The deceit and conspiracies against Queen Rejeena of the island of Kriiscon and her queens man, Aarvan, continue. She carries twin daughters, and their newfound, tentative peace is threatened from all sides. The great queen would wrest Aarvan from Rejeena and grant him to a spiteful queen. Rejeena must find a lawful way to derail their repulsive plot. Rejeenas trusted guard captain, Shabet, conspires with Ishtabarra, Rejeenas cousin and outlaw archenemy, to kidnap Aarvan. With him ousted, Shabet regains her power and status within the queens inner circle. Unwittingly, she also opens the path for Ishtabarra to slay Rejeena and usurp her queenship. Rejeena is forced into the role of chief negotiator during a trade conference with the most powerful leader from the mainland. But will her inexperienced diplomatic skills destroy Kriiscon or save the island from monetary plunder? Betrayed, captured, and imprisoned by women who would strip him of his status as queens man and use him for their lustful ends, Aarvan must escape to save Rejeena and their unborn daughters. He alone knows of a nefarious assassination scheme, which Shabet cannot counter. But can he escape and return in time?

Queen Rejeena and her partner, Aarvan, are besieged by powerful enemies who seek to oust them from poweror worse. Standing together, they strive to triumph over the attacks and end the culture of cruel bigotry on the island of Kriiscon. Rejeenas unprecedented new laws create intense upheaval. The laws oppose centuries of tradition, nullifying practices women consider to be their right. Other queens are furious; the great queen, outraged. Aarvan invents his own problems. By interfering with the sport of a group of loose fellows who then turn their wrathful attention to him, he allows a huge mysterious creature to escape. The creaturepossibly the mythical glaaletrepays the queens man by biting his arm to the bone, leaving Aarvan shocked and with a lasting scar. Meanwhile, to regain her control of the queens inner circle, Captain Shabet conspires to slay Aarvan. After several inexplicable assaults that occur against the man she loves, Rejeena begins to suffer serious, private doubts about her always-loyal captain. The great queen demands a staff-level paaerta hunt, and Rejeena must attendan encounter to punish the young queen for her effrontery. Rejeena and Aarvan come face-to-face with top-hierarchy betrayal, deadly revenge, and an amoral demon determined to kill.

___________________________________ 'Scintillating, provocative... An elegant synthesis of royal biography and political thriller.' Daily Telegraph A Times History Book of the Year: a story which inspired the Hollywood film MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS Mary, Queen of Scots & Elizabeth I of England. Two powerful monarchs on a single island. Threatened by voices who believed no woman could govern. Surrounded by sycophants, spies and detractors. Accosted for their dominion, their favour and their bodies. Besieged by secret plots, devastating betrayals and a terrible final act. Only one queen could survive to rule all. ___________________________________ 'Brings us a fresh Mary, set in a gloriously rich context, a tragic heroine - irresistibly real and relevant... There isn't a line wasted in this taut, dramatic and utterly beguiling biography.' Charles Spencer author of Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I 'The perfect combination of scholarship and storytelling, meticulous research and emotional insight, Kate Williams brings Mary vividly to life in all her complexities and contradictions.' Kate Mosse, author of The Burning Chambers 'It takes a special kind of historian to turn an old story on its head. Eye-opening, provocative, this is the great rivalry re-imagined for the #MeToo generation.' Lucy Worsley

Queen Rejeena of the island of Kriiscon and her queens man Aarvan live in chaos. Forces oppose the couple from within and without. Continuous assassination hazard stalks the queen while a hefty price rides upon his head. Vengeance and treachery crouch in the shadows, waiting to strike them both. Rejeena and Aarvans tumultuous love / contentious affinity continues, sparked by their opposing views of Kriisconian mores, particularly male slavery. And now the queen carries daughters of his seed in her womb that is vital to hera new tender attachment for him. Entering Caana, they meet a violent group of dissenting men and women who avow to end male slavery on the island at any cost. They, especially, consider the queens man a detested traitor to the brotherhood of men. Their sight was on Aarvan, who showed that his widespread, combative reputation was a persuasive magnet. Their goal is to convert him or kill him as an example to all. Can Aarvan convince their leader Jannsen that he will make a better ally than enemy? A conspiracy emerges involving the great queen and her powerful, deceitful collaborator Queen Tabarana forcing Aarvan to directly defy Kriisconian law. Queen Rejeena faces her most testing battle yet to protect and save her queens man.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Alison Weir's Mary Boleyn. In this vibrant biography, acclaimed author Alison Weir reexamines the life of Isabella of England, one of history’s most notorious and charismatic queens. Isabella arrived in London in 1308, the spirited twelve-year-old daughter of King Philip IV of France. Her marriage to the heir to England’s throne was designed to heal old political wounds between the two countries, and in the years that followed she became an important figure, a determined and clever woman whose influence would come to last centuries. Many myths and legends have been woven around Isabella’s story, but in this first full biography in more than 150 years, Alison Weir gives a groundbreaking new perspective.

The riveting true story of mother-and-daughter queens Catherine de' Medici and Marguerite de Valois, whose wildly divergent personalities and turbulent relationship changed the shape of their tempestuous and dangerous century. Set in magnificent Renaissance France, this is the story of two remarkable women, a mother and daughter driven into opposition by a terrible betrayal that threatened to destroy the realm. Catherine de' Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for thirty years. Her youngest daughter Marguerite, the glamorous "Queen Margot," was a passionate free spirit, the only adversary whom her mother could neither intimidate nor control. When Catherine forces the Catholic Marguerite to marry her Protestant cousin Henry of Navarre against her will, and then uses her opulent Parisian wedding as a means of luring his followers to their deaths, she creates not only savage conflict within France but also a potent rival within her own family. Rich in detail and vivid prose, Goldstone's narrative unfolds as a thrilling historical epic. Treacherous court politics, poisonings, international espionage, and adultery form the background to a story that includes such celebrated figures as Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Nostradamus. The Rival Queens is a dangerous tale of love, betrayal, ambition, and the true nature of courage, the echoes of which still resonate.

LaHeeka, Ancient Conjurah, forewarns: Through choices of act and word, we send undulations into the great infinity residing beyond mortal understanding, which waves eventually flow back. Good begets good; evil begets evil. It is called Karma, and will destroy or reward. Karma takes no prisoners. Despite this ominous warning, Great Queen Tabarana forges ahead with arrogance and rudeness in her conference with powerful, intolerant Mainland rulers. Knowing she imperils the island of Kriiscon, Rejeena and Aarvan intervene to disrupt her perilous plans and avert disaster. Will they succeed, or will Karma intercede? Aarvan encounters destiny when he travels to Silicara to discover his mother’s fate. Is she alive or long dead? He must confront vile persons from his past, including the father who sold him like a shoat for slaughter. Will he emerge the winner, with a mother and happiness, or the loser, burdened with more misery? Meanwhile, Rejeena faces her own Karmic moment when she hears the tale of Ethan, Queen Dorothy’s man—an innocent man tortured even as he saves the quarter from a devastating drought. That tale of horror, and a voice she believes to be LaSheena, causes Rejeena’s mindset to reverse. Can she switch her island away from cruelty and slavery, leading to a better future for all? Or will forces of traditional evil crush her efforts?