Part 2 of The Runner series. ================================== The Runner's Rebellion was only the beginning. Tensions run high as the City struggles to repair itself after a civil war. Intacts and Fragments fight to find themselves a place in the new order amid whispers of a Queen being unfit to rule. The delicate balance will be upset when a new evil threatens the City, this time from outside it's walls. The war with the Wastelanders has finally begun. Kay and her friends are rebels transitioning into leaders. Tasked with keeping the City safe from war means forming an alliance with the enemy and going back into dangerous territory. Back into the Wastelands, into the desert where it all began.

*Sequel to Paladin* The kingdom of Thule stands on the brink of civil war between two armies -- the Paladins and the Uriel -- each claiming the right to serve as Thule's protector. Once a Paladin trainee, Lady Samantha of Haywood -- Sam -- has been named a traitor to king and country by the Paladins' High Commander, with a bounty set on her head. Only Sam and her friends know what the people of Thule do not: the High Commander is no ordinary man but something more--something evil. The supposed military hero holds a dark alliance with the demons that have ravaged mankind for millennia, commanding them as easily as he does his men. Worse, he can control Braeden, Sam's half-demon lover, through blood magic long thought extinct. Sam and Braeden set sail across the sea in hopes of finding a way to nullify the High Commander's power. But the secrets they uncover reveal Thule faces an even greater threat. They must return to Thule and warn the Uriel...before it's too late.

Sam is the most promising swordsman among this year’s crop of Paladin trainees...and knows it. Brash, cocky, and unbeatable with a sword (well, almost), Sam is the kingdom of Thule’s best hope against the violence wrought by demons. The only problem is that Sam is really Lady Samantha, daughter of the seventeenth Duke of Haywood, and if her father has his way, she’ll be marrying a Paladin, not becoming one. But Sam has never held much interest in playing damsel-in-distress, and so she rescues herself from a lifetime of boredom and matrimonial drudgery. Pity that Tristan Lyons, the Paladin assigned to train her, is none other than the hero of her childhood. He hasn’t recognized her as Lady Samantha--yet-- but if he does, he’ll take away her sword and send her packing. Sam is not the only trainee hiding secrets: Braeden is a half-demon with a dark past that might be unforgivable. Sam, Braeden and Tristan set out for the western coast, charged with rooting out an infestation of demons that has made the West unlivable. As they travel, they uncover a deep-seated corruption of power that threatens to derail everything they stand for. Rebellion stirs, led by a rival faction of warriors who tempt Sam to join them with an irresistible offer. A war between men is coming, and Sam must pick a side. Will saving the kingdom cost her life -- or just her heart? Reminiscent of Mulan, but with a medieval fantasy twist, Paladin is a tale of adventure, action, and romance.

The world as we know it ended 209 years ago. From a desert wasteland springs a single kingdom, ruled by a tyrannical King and trapped in an endless war against the shadowy desert warriors. As a desperate bid to save what remains of humanity, society has been split into two distinct classes, nicknamed the Court and the Commons. For an oppressed population on the brink of revolution, a common thief could be the last hope. Up until now, Kay has survived by her wits alone. Reckless and impulsive, wanted by the King's guard, Kay has become known as the Runner. Using the city's rooftops as her personal domain, she manages to keep one step ahead of the King with one hand buried in the purses of the courtiers. Driven by the plight of the commoners and the unjust death of her family, Kay seizes the chance to graduate from small-time thievery to full-scale rebellion. Her opportunity comes in the form of Will, a wealthy ex-soldier with a dark past. Plucked from the streets and thrown into the shimmering palace court, Kay must use her every strength to blend into a world where she doesn't belong, closer to the enemy than she ever thought she would be.