Untouchable

“Allow yourself to be swept into a world where good and evil battle, where goddesses and princes fight demons and shape-shifters. This is a world Jones excels at creating, [an] exciting, colorful realm.”
—Romantic Times

“Linda Winstead Jones pens a perfect romance laced with strife, mystery, and an intense passion hot enough to singe your fingers.”
—Romance Junkies

“Punchy battle scenes and steamy lovemaking will please genre fans, but it is Jones’s gift for creating complex heroes and villains that lifts this story out of the ordinary.”

“Bewitching . . . a fabulous climactic romantic fantasy . . . filled with fascinating twists, beguiling.”

“Well done! Very sensual.”
—Booklist

“A fantastic denouement . . . For an action-packed and thrilling romance,
The Star Witch
is just what the doctor ordered.”
—Romance Reviews Today

“I can hardly wait to find out how she will [entwine] all the threads she has created! . . . This series is just too good to miss.”
—The Romance Reader

“An enjoyable romantic fantasy that grips the audience . . . Action-packed.”
—The Best Reviews

“A unique and imaginative realm...Prepare to be swept away!”
—Rendezvous

“[W]ill enthrall . . . Lushly imaginative.”

“Entertaining and imaginative, with a wonderful blend of worlds and technology and magic. The characters are different and engrossing, the villain is fascinating.”

—New York Times
bestselling author Linda Howard

“Charming . . . Winsome . . . The perfect choice when you want a lighthearted and fun, yet sensual, romance . . . with all the magic of a fairy tale.”
—Bookbug on the Web

“Fabulous...The story is spectacular and this author is unforgettable. ”
—Road to Romance

“Let the fireworks begin! This whimsical, entrancing tale will satisfy the romance fan demanding something unusual and wonderful. With a skillful blend of the fanciful and the mundane, author Linda Jones weaves a marvelous tale of love and happy-ever-after, with a twist. Remarkable in imagination.”
—Word Weaving

“Amazing adventures unfold . . . Marvelously captivating, sensuous, fast-paced.”
—Booklist
(starred review)

“Hot.”
—Affaire de Coeur

THE SUN WITCH
THE MOON WITCH
THE STAR WITCH

PRINCE OF MAGIC
PRINCE OF FIRE
PRINCE OF SWORDS

UNTOUCHABLE

ALIX
watched silently as his brother, the emperor, toyed with the ministers and priests who had gathered around him. They did not see the muted sparkle of humor in Jahn’s eyes, but Alix saw. He had watched his entire life as his brother—elder by a few important minutes—charmed and joked and glided his way to success. Whether that success was with women or gambling or ruling a country recovering from war, it came easily to Jahn.

Alix had spent many years trying to outshine his brother in some way, not that he would ever allow anyone to see his efforts. He had been a more disciplined soldier than the elder twin, but in their time of battle Jahn had fought with great heart and determination which more than made up for his lack of discipline. Alix could not equal, much less surpass, his brother’s natural ease and charm, so he excelled in other ways. He was steady, whereas Jahn was unpredictable. He was even-tempered, whereas Jahn was occasionally emotional and reckless. He was a rock in contrast to Jahn’s storm.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Calvyno turned his head slightly and looked at Alix with more than a hint of accusation in his tired eyes. Alix knew there were many in the palace who wished he were emperor instead of his unpredictable brother. There were even those who expected bad blood between the brothers, who were quite certain that Alix would one day make a play for the throne. The outwardly unshakable Calvyno was likely among those who not only expected but looked forward to political excitement.

Alix took great satisfaction in denying them what they expected.

Beyond the open window in this large and elegantly furnished meeting room, revelers laughed and sang and danced as they enjoyed the first night of the Festival of Eramyn which ushered in the spring and said farewell to a cold winter. A large bonfire was visible, and now and then Alix’s gaze drifted in that direction. Flames against the black night sky were more tolerable than the sight of Jahn arguing with those of power who surrounded him, those who insisted that it was time the emperor took a bride.

The twins had not always been Jahn and Alix Beckyt, emperor and prince. Until six years ago they had been known as Devlyn and Trystan Arndell, poor sons of a lost fisherman and a seamstress who worked hard to keep food on the table. They had been sentinels who’d gladly joined the fight against the demon-possessed Ciro. Those simple days might’ve been from another lifetime, they seemed so long ago. Alix very seldom thought of himself as Trystan Arndell anymore, and no one would mistake Emperor Jahn for a fisherman’s son.

The majority of the common people of Columbyana had no idea their current emperor had come from such humble beginnings. They knew only that Emperor Sebestyen’s twin sons miraculously had been found alive. However, many of those in power knew the whole sordid story, as did a large number of those who worked in the palace.

The sight of the bonfire did not distract Alix quite enough. He heard each minister and priest, one after another,wholeheartedly suggest a different woman to fill the position of empress. Each female was presented as more beautiful, more sweet-tempered, more
suitable
than the last.

After a short while the moment came when the emperor tired of playing with those around him. “Fine,” Jahn said, a tenor of certainty and resignation in his voice. “I suppose I must marry.” There was a collective sigh of relief from those surrounding him, but then the emperor added, “I will not, however, allow anyone else to choose my wife for me.”

