Stories

Two enemies wake in the ashes of Jerusalem—one a deserter drowning in guilt, the other an amnesiac who remembers only how to kill. Hunted across the desert by a vengeful lord, they must disguise themselves as a Crusader knight and his squire to survive. But in the war-torn port of Jaffa, masks slip. Secrets surface. And a feral German street rat with a talent for trouble forces them to confront an impossible question: in a holy war that devours everything, can two broken boys build a family from the ruins?

Cwtch is a Welsh word, translated into English it means a hug, but the meaning is deeper and more profound than a simple hug. When you give someone a cwtch you also give them a safe place and this is what twenty something Londoner Harry gives Welsh farmboy Aled. The story tells how two souls find each other, and recognise one another immediately. It is attraction, but also love at first sight, although true love is never easy.

This story is also published under the title Eighteen Years by E K Stokes.

"You can never trust a Crawley." Those were Albert Cooley's words to his sons, spoken every chance he got, and August did his best to do what was expected of him after his ma passed. The Crawleys and the Cooleys were ranching families, and they didn't mix, not ever, but more and more, August had a problem with letting his father decide everything for him. Was Fletcher really his enemy? Could he trust the man he'd butted heads with over and over, one he'd known pretty much his whole life? All he knew for certain was he was tired of all the conflict, and needed his life to change before he exploded. That's where his Gran came in.

The siege is over. The city is theirs. But for Darien Haskal and his feral Vanguard, the real war has just begun. Raymond of Toulouse has seized the Holy Lance and declared himself God's chosen commander. Baldwin of Edessa plots from the north, hungry for revenge. And somewhere in the Sultan's tent, a prince's back is being carved open to pay for Antioch's fall. The Vanguard marches south alone—extorting coastal cities, hunting spies in the hills, and building a sanctuary for outcasts. Jerusalem waits. But the road is paved with fanatics, betrayal, and the corpses of kings.

A blind boy hailed as a saint. A sorcerer-prince branded a monster. Bound by magic, divided by war, and caught in the crushing grip of the First Crusade.

As thirty thousand starving crusaders batter the walls of Antioch, Wylan—a stable boy turned reluctant holy icon—discovers his soul is tethered to Ishan, the Seljuk prince sworn to destroy his army. Together, they share visions, stolen warmth, and a truth that could burn them both.

The city bleeds. The earth shakes. And when the sky turns red, their swapped bodies become the least of their sins.

Noah likes to take things day by day, splitting his time between working at a souvenir shop and hanging with friends at the beach. When his girlfriend breaks up with him and tells him she is moving away, he is left utterly confused. Luckily, he has his best friend Leo to help him get through it - whether it’s by taking him out for dinner, listening to his complaints, or giving him some tough love. Why is Leo always so good to him anyway?

You never forget your first love.

Nor do you forget the traditions you shared.

Maybe that's all you need to bring you back together?

Or is it?

Fourteen-year-old Aiden Callahan has been expelled and shipped off to rural County Sligo for the summer. He expects boredom. Instead he finds ancient passage tombs and a mysterious boy named Cianán who seems to belong to the landscape itself.
As their bond deepens into first love, Aiden discovers that Cianán may be the last living remnant of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the mythic race who once ruled Ireland and retreated into the ancient mounds. But summer doesn’t last forever, and some connections come with a cost neither boy is prepared to pay.

My Prince wasn't actually a real Prince... and his father wasn't a real King... and his real name wasn't Elwyn. Jesus, who would call a kid that, other than maybe a screenwriter creating some medieval drama for the silver screen? Drama would eventually take my Prince to the pinnacle of his chosen profession. His story... our story... begins in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia.

A grumpy hedge knight desperate for a squire buys a blind stable boy for three years' wages. He expected useless. He got a boy who can hear lies in a man's voice, calm any horse with a touch, and navigate by sounds others miss. Now they're marching to crusade, surrounded by enemies who'd destroy them—if the magic rising in the East doesn't kill them first.