“You are the true heir to the Garin royal family. And you should be the next Empress of Sideros.”

Two weeks ago I was a clerk at a Sav-R-Mart in downstate Illinois. That was before a bolt of lightning blasted me to a world where gods, muses, and magic are real, and five gorgeous lords swept me off my feet while we searched for a stolen royal jewel.

Now I have a shot at winning the whole damn crown. Even better, it comes with the Buff Lords as my consorts. But to pull this off I need to control my wonky elemental magic, navigate some seriously treacherous politics, and battle my cousin for the throne.

Talk about a family feud…

Excerpt available here.

• Reverse Harem, Paranormal Romance
• Word Count: 92,000
• Heat Level: 4
• Published By: Belaurient Press

Books in the Paladins of Crystal series:

• Crystal Shard
• Crystal Blade
• Crystal Reflection (TBA)
• Crystal Citadel (TBA)
• Crystal Empress (TBA)
• A Theory of Crystal

Content Advisory

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Reviews

Rated Five Stars. “It has left me wanting to go back and re-read book one. You know, just because. And if that isn’t the sign of a good book and an amazing author, I don’t know what is.”
—Merissa, Archaeolibrarian

Rated Five Stars. “5 full and shiny stars, more if I could!! Write quicker, Ms Cameron, write QUICKER!!
—Debbie, Archaeolibrarian

Rated Five Stars. “If you are a lover of high fantasy books with a great plot, amazing character development, and forbidden love… read this series!”
—Amazon Reviewer

Rated Five Stars. “If you enjoy fantasy with adventure and spice, then Crystal Blade is the book for you.”
—Delane, Coffee Time Romance and More

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Where to Buy

Amazon | Print

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Excerpt

After dinner I headed back to my room, still trying to figure out where Serge might have hidden chunks of the statue. If he’d melted them down, I’d still be able to find them by their signatures but I had no idea how the hell I would put them all back together again—

Someone grabbed my arm and yanked me into an alcove. I opened my mouth to yell and a hand slapped over it. “Please don’t scream, angel,” a familiar voice whispered.

Erik. I immediately relaxed and he dropped his hand. “What are you doing here?” I hissed, dragging him into my room.

“Making sure that you’re all right,” he said, a corner of his mouth curving up as I closed and locked the door. He looked tired and dirty, and I was so damn happy to see him. “And if necessary, rescuing you. Do you need rescuing, by the way?”

My heart thumped a little harder. “I don’t think so. At least, not yet,” I amended. “They sent me here to prove I’m Kristiana’s daughter.”

“So they do think you’re a Garin.”

“Yeah.” I quickly explained what Lady Julia had told me, and what had happened when Count Guillaume shot off his mouth at the impromptu imperial audience. “The empress had me hold the Shard and it lit up. Then she had Veronika touch it and it didn’t do anything. That’s when Tatiana admitted that she paid a Fire Talent to make it light up during Veronika’s confirmation ceremony.”

Erik shook his head. “That explains much. But if the Shard lit for you, it proves you’re a Garin. So why send you here?”

“They think I might have messed with the Shard on the way back to Jakoba so that it would react like I’m Kristiana’s daughter. They’re having the former Royal Shaper check it, but in the meantime they sent me here to—”

“Find Ivar’s statue.”

I stared at him. “How did you know about that?”

“Anton worked it out,” Erik admitted. “Apparently Metal Talents have been trying to find it for decades. Were you able to locate it?”

“I’m still looking. According to Taina my mom found it, but she never told anyone where it was. I did find Mom’s journal, but I haven’t seen any hints in there.”

Erik nodded slowly. “The fact that she found it suggests that you can do the same. How can I help?”

I tried to kick-start my brain, but all I could think about was the fact that he was here with me in a bedroom. “Just … stay hidden and get me the hell out of here if Mazur decides that he wants to throw me out the window, I guess.”

“That I’ll do gladly.” His nose wrinkled and he sniffed himself, making a face. “I don’t suppose I could get cleaned up? And perhaps a bite of something to eat?”

“Bathroom’s behind that door.” I went a little cross-eyed at the thought of him naked. “But there’s only cold water. I have to ask the caretaker to bring up jugs of hot water for a bath.”

He grimaced. “Pity Basil isn’t here—he’d be able to heat it with a thought. Never mind. What about food?”

“I can go downstairs and grab some leftovers from the kitchen.” Although if Mazur caught me I had no idea how I was going to explain being hungry right after dinner. Maybe imply that Auntie Flo had arrived? That usually sent guys running in the other direction.

“Anything would be fine, believe me.” He slipped out of his dark coat, revealing a plain white shirt and trousers that fit him like a second skin. “I’ll get cleaned up while you’re downstairs.”

That was a hint, Laska. Go get the food. “Uh, right. I’ll be back.” I unlocked the door and headed to the stairs, trying to ignore the fact that Erik would soon be naked in my bathroom. Naked, and wet, and soapy, and in need of being warmed up—

Yeah, except you’re not the Heir yet, the logical part of my brain pointed out. So you can’t do anything without endangering Erik’s dad, can you?

Dammit.

****

By the time I got back to the room with a loaded hamper Erik was drying his hair with one towel, another wrapped around his waist.

