Raine Benares

Name: Raine BenaresRace: ElfJob: Seeker, bride, peace talks refereeProblem: Back-stabbing diplomats, bride-hating mother-in-lawI've successfully destroyed the Saghred (AKA, a legendary soul-sucking rock).I've sent an evil goblin demigod to the Lower Hells.I'm coming to terms with my burgeoning new powers.I'm marrying super sexy paladin Mychael Eiliesor.You'd think I could handle a wedding and meeting my soon-to-be mother-in-law without another calamity brewing.You'd be wrong!The new, thankfully non-psychotic, Goblin King is willing to come to the table to discuss a peace treaty. The Isle of Mid is the site of these delicate negotiations, meaning all hands on deck for Mychael and his Conclave Guardians. When the head of elven intelligence (and my wedding guest) Duke Markus Sevelien is nearly assassinated upon his arrival, I suspect my mother-in-law will be the least of my concerns. Sabotaging the peace talks is the first salvo in a treacherous and deadly new apocalyptic plot.Mychael and I might not make it to the altar after all!

An ancient power. Hidden for millennia in a legendary city on an uninhabited continent, the Heart of Nidaar can harness the forces of nature itself. In the wrong hands, the artifact is a weapon that can command the power of the earth and seas to destroy all life. Just the type of power a sinister goblin brotherhood finds irresistible. In their hands, kingdoms will be forced to surrender to their rule. A team of royals and rogues. Chief mage (and nearly rehabilitated practitioner of black magic) Tamnais Nathrach is the perfect goblin duke to stop them. Along with elf pirate Phaelan Benares, these two have a roguish plan to sail to Aquas and snatch the Heart of Nidaar before it can fall into the wrong hands. After all, stealing hearts is what these two do best. Who cares if goblins and elves have been in a near constant state of war for centuries? This common enemy is enough motivation for some teamwork and a little professional competition. The adventure of a lifetime. Perhaps Tamnais and Phaelan have forgotten one small fact. Expeditions that sail to the continent of Aquas never return. It's a blighted wasteland filled with creatures from nightmare and Tamnais might have failed to mention that the Heart has guardians, an ancient race willing to use deadly force to keep themselves and the artifact hidden. Alliances are tested, courage is challenged, and nothing less than the future of all life in the Seven Kingdoms is at stake in the deadliest-and most competitive-treasure hunt of all time.

An ancient power. Beneath a mountain on an uninhabited continent is said to be a fabled city, a city occupied by an ancient goblin civilization founded for only one reason-to protect and defend the Heart of Nidaar, an artifact that can harness the forces of nature as a weapon.An elite team of combat mages.Chief mage and goblin duke Tamnais Nathrach must help the guardians keep the legendary power out of the hands of a malevolent goblin brotherhood and their otherworldly allies, whatever the cost. Together with his hand-picked team-which includes elf pirate (and team demolitions expert) Phaelan Benares-Tam descends into a vast subterranean world both wondrous and terrifying, a world laid with deadly traps and filled with apex predators from another age.The countdown to the end of the world. Some secrets are meant to stay buried. When the Heart of Nidaar is accidentally awakened, and aimed at the west coast of the Seven Kingdoms, Tam and his team are in a race against time to prevent the deaths of millions. To succeed, they must confront their deepest fears, unmask their darkest secrets, and reveal their shameful pasts, testing the bonds of friendship and beyond. To fail means death for them all-and the end of all life in the Seven Kingdoms.

My name is Raine Benares. I'm a seeker, a finder of things lost and people missing. I've never had to do both in one day, or had this many lives at stake-including mine. The search for a missing ring leads me to the abduction of eight magically gifted children. Their souls were stolen while they slept, and unless I find those souls by sunrise, their bodies will die. Both cases have one thing in common-they're linked to a goblin secret society high-stakes poker game, whose members are practitioners of the blackest of black magic. As a seeker, I can track those captured children's souls, but to spring them will take magic I haven't got. That's where Tamnais Nathrach comes in. He's the seductive embodiment of sin itself. He's also a goblin dark mage with an even darker past, the owner of the city's most notorious casino-and the only person with magic enough to reach the kids in time. Why are the most dangerous predators the most beautiful? The stakes are high, the odds of success are low. And I'm betting with my life-a life I'll have to trust to a darkly tempting goblin mage I just met.