Cirrus@Austlit

'A girl in hiding, a deadly curse and a prophecy an empire is ready to destroy...

'Concealing her hideous affliction beneath a witch's robes and spells, Tash Severin embarks on a journey that may be her only hope of living a normal life, free of pain and scorn.

'The Pool of Rathorne's healing waters promise a cure in a world where the crippled are shunned and the Cursed are imprisoned.

'But a chance meeting with the enigmatic Raoul Duberger changes Tash's journey - and her life.

'Beneath his expensive cloak and aristocratic presence, Raoul also hides his true identity.

'His lies are a foil for deadly truths, some of which may change her destiny forever.

'In a kingdom where secrets are worth killing for, does Tash have the courage to trust this stranger and risk her life?

'And would she change her decision if she knew the future of an oppressed land rested with her fate?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Thrust into the technology-driven Earthlands, Shahkara must find the ancient Elnara death lantern - the only thing that can save her homeworld from the heart-devouring Taloners. She enlists the help of geeky billionaire Max McCalden, but soon finds that, as a half-Taloner herself, her blood demands what she knows she can't have - a human heart. Shahkara longs for love, but as deadly enemies attack at every turn, will her lust for Max destroy them both? Or will she find the strength to free both worlds from a threat more horrific than the demons that share her blood? ' (Publisher's blurb)