The Traitor and the Chalice

High level politics in the Kavillian empire is a dirty, dangerous game—a game Cassie knows well. As a member of an ambitious imperial family, she has been tutored from birth to play a leading role in the contest for power. Yet even she is caught out when a murderer raises the stakes.

Meanwhile her lover, Arian, has problems of her own. Life in the upper strata of Kavillian society is so very different from the honor-based culture of her homeland. She despises the unending, ruthless cycle of intrigue, blackmail, and deception that Cassie views as normal—regrettable sometimes, but more often a source of entertainment. Nor can she accept Cassie’s willingness to sacrifice everything and everyone to advance her family’s position.

Arian’s determination to stay true to her own moral code will be put to the test if she is to save their relationship, and Cassie’s life.

Politics in the Kavillian Senate is a dangerous, high-stakes game, and the odds aren’t on Cassie’s side.

As imperial envoy, she’s tasked with adding a new region to the empire. Normally, this is a simple matter for the legions, but rivals want Cassie to fail. Without military support, success will require all her guile and cunning, plus a good dose of luck.

Persuading the local inhabitants won’t be easy, especially in the case of Arian, the king’s sister. Arian is ardent about her people’s independence and traditions. The land is theirs, given by the gods and paid for in blood. She despises both the empire and its envoy, and doesn’t hesitate to say so.

Despite her hostility, Arian is troublingly attractive. Yet Cassie is determined to stay on track and ignore any thoughts of seduction. Things are difficult enough without extra complications—and that’s before the murders start.

The Celts knew it as Annwyn, the Otherworld—certainly not a destination IT professional Lori Cooper anticipates when distracting herself with a magazine puzzle page in the dentist’s waiting room. Clues buried in the answers lead her to Tamsin, who claims to command a band of warriors for the queen of the fay. From this, Lori concludes that Tamsin is both insane and dangerous. She’s also quite worryingly attractive.

However, Lori’s own sanity becomes a bigger concern when she finds herself held captive in a strange world with yet more puzzles to solve. She must pick her way through layers of illusion and deceit. Nothing and nobody, including Tamsin, is quite as they seem. Who can Lori trust? She will need to uncover the full truth if she is to return home, mind and body intact.

Praise from Publishers Weekly: "Fletcher serves up tasty, trope-filled political intrigue with a side of wholesome lesbian love...Fletcher succeeds in crafting a gentle, fanciful lesbian love story about questioning cultural bias."

In the port city of Fortaine, two young girls acquire new families.

Four-year-old Eawynn, the unwanted illegitimate daughter of an ambitious noble, is dumped in the temple. When she is old enough, she will be initiated into its sisterhood of priestesses. Meanwhile Matt, the street urchin, earns a crime lord’s admiration, so much so he adopts her as his daughter and heir to his underworld clan.

Nearly two decades later, their paths cross when Eawynn is appointed custodian of the Shewstone, the mystical orb of prophecy. Unfortunately for her, Matt is on a mission to steal it.

The Iron Wolf mercenaries who guard travelers on the Misery Trail are notorious for their quick and casual sex lives.

Deryn may fit the stereotype better than most, but she has her reasons. A childhood tragedy has left her wary of forming attachments. If you don't care, then you can't get hurt, but you can still make a mess of things--such as the error of judgment that leaves her with no money, forced to spend the winter on a lousy job in a miserable little backwater.

There she meets Alana, local healer, vet, and woman of mystery. It does not take Deryn long to find out that Alana is more than she seems, and has her own perilous secret to keep. Yet Deryn still finds herself falling for the woman, so much so that her come-and-go lifestyle is at risk.

This would be bad enough, but serious trouble arrives for Deryn and Alana in the form of demon magic from the Time of Chaos--revealing that old legends are not merely material for ghost stories around the fire. As the danger increases, who do they need to fear more, the living or the dead?

Jemeryl and Tevi's relationship is put to the test when the Guardian sends Jemeryl on a mission that lands her not only in harm's way, but also back into the sights of a previous lover.

The Protectorate of Lyremouth promises liberty for all its citizens, but this does not mean that everyone is equal. When Jemeryl is summoned alone to Lyremouth, she suspects it is a ploy to separate her from her lover, Tevi. After all, many disapprove of their relationship‚ not because they are both woman, but because Jemeryl is a sorcerer and Tevi is not. The task Jemeryl is given, to track down an ex-lover who has turned renegade on the Coven, does nothing to assuage her doubts. However, old bonds of affection are enough to make her accept the assignment, even though she is sure that she has been told only half the true story.

But Jemeryl is wrong‚ she has not been told even a tenth of what is behind this mission. When Jemeryl does not return, nobody can stop Tevi from going after her.

Book four in the romantic fantasy Lyremouth Chronicles series.