Sarah Beran Knihy

A dying country. An evil queen. A hidden princess. A man without a past. Fiona Garnette, the castle healer in Vespara’s capital city of Derkar, wants nothing more than to spend her life caring for the people of her beloved homeland. However, after nearly a century under the rule of an evil and power-hungry queen, that task is not nearly as simple as it should be. Queen Morrigan’s use of dark magic and rejection of the Creator has left Vespara dying, slowly draining both the people and land of health and resources. The heir to the throne lays sleeping under a curse in a tall, forgotten tower and Fiona despairs of finding a way to wake her. To make matters even more complicated, Fiona has a secret she must guard from everyone–especially the queen. Her life depends upon it. Then an injured foreigner is found wandering the woods near the castle. The man–known only as the Huntsman–has no memory of his past life or how he came to cross the border from Montaigne. His arrival sets off a chain of events destined to change the course of Vespara forever. Lives are in danger and secrets are revealed. When faced with a darkness nearly a century in the making, will one healer be enough to restore life to an entire country?*While this is a standalone in the series and can be read on its own, the story is best read in sequence, as it contains spoilers for previous books.*

Jack is impulsive. As a member of the Order of the Fountain--a network of information and intelligence gatherers charged with protecting Montaigne--that usually means he's quick to think on his feet and adapt to his situation. But when the youngest princess of Provensaal is kidnapped from her father's ship by a crew of pirates, Jack's impulsive nature leads him to be presumed dead and far from home. With a couple of "magic" beans as his only lead to go on, he soon finds out that there is much more to the princess' disappearance than previously thought. Rapunzel is a planner, and having her ship attacked by pirates and finding herself locked away in a tower in the middle of the forest was definitely not a part of her plan. Neither was tending to a garden full of beans for the famed pirate captain Lesard. When Jack shows up and climbs through her tower window, she jumps at the chance to plan her escape. As Jack and Rapunzel learn more about the beanstalks, they discover that Lesard has something planned that could possibly threaten both of their countries. But when Jack is betrayed, it will take both careful planning and quick thinking to keep the magic beans from ending up in the wrong hands.

All she wanted was to be useful. Now she’s cursed to be a swan. Seamstress Odette Cygnesson has spent her whole life striving to be useful, but her mother remains cold and critical and the people of Vespara can’t seem to look past her dubious heritage and see that she is nothing like her infamous father. When the regent offers her a spot in the Vesparan peace delegation to neighboring Montaigne, she jumps at the chance. This could finally be her chance to start over.But an evil enchanter has other designs in mind for the delegation, and Odette finds herself cursed and her identity stolen. As a swan by day except for the hours between sunset and midnight, there is not much she can do to help Montaigne, and she despairs of finding someone willing to help break her curse.After all, swans are not very useful.But a chance meeting with the prince changes everything. Soon, a plot involving a baron’s daughter-turned-servant, an evil stepmother, and a royal ball comes together, and Odette discovers that perhaps she might not be as useless as she thinks. But when mistaken identities and past histories come to light, will Odette still find a way to break her curse? Or will she be doomed forever to spend life as a swan?*While this story can be read on its own, it is best enjoyed in sequence with other books in the series, as it contains spoilers for previous stories.*

The prince of Norland is missing.Orphaned twice over, Pan has spent his life under the control of the cunning and ruthless pirate captain, Lesard. Though desperate to both retain his morality and gain his freedom, he lives in constant fear of the consequences his choices could have on Smee, the only friend he has. When the enigmatic Hook joins Lesard’s crew and hatches a plot to help the captain break into the royal vault in Montaigne, Pan is offered his if he helps Lesard gain entry to the vault, he and Smee will be allowed to leave the pirate life behind. If he is discovered, however, he could face a life in prison and for Smee the consequences would be far worse.Melanie Charmant, the princess of Montaigne, has followed the search for the missing prince of Norland--the Lost Boy--for as long as she can remember. With the aid of the Order of the Fountain, she discovers that not only does Lesard hold the key to the prince’s disappearance, the nefarious pirate is also plotting to get his hands on the secret of Neverland--a spring of water that, according to legends, can bestow healing and perhaps even eternal youth. All Pan wants to do is finish his mission and so he and Smee can start over. All Melanie wants is to see the prince safely home and Neverland untouched. As their paths cross, will they find a way to trust each other with their secrets and protect Neverland from Lesard? Or is the gap between a pirate and a princess too great?*Author’s Note* This is an updated version and should be free of previous typos/errors.