A short Threats of Sky and Sea prequel- Once, Lady Katerine was simply Ekaterina. Once, she was not a countess, but a girl who cleaned fireplaces. And once, she had a sister...

One of Prince Caden’s earliest explanations of justice came from his father. But with an Earth Elemental's life on the line, Caden learns to define it for himself. A short Threats of Sky and Sea prequel; originally appeared in Inaccurate Realities, Issue #3: Magic

Every winter, the snow glitters like a pretty lie. The winter palace swarms with visiting nobles. And Lady Corrine fights not to lose her breath. Because whether he means to or not, Duke Ardin steals it away. (This story is a short prequel to Threats of Sky and Sea.)

Sixteen year-old Breena Perdit has spent her life as a barmaid, innocent to her father’s past and happily free from the Elemental gifts that would condemn her to a life in the Egrian King’s army. Until the day that three Elemental soldiers recognize her father as a traitor to the throne and Bree’s father is thrown in jail—along with the secrets from his last mission as the King’s assassin. Secrets that could help the King win a war. Secrets he refuses to share. Desperate to escape before the King’s capricious whims prove her and her father’s downfall, Bree bargains with him: information for their lives. It’s a good trade. And she has faith she’ll get them both out of the King’s grasp with time. But that was before the discovery that she’s the weapon the King’s been waiting for in his war. Now, time is running out. To save her father’s life and understand her own, Bree must unravel the knot of her father’s past before the King takes his life– and uses her to bring a nation to its knees.

War draws closer, like a tide to the shore. Bree and her friends have escaped the clutches of the Egrian King, but their troubles are far from over. Still reeling from the secrets that drew new breath when her father took his last, Bree sets off for the safety of Nereidium—the kingdom she's just learned is hers. But with the King's ire at its peak and war a certainty, Nereidium is no longer safe. As Prince Caden rallies the Egrian people against his tyrant father, Bree, Princess Aleta, and Tregle race to the Nereid shore to warn them of the incoming danger—and to put the Nereid Princess on the throne. The only trouble there: Bree can’t bring herself to reveal that the Princess is her. It’s not a dilemma she can waste time pondering. With a new weapon in his arsenal, the King's strikes are sure to be bolder than ever before. And Bree may not be ready to wear a crown… but she won't let her kingdom down without a fight.

War hurtles in, a typhoon over the sea. After Bree’s life was torn apart, Nereidium had represented a haven to her. A place that—if she could save it—was beyond the King’s reach. And, at last, she’s arrived upon its shores. But things in Nereidium are not what they should be. The land is plagued by a rash of mysterious earthquakes, the likes of which it’s never known. The governors are distracted by old traditions, while Bree and her friends grapple with changing identities and the sense that the longer they wait to take action… the greater the danger from Egria grows. Bree is tired of living under the shadow of King Langdon’s power. And she’s tired of waiting for him to be the first to act. In this final chapter of the Threats of Sky and Sea series, it all comes down to Nereidium or Egria. To Bree or the King. It’s kill… or be killed. And not everyone will escape the battle unscathed.