Christopher Mariscal

For nineteen years, I have carved myself into a dutiful son, a courtier of unimpeachable wit, and a genuine delight at a tea party. Now that my success in society has planted me in the path of Mikhail Vasiliev, it's clear I'd have been better off keeping my head down. Prince Mikhail is the second son of a traitor. Third in line to the throne, he has a reputation for violence, debauchery, and being a thorn in the side of his cousin, King Dmitri. That is until the king decides to get him out of the way—by marrying him off. To me.

Finally, everything is going good for Carter. He's not a slave. He has a roof over his head. He's fixed his alien language translator and now can talk to Pykh and Siel, his protectors. Thankfully, they aren't promiscuous alien hillbillies. They're loyal men who love him, and Carter loves them back. Our space marine is ready to settle into a new life on the fleaf'akhie planet and be happy. But now there's another problem. On this planet...he's the girl? And not just any girl, but a pale, delicate, exotic princess who must be bowed to, courted, and entertained with poems.

It's 1946, and the dust of World War Two has just begun to settle. When famous archaeologist Rufus Denby returns to London, his life and reputation are as devastated as the city around him. He's used to the most glamorous of excavations, but can't turn down the offer of a job in rural Sussex. It's a refuge, and the only means left to him of scraping a living. With nothing but his satchel and a mongrel dog he's rescued from a bomb site, he sets out to investigate an ancient church in the sleepy village of Droyton.

Is there room for love in a heart full of secrets? One year ago, before Fate took a wrecking ball to his life, Nichol was happily working on his doctorate in linguistics. Now he's hip deep in sheep, mud, and collies. His late brother and mother had been well-suited to life on Seacliff Farm. Nichol? Not so much.