The Stories of Nether and Mandria Series by Deborah Chester

Two men. One is a prince of royal blood. The other is a half-breed, part human, part elf. But the part that is human is also royal.Two women. One is a princess, pampered and protected. The other lives in the forest, the leader of a band of rebels. She too has elven blood.This is their story -- the tale of love and hate, courage and cowardliness, and magic both dark and light.

It is a world of betrayals and alliances, of spells and magic, of haunting dreams and dark desires...The rebel princess Alexeika is captured and tortured by the evil Grethori--but is sustained by dreams of the man who will set her free...Prince Gavril yearns to control the dark magick of a cursed sword--while his desperate betrothed pursues another man's heart...Asked to help protect Gavril, the half-elven Dain continues a quest to fulfill his adoptive father's dying wish.. moreIt is a world of betrayals and alliances, of spells and magic, of haunting dreams and dark desires...The rebel princess Alexeika is captured and tortured by the evil Grethori--but is sustained by dreams of the man who will set her free...Prince Gavril yearns to control the dark magick of a cursed sword--while his desperate betrothed pursues another man's heart...Asked to help protect Gavril, the half-elven Dain continues a quest to fulfill his adoptive father's dying wish...It is a journey that will give him the chance to save the woman he loves--and will place him at odds with the destiny that he and Alexeika share.A destiny that can only be realized with the help of a long-lost talisman... less

As the final confrontation with the darkness approaches, two mortal enemies will search for the key to life itself.

The throne was her destiny-until Princess Pheresa lost her groom, Mandria's heir, to the dark magic. Now her fate is uncertain. Her enemies are strong. And her only ally is the last man she would ever choose-and the one man she should never love.

The Sword, The Ring, and The Chalice trilogy ensnared readers in its web of fantasy and suspense. The Queen's Gambit added more layers to the tale. Now, national bestselling author Deborah Chester delivers a novel of a king's duty to his land, his love for his wife-and the ultimate betrayal of both.

Pheresa, rightful Queen of Mandria, is ready to claim her crown and her destiny. But when a deadly mist fills the cathedral, and Pheresa vanishes, only Sir Talmor, her sworn protector, can find and save her--by revealing the magical powers that will bring scorn upon him.

For twelve years, King Faldain and his warrior-wife, Queen Alexeika, have sought the Chieftain--and the evil sorceress behind him--who killed their son the day barbarians attacked the palace. Now Dain, suffering from a powerful, life-threatening curse, struggles homeward to be saved by the Chalice of Life. But he is about to be betrayed by one closer than he could ever imagine.