Dreibrand Veta has killed for his country. At the frontlines of imperial expansion, he seeks to rebuild the fortune of his noble family. In his daring travels he encounters the rys, a race far more powerful than the human empire that bred him. Dreibrand cannot defy the rys Queen Onja nor defend his companion, Miranda, and her children from the wicked tyrant Queen. Desperate for help, Dreibrand and Miranda join Shan, a rys with emerging powers who plans to challenge Onja. In Shan’s pursuit of the rys throne, he exerts his magical powers, gathers his allies, and incites rebellion among Onja’s human subjects. Great wealth and power will reward the kings, warriors, and spies that align themselves with the rys pretender, but defeat could mean worse than death. Onja can imprison souls and her genocidal rage is legendary. Everything is at risk for Shan’s union of renegades.
Excerpt from The Goddess Queen - Glimpse the ambitions of men that go beyond Shan’s goals of overthrowing Onja.
Chapter 40. Enemies Seen and Unseen - Spies report that the tribes loyal to Onja will mount massive attacks against the Temu and Shan.
Chapter 39. Home and Family - Dreibrand finds out about the natural consequences of his lovemaking with Miranda.
Chapter 38. Dreibrand Meets the Overlord - After barely surviving a duel with the Overlord, Dreibrand learns that some of his men have been taken prisoner by the Kezanada.
Chapter 37. Bargaining for Revenge - Irritated by Dreibrand’s unexpected victory over them, Pelafan and Sutah tell the Kezanada Overlord where Dreibrand is hiding with his warriors.
Chapter 36. Pelafan and Sutah - Two thieving rys make trouble for Dreibrand.
Chapter 35. Watchers in the Pass - Proclaimed the leader of Shan’s volunteers, Dreibrand goes on a mission in the mountains.
Chapter 34. The Lesson - Lord Kwan Chenomet attempts with his men to escape Onja.
Chapter 33. The Armory Unsealed - Onja realizes that she must arm her agents with enchanted weapons that have long been hidden from men.
Chapter 32. Volunteers - Moved by Miranda’s plight and their own ambitions, independent warriors from various tribes volunteer to serve Shan.
Chapter 31. The Third Assassin - Shan flaunts his power to the craven men who remain loyal to Onja.
Chapter 30. The Confederate Council - Shan and Taischek seek to persuade other tribes to renounce Onja as their Goddess and join the rebellion.
Chapter 29. The Conqueror Learns to Fear - The Lord Kwan Chenomet reluctantly accepts that he and his soldiers are trapped in the service of Onja.
Chapter 28. Intoxicating Possibilities - Shan uses his magic to kill again and fights the temptation to sip of the evil sweetness of his power.
Chapter 27. A Chance to Recant - The priests of Onja’s religion are given the choice between renouncing her and facing execution.
Chapter 26. Luxury and Strategy - Dreibrand returns from making war with Shan and Taischek and takes Miranda to the wondrous capital city of Dengar Nor.
Chapter 25. The Kezanada - Still recuperating from being tortured by Onja, Miranda sees firsthand the dreaded outlaws known as the Kezanada.
Chapter 24. The Bounty - Onja is frustrated by her inability to strike Shan with her magic from a distance and sends her notorious Kezanada to hunt him.
Chapter 23. Into the Temple of the Goddess - With Shan’s help, the Temu raid a large town loyal to Onja.
Chapter 22. A Rys Rides to Battle - Shan uses his power to kill for the first time.
Chapter 21. Lord General Kwan Chenomet, Dreibrand’s former commander, enters the Wilderness.
Chapter 20. The First Ripple of Rebellion - Shan enlists King Taischek into the rebellion to overthrow Onja as the Goddess of all people and save Miranda’s children.
Chapter 19. A King to Fight For - Dreibrand proclaims himself a mercenary and proves himself worthy of fighting alongside the Temu warriors.
Chapter 18. The Domain of the Temu Tribe - Forced to abandon the children to Onja, Shan, Dreibrand, and Miranda journey west to seek help from Shan’s friend, King Taischek of the Temu Tribe.
Chapter 17. Blood on the Ice - Miranda has been left to die on a high mountain glacier, and Dreibrand risks the dangerous ice to rescue her.
Chapter 16. Dreibrand’s Choice - Dreibrand must choose between saving Miranda’s life and fighting to free her children from Onja who has claimed them for unknown reasons.
Chapter 15. Favor and Loyalty - Dreibrand turns to Shan, the rys rival of Onja, and makes a deal to serve Shan if he will help him and Miranda escape.
Chapter 14. Escape in Their Pleasure - Held prisoner by Queen Onja, Dreibrand and Miranda seek comfort in their growing love.
Chapter 13. Into the City of the Rys - Drawn high into the mountains now, Dreibrand and Miranda encounter the rys, a race of magnificent powers.
Chapter 12. Among the Stones - Dreibrand and Miranda follow the signals from the crystal orb and enter a haunted land of standing stones.
Chapter 11. The Raven's Dream - A horrendous black bird creature delivers a strange crystal orb.
Chapter 10. Wolfsong - Miranda and her daughter Elendra are enchanted by a strange white wolf with blue fire in its eyes.
Chapter 9. Possibilities in a New Land - Dreibrand, Miranda, and her children explore farther into the Wilderness, glad to leave their problems in the war-torn world they left behind.
Chapter 8. The Queen Sets her Price - Onja, Queen of the rys, senses the intrusion into her Wilderness and lures the humans into her world of evil.
Chapter 7. Saved from captivity and death, Dreibrand and Miranda decide to hide from their enemies in the Wilderness despite the danger.
Chapter 6. Captured - Dreibrand learns that all the terrible warnings he heard about the Wilderness are true.
Chapter 5. The Last Beating - Miranda’s slave master goes too far and she attempts a desperate escape.
Chapter 4. Decisions in the Night - Disgraced and angry, Dreibrand makes a radical decision.
Chapter 3. Promised Places - Dreibrand violates an important military taboo on the eve of battle.
Chapter 2. Comfort in a Stranger’s Kiss - Fleeing with Bosta refugees, Miranda endures the abuses of her slave master and fears for the lives of her children.
Chapter 1. In the Service of the Empire - Dreibrand Veta, a lieutenant in the Horde of the Atrophane Empire, crushes the defenders of the Bosta Territory and reaches the threshold of a mysterious Wilderness.
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