Come 'round, night's edge draws ever near
Gray twilight gathers dark and drear.
The air grows brittle, howling, and cold,
So heed these tales arcane and old.
From beneath the mountains, where magic thrives;
From burrows dark, heartless, and dry;
From the hearts of shining, brave and tall;
These stories fair and foul may crawl.
So gather 'round this hearth of stone,
And listen now as these tales are sewn.
Unwind beside warm and crackling flames,
For these are the Tales from the Dark Caves.
(This is an anthology of fantasy poems, short stories, ballads, and epics. Cover art by Daphne Hutcheson)
Henley agrees to pretend to date millionaire Bennett Calloway for a fee, falling in love as she wonders - how is he involved in her brother's false conviction?
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Henley Linden's brother is in jail for a crime he didn't commit, and she'll take any job to raise the money needed to free him. Soon, she's agreed to pretend to date millionaire Bennett Calloway for ten thousand dollars, so his mother will ease up the pressure on him to find a wife. But once Henley is enmeshed in Bennett's world, he falls for her, and she starts to have feelings for him as well. Despite her romance with Bennett, as she grows closer to the Calloways, Henley realizes they are somehow involved in her brother's conviction. Journeying deeper into a world of wealth and conspiracies, Henley is forced to rely on Bennett, though doing so could cost her everything.
[[word count: 200,000-250,000 words]]