The Golden Queen, Book 1 When GallenO'Day is hired as a bodyguard to escort a young woman through the woods to the forbidden ruins at Geata Na Chruinn, it seems like an ordinary job-but all too soon, he finds himself fleeing for his life from creatures that seem like escapees from a nightmare-the alien dronon, led by their golden queen. With his best friend, a genetically engineered talking bear named Orick, and his girlfriend Maggie, Gallen soon finds himself tangled in an interstellar war that he never knew existed, racing across a host of worlds, confronted by a future unlike any that he had ever imagined.

Little Sember stole readers' hearts in "Siena." Join her now, ten years later, as she embarks on a quest of her own to save her people, and to finally accept her true self along the way. - - - Sixteen and struggling is not how Sember wants to describe herself. Born with the ability to conjure fire, every day is a challenge to keep the churning blaze within her under control. After nearly incinerating her parents at the age of six, guilt and doubt plague her at every turn. While the village's gifted healer is away, a mysterious disease sweeps through Foresthome, and people start dying. When her parents get infected and the resident herbalist has no solutions, she takes it upon herself to track the clues and locate the source of this unnatural plague. Joined by her brother and a handsome Iceling, they must unravel the mystery and face an unexpected enemy in the shadows. If they fail, the plague will engulf the world she knows, plunging it into dark times. Maybe a little fire is exactly what they need. --- Big thanks to @vexnir for illustrating this awesome cover.