Return to the world of Rivers of London in this first short-story collection from number one Sunday Times best-selling author Ben Aaronovitch. Tales from the Folly is a carefully curated collection that gathers together previously published stories and brand new tales in the same place for the first time. 

Carmen is a student at Red Assassin School. She's an expert at bladed weapons and poisons; and she's desperate to finish at the top of the class, ahead of her twin brother. The students have been trained to hunt using giant black swans, but Carmen has discovered a dragon. All she has to do is get on his back. One problem: he's killed everyone who gets near him. Then the Emperor declares war on assassins. And there might be a traitor among them. Carmen wants to graduate. But the emperor wants her dead. Her classmates might, too. Graduation night is about to become the fight of her life.

Mav disappeared before I could ever tell him about the child I carried. I’ve had years to get over him, and I’ve tried. But the second I see him again my heart lurches and it’s like all that time evaporates. I still burn for him, even though I know it’s a bad idea. I try to remind myself about the bad things: his possessiveness, his quick temper...but he’s different now. More mature. Protective. Settled. And hiding something. Something bigger than the child we share.

Cinder Shade’s life begins on a fateful afternoon at the bottom of a well where he awakens, bruised, battered, and bereft of all memory. His only understanding is a driving imperative to protect those who can’t defend themselves and become a warrior worthy of the name. He discovers within himself a peculiar gift, one in which the codes of combat are made evident and the language of steel is made clear.

Holt Cook was never meant to be a dragon rider. He has always served the Order Hall of the Crag dutifully, keeping their kitchen pots clean. Until he discovers a dark secret: Dragons do not tolerate weakness among their kin, killing the young they deem flawed. Moved by pity, Holt defies the Order, rescues a doomed egg, and vows to protect the blind dragon within.

When firefighter Rory lays eyes on fire-watcher Edith, he instantly knows she’s the one. His fated mate. Now, to win her heart, he just has to protect her from: 1. A raging wildfire (actually, she’s already got that covered, thanks). 2. The lightning-throwing invisible monster that started it (um, the what?). 3. Killer bunnies (don't even ask). 4. The appalling matchmaking attempts from his crew of misfit shifters (not only is this guy scorching hot, but his dog is adorable too. And...weirdly smart?). 5. His own animal need to claim her. Now.

For centuries, humans and dragons existed side-by-side in Alveria, bonded by their care of one another. But no longer. After decades with no viable eggs, humans far outnumber dragons, and the survival of the species appears bleak. The outlook for everyday humans is little better as rogue dragons raid and torment villages. Yet it’s far worse for the tamers, beaten and killed simply for serving the noble dragons. But eking by at the bottom of Alverian society isn’t any easier for 17-year-old Kaelan Younger. Harder still when her loyalty to the dragon crown is no secret.  

People on the brink of death come to me for life. I touch them, and my magic burns away their sickness. My gift is exhausting and painful, even dangerous. Which means I never intentionally touch anyone, and no one touches me. So dating? Definitely not happening. All of that changes when a cyber stalker threatens to burn me at the stake. I reluctantly hire a bodyguard, a six-foot-three mountain of temptation named Logan Smith, literally at my fingertips at all times. Every fiber of my 21-year-old virgin body vibrates for him.

Blessed with a magic she doesn’t understand, Ukrah must find her way in a world that doesn’t always embrace her and her gifts. Accompanied by a talking bird and a strange young man who took her in, she must find the legendary dragon rider who saved the world from the Blight. Can Ukrah escape from those who would enslave her, or worse, and find the only person who can help her realize her destiny?

It was an ordinary job. Another night, another asshole collector of the supernatural. I free some poor little beasties from their cages, pocket a few trinkets to pay my bills, and burn the place down on my way out. Just call me the Robin Hood of monster emancipation. I didn’t count on three manly monsters following me home like lost puppies. Stunningly hot lost puppies, but still. Now I’ve got a seductively cheeky incubus, a sweetly enthusiastic demon, and a grimly stoic angel camped out in my kitchen. 

For years, the monsters who killed my family have held me in a cage. Brutalized and half-starved. Only kept alive so they can steal my blood. Until one evening when four eerily gorgeous men break me out of my prison. They give me a soft bed and delicious food. They say they'll protect me — but their generosity may come at a price. My rescuers are monsters like my captors: fae who shift into wolves. A curse gripping the faerie realm turns them wild under the full moon. Only my blood can cure their rage. 

In a kingdom that has fallen into chaos, one young woman - and her dragon - are thrust into the role of bringing balance to the land. From the moment Dayie washed ashore as an infant, everyone in her tiny village treated her as...different. She didn’t belong, no matter how hard she tried. So when a vicious, invasive plant called Deadweed overruns her village, she’s blamed and sold to the Dragon Traders for fear of her powers and the mystery surrounding her origin.

A disabled teen, an empathetic dragon, and a bond that will save the world. Sixteen-year-old Amel arrived at Dragon School just like everyone else - with a dream to ride dragons and join the Dominion Dragon Riders. But Amel has a crippled leg, and Dragon School training is grueling. Before she can even become an initiate, she must complete her first flight on a dragon. Can Amel survive First Flight and become a Dragon School initiate, or will her dreams dash on the rocks below?

When Alveria is plunged into a pitch-black darkness, can a dragon-shifter labelled as "Untameable" and the dragon-hunter sent to kill her, bond together to save their world? Laini Unclaimed, a maid at the Alveria Palace, thought supervising a kid's birthday party of young dragons was going to be the hardest part of her day. Then a never-ending darkness falls across Alveria, and an army of monsters are unleashed from the underworld.

High-born Agathea Flamma intends to bring honor to her family by following in her brothers' footsteps and taking her rightful place as a Dragon Rider. With her only other option being marriage, Thea will not accept failure. She's not thrilled at her awkward, scruffy partner, Seb, but their dragon has chosen, and now the unlikely duo must learn to work as a team.