There was a flurry of argument as the men who had gathered around their emperor protested. They knew too well that Jahn’s taste in women leaned to the unacceptable. An empress must be of an impeccable bloodline. She must not laugh too loudly or lose her temper or make bawdy jokes, and she certainly could not bare too much of her precious skin in public. An empress must be refined and elegant, a woman worthy of a country’s loyalty and affection.

Jahn raised a hand, and the others were immediately silenced. The elder twin had taken quite well to his position, and he instinctively knew how to wield the power which was his by blood. “Those women who have been so glowingly suggested will be brought to the palace, where I will meet them all and make my choice.”

“But, my lord,” the Minister of Finance Tomos protested. He was pale and fleshy, looking very much like a man who spent his days bent over stacks of papers as numbers filled his head. “No woman of high rank will subject herself to such scrutiny and humiliation. These potential brides are not horses to be inspected and judged and... and discarded.”

Jahn would not be swayed. “Any woman who wishes to be empress will agree to my terms.”

A tall, thin priest, Father Braen, bowed with a modicum of respect. “I suspect Tomos is correct, my lord. No suitable female will wish to be examined and found lacking, only to be sent home in disgrace.”

“Then perhaps I should marry them all,” Jahn responded. “It’s been a long while since the Emperor of Columbyana possessed a proper harem.”

“You cannot suggest . . . ,” Braen snapped.

“I can suggest anything I wish,” Jahn said coldly, in the voice he used to silence opposition. It was a voice Alix had not heard until his brother had been made emperor. “I can change the laws and take a dozen brides, if I so choose. I can ignore your suggestions and remain unwed. I can impregnate any number of immoral and willing women and allow you all to fight over who the heir might be. Anything is possible.
Anything
. Never forget that.”

The smooth and seemingly unshakable Minister Calvyno bowed crisply. “My lord is correct, of course. I find his suggestion of bringing all the potential brides here for his inspection to be most”—he swallowed hard, unable to carry off his statement as smoothly as he’d intended— “reasonable,” he finished in an uncertain voice.

“Excellent.” Jahn stood. “I heard six names mentioned here tonight. Six of my most respected men will collect these women and bring them to me. Some reside quite a distance from the palace, so I suggest the bridal candidates be presented to me on the first night of the Summer Festival, in three months’ time. Six of the fastest couriers should be dispatched immediately so the ladies will be prepared to be collected.”

The men around the emperor nodded in approval— whether they actually approved of the plan or not. No one but Alix noticed the dulling of the light in Jahn’s eyes. No one but Alix knew how deeply vexed the emperor was to be forced to take a wife.

“I will see to it, my lord,” General Hydd said with his usual solemnity. “The couriers will leave at first light.”

Jahn dismissed the crowd with a wave of his hand, and the men who had surrounded the emperor left quickly, almost as if they were glad to escape. Usually the emperor’s meetings with his closest advisors were more genial, but the subject of an empress and a much-needed heir was a prickly one.

When Alix made as if to follow the others, Jahn stopped him with a raised hand and waved him to his side, just as the last of the ministers left the room and the heavy door closed with an ominous, dull thud.

“I should like to send you to Tryfyn to collect the Princess Edlyn,” Jahn said. No one else would see the tiredness and even the surrender in his eyes, but Alix saw. He knew his brother well.

“It may be difficult to convince the King of Tryfyn to send his daughter to you for inspection,” Alix said.

“Having a prince designated as her escort should ease his reluctance.” Jahn shrugged his shoulders; wide, tired shoulders encased in imperial crimson. “If Princess Edlyn does not come, then it was not meant to be, and my choice will be all that much easier. She is of the highest rank of all those proposed, so I suppose she has a bit of an advantage, if she should decide to participate in the contest.” He suddenly looked more Devlyn than emperor, his eyes hinting at the boy Alix had once known. “A contest for my bride. What do you think my closest advisors would think if I made it a real contest? I could bed them all and choose the one who pleases me most. I could strip them bare and search for imperfections. I can only imagine what Father Braen would think of that type of competition.”

Alix knew that his brother was joking about testing the women in such a way. Jahn had taken too naturally to his position of power to throw it all away on such a whim. He realized that every word, every decision, was weighed and measured. Still, Alix breathed deeply before asking, “Are you sure about this plan of yours? Is it truly wise?”

For the first time in a long while, Alix saw a true smile from his brother. “I doubt anyone ever expected wisdom from Devlyn Arndell.”

“True, but they demand it from Emperor Jahn.” Alix bowed crisply. “I will, of course, do as you ask.”

After almost six years in the palace, the twins had heard many tales of their conception and birth. The stories were told in whispers and tinged with magic, and it was impossible to know what was true and what was myth. No matter how it was told, the story was unsavory and sad. One they did not wish to dwell upon or examine too closely. Still, they could not ignore what they heard. They did not know all, would never know all, but one aspect of the tale was unchanging.

One twin had been conceived in darkness, the other in light. One twin was destined to wrestle with darkness, and the other was born of goodness and light.

Those who knew them surely believed that Emperor Jahn, a man who gambled and occasionally drank to excess and often enjoyed the company of inappropriate women, was the twin who struggled with a darkness of the soul, and Alix, who was noble and steady and well mannered, was the twin born to light.

Only Alix knew that they were wrong.