Songs of the Amaranthine

A wolf without a pack and a boy in need of roots become founders. After a heavenly visitation, one young wolf turns his back on his pack and on the moon in order to tread a lonesome path. A blaze of stars. A brand of copper. A burden of trust. First of Dogs, he takes a new name, makes peace with group of weary humans, and helps to found the In-between. This is a tale of the Kindred. This is the lore of the Starmark clan.

One sister, a pure light that beckons, the other, a fierce light that burns. Fira and her sister are chased out of another village. Fleeing on foot across the empty moors, they're caught by a storm that roars like the monsters ever in pursuit. But the wind changes and the thundering brings a stampede of defenders who carry them off to a secret place. Where mares dance and rabbits mine. Where the lost clans hid a lasting treasure. Where the girls' curse is considered a blessing. Songs of the Amaranthine is a collection of short stories set in Forthright's Amaranthine universe. Before the Emergence, the clans were nothing more than whispers and mysteries and legends and lore. But every so often-in out-of-the-way places or shockingly close to home-an unsuspecting person stumbled into a fateful encounter with someone who was decidedly other. An eclectic collection, spanning continents and centuries. Tales of adventure, discovery, friendship, rescue, belonging, and love. Each short story stands alone and can be read in any order.

He had one job. Becoming a family pet wasn't it. For the sake of his people, Daroo-fen has lived among humans, working as a lawyer in a little mountain town. He's vowed to protect the surrounding woodlands, no matter the cost. But, in the course of duty, he meets a man who needs help... and a friend. Too long a loner, Daroo cannot keep away, but there's a fine line between getting close and getting too close. If the Cooper family finds out his secret, two worlds might brand the wolf a traitor.

His whims drove off her predecessors. Her whimsy drives him to distraction. To Ambrose P. Merriman, a stage actor who's gained acclaim on three continents, reaver escorts are more trouble than they're worth. Easy-come, easy-go, he hardly bothers to learn their names anymore. But the director and producer of their theater troupe, who are already dancing on the fringes of acceptability, won't risk losing their independence by neglecting this duty to the In-between. Reaver Greta Demerara comes with suspiciously excellent references, but by the time the Evernhold brothers realize she's carrying considerably more baggage than anyone bothered to mention, the train's already left the station. What's more, it's quickly apparent that Greta's no easier to deal with than their star. It's either a game of cat and canary or a courtship. And Ambrose would give almost anything for a look at the script.

Fairies in the garden. Frost on the pumpkins. Farmhands at the dance. Wyn Outler doesn't talk about where he came from (or how long ago). All part of the vows he took when he and his best friend turned their backs on the In-between. Decades later, when a letter arrives from an orphan boy who thinks he's found his uncle, Wyn faces the monumental task of welcoming two children into a household rife with secrets. Alfie is quite sure Merritt House is magical. Uncle Wyn's quirky rules only add to the farm's mystique. He'd do anything to stay. Even if it means pretending not to notice that the chickens are enormous, the cows are a little too clever, and the cook has a tail. However, his baby sister Hazel, who is forever, bending the rules, grows up with some peculiarly romantic notions. First love will make things awkward for everyone, especially the three farmhands, who live in Cozy Cottage.

One brother believes in impossible things. One brother denies he can see them. When Caleb Dare's younger brother shows up out of the blue, he's immediately suspicious. The two of them live in totally different worlds. But Josheb threatens to camp in the middle of Caleb's urban loft for as long as it takes to convince him to take a nice, long hike into the woods. They can camp. Swap stories around the fire. Just like old times. Yeah, right. Josheb's true motive is a major hassle. If not a hustle. He's always believed in absolutely everything, from extraterrestrials to the paranormal. On a hot tip from an undisclosed source, he's chasing a myth into the mountains, sure he'll be the one to prove the existence of an elusive cryptid. It'll be the story of the century, and Caleb is the only one who can give him the edge he needs. Yeah, he's right.

Some courtships follow all the rules. Some courtships bend them. As the Seven Score Moons cycle through their phases, the appointed time for the Queen's Festival draws near. Wolves from all over will gather at a site that the packs count as sacred, to sing for the Moon and her maidens. Rinloo is part of an allotment of dexes sent to guard the Circle, which has long been anchored by an Amaranthine tree. There he encounters a girl-child spirited to safety by imps and an unhappy maid from the Luminous Court.

He's a rough-hewn romantic, and she becomes his muse. Junpei is a day laborer who's supporting his mother and younger brother. He's mostly resigned to rough hands and scant respectability, but for a few precious hours each evening, he loses himself in the colors and beauty of creation. His painted lanterns and parasols always sell, but supplies are costly, and unlike his illustrious father, he has no patron. While Junpei struggles to get by, strange things are afoot in Keishi-foreigners and their foreign ways. But he's most interested in the lovely daughter of a local sweets merchant, whose kimono patterns inspire his paintings.

They were sent into solitude, yet neither of them was ever truly alone. Wrongfully accused of insulting a man of higher rank, a bright young man is banished to a remote post where he must stand watch over a signal fire. Batu isn't entirely alone, though. There's an orange-robed monk who checks in on him from time to time, and he's somehow befriended a golden eagle. But strange things begin to happen when the guard changes in the next tower over. Qara can't bear to face the future her father planned, so she runs away, pretending to be her older brother. But her new commanding officer isn't so easily fooled. For her own good, she's bundled off to a mountaintop watchtower. Qara is safe, but the cold and the solitude become too much to bear ... until she befriends a wild sheep, a cheery villager, and the man in the next tower over.