting his inner lion, and Kathrael questioning her sanity as the ghostly voices around her grow ever more consuming, can their fragile new relationship survive in a city that takes no prisoners?

Kathrael is a nobody - an escaped Rhytheeri slave with a face disfigured by an acid attack and a giant chip on her shoulder. Despite being alone in the world, with no possessions other than the clothes on her back, she has vowed to lead a rebellion against the brutal overseers who once owned her. First, though, she's going to murder the cowardly bastard of a shape-shifter who was prophesied to save them all, and didn't.

Carivel was born female, but she has been secretly living as a boy for years in her adoptive village of Draebard. The last thing she needs is to fall for not one but two unattainable men - a dominating warrior and a reluctant wolf-shifter with a horrific past. Now the Alyrion Empire is poised to invade, and Carivel must choose whether to keep her secret or reveal it - not only to the men she loves but also to the powerful female ruler whose army could help protect Draebard during the coming war....

Evil Fae are trying to take over the world. Okay, right - that’s actually old news. Unfortunately, it’s even worse than that now. Because now, they intend to use my son - and other human children with magical parents - to do their dirty work for them. The Fae realm is dying, its magic growing ever more unbalanced. And I guess by comparison, Earth looks like a nice, juicy alternative. They even have a foothold here, ever since the human world became spoils in the last war between the Fae and the demons - a war the demons lost. All I wanted was to get my son back.

His fate is to save a planet in crisis. Survival comes second to that. That’s what Kade of House Shadow Wing has always believed, ever since his parents were executed for their political beliefs, and he was jailed for daring to be their son. Just his luck that a female human diplomat with hard eyes and a silver tongue would choose the most inconvenient possible moment to barrel in, upending all of Kade’s carefully constructed plans.

No, cyborgs are only good at three things: following orders, destroying whatever target you point them at, and walking calmly into the vaporization chamber when it’s time for them to be decommissioned. PX-12, better known to his friends as Pax, adequately performed two of those functions during his stint in the Ilarian military. D-8, his unit-sibling, performed all three exceptionally well. For that reason, when D-8’s unique distress beacon activates some seven years after Pax saw him destroyed, it would doubtless be quite surprising if Pax were still capable of being surprised.

What’s the worst betrayal you can imagine? It doesn’t matter what you just answered. Duchess has done something worse. Before she killed her husband during a frenzy of vampiric bloodlust, he begged her to honor a single request. She failed him, and she’s been paying for that failure for the last 400 years. But Duchess’ lost love has finally returned to her. Reincarnated as Chan Wei Yong, the former king’s musketeer is now a hardened CIA undercover agent working in the seedy underbelly of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ryder isn’t a stupid woman, and she knows better than to volunteer for things. Volunteering always gets you into trouble. So it’s really no surprise when her undercover operation to retrieve Temple Akenzua from the belly of a Regime prison goes tits-up in fairly short order. With Ryder stuck on the wrongs side of the bars, the rescue mission has now become a mission of survival. Her only hope - and Temple’s - lies with her comrades in the Shadow Wing. Ryder just needs to stay alive until they come up with a plan.

Skye Chantrell has just escaped a war zone. She's carrying the stolen antidote to a deadly bioweapon. When her damaged shuttle crashes on a remote lunar outpost, she's captured by the leader of a rogue group of barbaric aliens. Now her people's survival - not to mention her own - rests in the hands of the Seven Systems' most feared and hated criminal. A man with the face of a brutal thug, and the eyes of an angel. Hunter Tarthasian has every reason to hate the Regime. He and his comrades have turned vigilante.