I leaned against the bedroom door, trying to swallow the huge amount of saliva that flooded my mouth. I’d seen him in full formal gear, what passed for casual clothing here, and shirtless back when we were hunting the Shard. I had no idea why having him in my room wearing nothing but a rectangle of terrycloth made him so much sexier but God, it did. In addition to a Cavill-worthy torso he also had amazing legs with long, muscled calves and thighs. Best of all, he had just the right amount of leg hair. It ended mid-thigh, like he was wearing a skin-colored bathing suit. Only I knew damn well there wasn’t anything under that towel apart from more yummy skin and what I assumed would be a very nice, ahem, personal weapon.

He gave me one of his panty-melting smiles. “I’m not sure what I’m happier to see—you or that hamper.”

Oh, right—food. I brought it over to the desk and laid out venison, cheese, a half loaf of bread, little pots of condiments, and the piece de la resistance, a big covered jar of beer. “If you need more, I’ll go back downstairs. Sorry I didn’t bring a knife—they locked them all up.”

“No, this is fine.” He went back into the bathroom and came back with a hunting knife that he used to carve off slices of everything, assembling it into a monster sandwich. He took a huge bite and sighed through his nose. “‘Ank you.”

He sat down to finish his meal while I tried not to ogle those perfectly muscular shoulders that I wanted to bite and a back that should have been on a Crossfit ad. He even had cute ears. I ask you. Of course, now I had to figure out what I was going to do with him. I wanted him inside the lodge in case Mazur got homicidal, but sticking him anywhere other than my room would risk someone finding him. And if he stayed in my room…

He turned around, licking away a smear of mustard from his thumb, and I had to smother a whimper. Regé-Jean Page could’ve taken “Sensually Licking At Food” lessons from him. “Feel better?” I asked weakly.

“Much, thank you.” His attention flicked over me. “Are you all right?”

“Apart from being dragged here by the head of Imperial Intelligence and pretty much being told that if I don’t find the statue of Ivar I I’m going to die? Yeah, I’m great.”

Erik stood in one smooth motion, crossing to me and taking my hands. “Even if you don’t find the statue, Mazur will not lay one finger on you, Crystal.” His voice was low, calm, and absolutely lethal. “I swear this on my name’s honor. He’ll die before he touches you.”

I could feel tears welling up and blinked them away. “Thank you. You really don’t know what that means to me,” I said, wishing I could throw my arms around him. “But I have to find the statue. It’s the only way I can claim my real name.”

He lifted one of my hands to his mouth, kissing it. The sensation of his lips on my fingers made everything between my hips tighten up and go tink. “And claim us, of course,” he murmured against my skin. “We’re supposed to marry the Heir, after all.”

Oh, that little factoid was front and center in my mind. “But I’d have to talk the empress into it. Remember, Veronika’s been training for the throne since she was little. I’m—” A white trash, half-feral discount store clerk, my brain gibbered. “Not familiar with ruling,” I finished. “Not to mention illegitimate.”

“Perhaps, but you are the empress’s granddaughter,” Erik pointed out. “Not to mention you’re intelligent, cunning, and pick things up very quickly. I have full faith that you’d learn how to rule well, given the appropriate training.” He paused, lowering my hand. “Although—would you have an issue with marrying us? I know having multiple husbands isn’t the norm in Aquilonia, and it’s clearly not what you’re used to. Would it … bother you?”

Bother me? Was he kidding? I was ready to do cartwheels at the thought of marrying the Buff Lords. “To be honest, I didn’t think about getting married so soon, to anyone,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “And no, having multiple husbands at the same time is not common where I come from. But the more time I spend with you guys, the more I realize how wonderful you all are, and how much I want to be with you.” I squeezed his fingers. “If you want to know the truth, I’m doing this so that I can marry you. The throne is just a fringe benefit.”

His smile could have lit up the dark side of the moon. “Fringe benefit?”

“Never mind.” God, I wanted to kiss him so badly. “I take it that you don’t mind the idea of marrying me?”

He laughed. “Angel, it would make both Anton and me the happiest men in the world. Basil thinks that you’re utterly delightful, Marco’s developed a huge crush on you, and you’ve even managed to thaw Fallon’s icy soul. Trust me, we’d all be thrilled if we could marry you.” A wicked little twinkle lit his eyes. “I know I’m looking forward to the first time we’re all in bed together and can take turns wearing you out.”

Eeeeeee, so was I. Focus, Laska. “Okay. So I find the statue, prove Mom was my mother, talk the empress into recognizing me, and then we can all get married and live happily ever after.”

He pulled my hands to his chest. His bare chest, and didn’t his skin feel warm against my fingers? “Can I help in any way? I’m not a Metal Talent but I might be able to do something with my own ability.”

I tried to think of how an Earth Talent could help me. “I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t exactly know what I’m doing here.”

His thumbs started rubbing my fingers ever so slowly. “Can I help you in some way that doesn’t involve magic?”

Was he suggesting what I thought he was suggesting? “You can’t—I mean, we can’t—” I shook my head, wondering why I couldn’t use my words. Oh, yeah, because a big, gorgeous, half-naked man is holding me close. “Until I’m confirmed as Heir, you’re still oath bound to Veronika, right? So if we do anything…”

“They’ll execute my father, yes. So I can’t make love to you tonight, much as I want to.” His voice dropped back into that wonderful purr. “But there are other things we can do that would help relax you.”