Disclaimer & Pronunciation Guide
-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-
The Anxious Hearts Series:
🌑 Book 1: The Beastkeeper's Bride
🌒 Book 2: The Dragon's Match
🌓 Book 3: The Beastkeeper's Redemption (ongoing)
🌔 Book 4: The Beastkeeper's Temptation (TBA)
The books do not have to be read in order and can be read as standalones. There is an overarching plot throughout each narrative and some elements may be best understood if you do read them as a series, but it is not necessary.
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Author's Note:
Greetings!
A few notes before you take on this specific story.
1. It is book 3 in the same universe - plot arc - thing. Totes can read it as a standalone, but you could miss out on a few pertinent points and get a bit confused. Head over to the synopsis at the end of this spiel for a quick update, or take on book 1 :)
2. Expect updates between Friday and Sunday (I wish I could keep to a timed schedule, but I'm useless)
3. My leading men have tails. Sometimes they turn into dragons. Who knows what else at this point.
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2022 Ashlyn Montgomery
All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to author directly.
Pronunciation Guide & Glossary
The Beastkeepers
Kaede C'Lainn – Kade Coo / lain
Blayne Leowyn – Blane Leo / win
Rogane To'ran – Rogan Torn
Caëlhon C'lainn – Keel / lin Coo / lain
Dravolese
Aëghan Dranora – Ee / gan Dra / nor / ruh
Enorae – Ann / nor / ray
Dellanae - Della / nay
The Fae Beasts
Teprouma – furry cattle-like, land-based creatures used for transportation of bulky goods and textiles
Other hounds – canines humans use for scent hunting
Bara- stoat-like creatures with luminescent antennae
Llaelleanoid– spectral being of Hielda, know to covet souls of the dying on battlefields in Draëll (written in Italics as derived directly from Draëllian and the only creature to purportedly act at the behest of god)
Valkyrie – winged creature contained by Aëghan, only one known to have crossed through The Reveal.
Halcoon – cute, rotund canines that live in trees, though not very adept at it.
Wunvil – huge grub, emits putrid mucus when terrified
Púca- shifter, takes many forms to coax a rider
Pixies, trolls, wisps - mischievous tiny humanoids of varying genus
Lipad - harmless amphibian-like creature with the ability to purify begrimed water
Lakey - medium-sized herd creatures with a penchant for mischief in damp weather
What has happened before:
The Reveal occurred over twenty years ago, where the fabric between two planes of existence separated and merged two worlds together. This caused the displacement of the fae and their creatures, merging magical beings with non-magical humans.
Adjustment happened precariously- the fae became ostracized, treated with wariness and skepticism. Rules forbidding the use of magic, unless a special permit had been acquired, were set in place, along with a wealth of other restrictions that coordinated the living conditions and limitations of faeborn existence in this world.
In the wake of her father's demise and her older sister's mysterious disappearance four years ago, Mildred Adams is set to inherit her the dukedom when the machinations of her insidious distant cousin cause her to flee. She marries Blayne Leowyn, one of the infamous beastkeepers and faeborn himself, becoming the first human and Other match.
The beastkeepers protect the remaining creatures from their world, ensuring their survival through means of nurturing and safekeeping in protected areas around England removed from human settlements. When Millie learns of all their work and what they do, she vows to aid them and use her influence to petition for the rights of the fae.
It was during the marked couple's introductory ball that Lillian's return occurred, and Millie learned the truth of her sister's disappearance- that she had inexplicable been drawn into the world of the fae, a realm that no human had ever been known to exist in before.
It was during this night that Blayne was stabbed, his injuries prevailing and enticing Millie to break a rigid law forbidding humans from the use of magic to heal medical afflictions. In order to seek out a healer, she orders Aëghan Dranora to Ravensfield to reveal the location and identity of one who would be of assistance. In return for his services, Millie assents to his presence on Ravensfield, providing sanctuary for his kind and his supporters who were of a lawless nature.
When he shows interest in Lillian, Millie issues an estate wide restriction that ensures Aëghan would never encounter her sister, which compels him to seek aid from the matchmaker- Addilyn Holt.
Upon his first encounter with Lillian, he is marked with the sacred band and so is she, connecting them intrinsically to each other even though neither of them wished for it. He agrees to disguise the magical signature of the mark for Lillian without revealing that he is the bearer of the its twin, and endures her continuing to utilize the efforts of the matchmaker to procure a husband so that she may take control over her dukedom.
However, when it became too much for the dragon in Aëghan to bear, he snatched Lillian way into thin air and away from Ravensfield entirely...
And that's where we left off...
YOU ARE READING
The Beastkeeper's Redemption
Historical FictionTiffany Cotton was not who she said she was. The peculiar woman had shown up in Ravensfield one night, wielding a pistol with a familiarity that odd, run-of-the-mill spinsters shouldn't know how to do. She was bizarrely intelligent, wore gowns that...
