Eight Kingdoms Series by Belinda Burke

An ancient pact was once broken by the theft of Summer’s prince. Now, the Red King has found him. To live, to love, they seek the dark side of the sun… A thousand years ago, Milesian invaders gained ownership of Ireland from Summer’s Queen through trickery. Since that day, the green isle’s native sidhe have been imprisoned in their hidden kingdom, bound by their ancient pact with the Milesians. Now, the treaty has been violated. The Milesians have stolen Bran Fionnan, the son of Summer’s queen... moreAn ancient pact was once broken by the theft of Summer’s prince. Now, the Red King has found him. To live, to love, they seek the dark side of the sun… A thousand years ago, Milesian invaders gained ownership of Ireland from Summer’s Queen through trickery. Since that day, the green isle’s native sidhe have been imprisoned in their hidden kingdom, bound by their ancient pact with the Milesians. Now, the treaty has been violated. The Milesians have stolen Bran Fionnan, the son of Summer’s queen. Trapped in the human world with no way of returning home, Bran is held under a death threat that forces him to work for his captors. He must forge weapons the Milesian huntresses can use to slay their new foe—the Red King. The Red King is Macsen Cadoc, a vampire—a hunter who cannot stand being hunted. He seeks vengeance for the Milesian attacks in spilled blood—Milesian blood, and the blood of the sidhe traitor who has forged their weapons. When the one he finds is a victim, not a traitor, everything changes. Bran Fionnan is the Milesians’ most valuable prize, but from the moment Macsen sees him, he wants him…and the Red King is not accustomed to being denied—by anyone. What begins with desire may end in extraordinary ways, but first, there are questions that must be answered. What is love? Can it help Bran overcome lost ties and a lifetime’s worth of anger? Can it help the Red King gain more than the satisfaction of his lusts? less

A prince, a king, an oath to bind and an oath to break. Can something begun in darkness survive the light? Or does the shape of that oath define love...and the circle unbroken? Three months have passed since Macsen Cadoc's rescue of Bran Fionnan-three mortal months, three days in Macsen's Red Kingdom... moreA prince, a king, an oath to bind and an oath to break. Can something begun in darkness survive the light? Or does the shape of that oath define love...and the circle unbroken? Three months have passed since Macsen Cadoc's rescue of Bran Fionnan-three mortal months, three days in Macsen's Red Kingdom. Bran is seeking a place for himself as sidhe, as Summer's Prince and as Macsen's consort, and the Red King has started to balance the thirst of his own nature with the love that now moves him just as much. Yet when Bran is reminded of an oath that was made between them when he was just a child, that which has so far held them together may end up tearing them apart. While the strength of their love is tested, a mortal enemy is once more in motion. Focused only on their destruction, Dealla seeks to step into the place of her dead father-to rule over the Milesians and fulfill the oaths of crown and country. To do so, she must find a way to hurt two foes...one new and openly deadly, the other ancient and its enmity long asleep. Allies appear in unlikely places, armed by their own motives to seek the same destruction Dealla desires... But the price of success may be higher than the cost of failure-higher than any plot or plan allows. What is the price of an oath fulfilled? Is love born from nothing, or does it wear a path that can be traced? less

Book three in the Eight Kingdoms series Winter’s love is blood and chaos…but fire isn’t all that smolders at Summer’s heart. To claim Bran forever, Macsen has begun the ancient ritual of sidhe courtship—but such a rite is a trial in more ways than one. Tradition requires that Macsen seek Bran’s favor in his own country, and a Summer courtship is teasing and promising. More than that, Summer’s Queen will come between Macsen and her son however she can... moreBook three in the Eight Kingdoms series Winter’s love is blood and chaos…but fire isn’t all that smolders at Summer’s heart. To claim Bran forever, Macsen has begun the ancient ritual of sidhe courtship—but such a rite is a trial in more ways than one. Tradition requires that Macsen seek Bran’s favor in his own country, and a Summer courtship is teasing and promising. More than that, Summer’s Queen will come between Macsen and her son however she can.Despite his mother’s disapproval, Bran’s will is bent to the same purpose as Macsen’s—the achievement of four proofs of love, proofs that only Bran can determine or acknowledge. One step at a time, they come closer to a day when nothing will be able to separate them—but a familiar foe is more than willing to try.In the mortal world, the year has continued to pass without a hint of green. The Green King has prevented the spring, and thus all seasons but winter. Still, it’s Macsen whom Dealla blames, and all her plans for violent retribution are directed at him. Failure may cost her everything, but that is a price she has long been willing to pay.In the wake of her invasion, Macsen is left with a dilemma that might not be easy to solve. Love, or vengeance—which should he choose? Can they live together in the same heart? less

The Shadow Road by Belinda Burke This is book four in the Eight Kingdoms series Spring is dead. Summer is divided. Autumn has its darkness…and Winter waits. In the wake of Dealla’s latest atrocity, Macsen has learned a lesson he will never forget. To love is to fear, and he intends to make sure that his fear never comes to pass. Bran is less than pleased with being left behind while Macsen hunts Dealla, but he has trouble of his own to distract him... moreThe Shadow Road by Belinda Burke This is book four in the Eight Kingdoms series Spring is dead. Summer is divided. Autumn has its darkness…and Winter waits. In the wake of Dealla’s latest atrocity, Macsen has learned a lesson he will never forget. To love is to fear, and he intends to make sure that his fear never comes to pass. Bran is less than pleased with being left behind while Macsen hunts Dealla, but he has trouble of his own to distract him. An unknown ability is growing in him—magic that has nothing of Summer in it. Disturbed, Bran convinces Macsen to come with him to question his mother. Only she knows who Bran’s father is, and the secret half of his bloodline is the most likely source of his new power.Elenn agrees to Bran’s request, but for her own reasons. Faelan, one of the gancanagh, is to be Bran’s guide to his father, and she has ordered him to seduce the Red King and prove his love false. Faelan has no desire to follow through, but also no choice. His queen has commanded, and he must obey.Macsen and Bran aren’t the only lovers whose feelings are being put to the test. After five thousand years of separation, Myrddin has no choice but to accept Kas’ help in restoring the spring and its rite to the mortal world. The difficulty is that he wants Kas to desire him for himself, not out of necessity, and the whole of reality is standing in his way.Where is the line that divides determination from desire? Love is power—but is it enough? The Eight Kingdoms series Strange alliances are forged among the fae as Macsen Cadoc and his fae allies attempt to defeat the Milesians, Irish huntresses who bear a grudge against the sidhe.Failure will bring Macsen to his knees; success may do the same, unless he and Bran Fionnan, once a captive of the huntresses, can succeed in sowing seeds of peace. Yet even while some attempt to find a middle ground and forge a place where tolerance can flower, a new power rises, a threat to them all.The Church of Rome aims to win the earth from its immortal rivals, even if doing so comes at the price of magic itself. It will be up to Macsen to make a choice that might save the fae and all that sustains them...but only Bran has the power to convince him to do what is right.Can mortal and immortal overcome the conflicts that divide them when some must hunt others to survive? Is love stronger than anything—even a Fae King's pride? About Belinda Burke Belinda currently lives on the New England coast with her fiancée, their room mate and her cat. When she's not writing, she's working toward degrees in Philosophy and English, embroidering or reading.Belinda writes in several genres, but a little lust and love always work their way into her stories. less