The town of Silent Bend is about to explode into a war. Alivia swore to take the House from Jasmine after what she did, but it won’t happen without retaliation. The whole town is caught in the crosshairs of their manipulation and the body count is climbing. The explanation for Ian’s change is one he just can’t accept. To Alivia, it should fix all their problems, but Ian has become everything he hates most. And Liv accepting her fate and position will test their relationship to the breaking point. The threat of the King’s arrival looms just weeks away, and Alivia knows he will kill her as soon as he comes. She’ll need supporters at her side—immortal ones. And that means turning old enemies into loyal subjects…

In this hilarious seventeenth-century cloak-and-sword play, eight characters are enmeshed in a tangled web of mutual obligations. When they find themselves thrown together in the house of Don Pedro de Arellano in Toledo, they struggle to fulfill, or escape, those obligations. The action involves female rivalry, love triangles, kidnapping, and confusion of identities, while young Don Pedro and Don Carlos are moved about the house like pawns on a game board. In the end, however, the immobilized characters regain the initiative and make way for the comic solution of multiple marriages.

Alivia’s father left her a letter before he died, begging her to stay away from the King and the Royals. But it was a plea made in vain. She never could have run from this life, not when she might be Cyrus’ resurrected queen. The King has arrived in Silent Bend and with him, he brought the end to Alivia’s mortal life. Uncontrollable bloodlust and an ever-shifting world rule her nights now. These twisted politics are deadly enough, but now her heart is the newest battleground. There’s no hiding from the one who hates everything she was born to, a spy who embraces everything she’s become, and a King who vies for someone she may soon remember. The games have begun. The House of Conrath is growing. Blood will be shed, the bodies will fall. Alliances will be tested and old enemies look like harmless children compared to the new ones rising from the shadows.

Yuu wants nothing more than to forget the mistakes of her past. The Gods have other plans. Once a renowned strategist and general, five years ago Yuu made a mistake that cost her everything. Now she is on the run, royal bounty hunters snapping at her heels. But what if there was a way to get back what she lost, a way to bring back a murdered prince? Every century, the gods hold a contest to choose who will rule from the Heavenly Jade Throne. Each god chooses a mortal champion, and the fate of all existence hangs in the balance. On a battlefield full of heroes, warriors, assassins, and thieves can Yuu survive long enough to learn the rules of the game, let alone master it? Pawn's Gambit is a stand alone story set in the award-winning Mortal Techniques universe. It's a wuxia adventure filled with heroes, gods, spirits, and magic.

Foreword by Tim Crothers, author of "The Queen of Katwe" now a Disney movie. From her first day in high school April knows she doesn't have what it takes to earn a college scholarship. She encounters a wise school counselor who turns her world upside down and begins to teach April invaluable life skills through a series of encounters...then everything begins to change for April. In this moving tale based on true stories, you will learn how the game of chess can develop a strategic mind-set and produces the rare ability to graciously handle set-backs. This success parable weaves powerful life lessons into a gripping story which you cannot set down. Discover the world beyond what you see and into the realm of possibilities.

Did Alivia commit treason in the dark? Did she build an army behind the veil of the poor, fatherless child? Or has she been framed by someone so cleaver that we have never yet seen an enemy so invisible?