Showing results for "The Trial" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

Eighteen-year-old Waterrunner Eira Landan lives her life in the shadows - the shadow of her older brother, of her magic’s whispers, and of the person she accidentally killed. She’s the most unwanted apprentice in the Tower of Sorcerers until the day she decides to step out and compete for a spot in the Tournament of Five Kingdoms.

The trials: There are seventeen ways to die unless the luck of the vampire is with you. Darren Shan must pass five of these fearsome trials to prove himself to the vampire clan - or face the stakes of the Hall of Death. But Vampire Mountain holds hidden threats. Sinister, potent forces are gathering in the darkness. In this nightmarish world of bloodshed and betrayal, death may be a blessing.

A cunning thief turns the tables on the feuding brothers who betrayed her in this thrilling conclusion to the Den of Liars Duology, perfect for fans of Powerless and Lightlark. Lola St. James is trapped in a web of lies and deceit. But that only makes her more determined to find the truth. The...

Water is scarce. Deserts have taken over the land. Nuclear war has devastated humanity. Humans live in walled super cities to keep out the irradiated. The land that was formerly known as America is divided into kingdoms ruled by royal elites. Born into the lowest Echelon of the Kingdom of Phangloria, 16-year-old Zea Calico faces a life of hunger, thirst, and toil. The only way out of this drudgery is revolution, and Zea is desperate to help the cause.

I had no idea how those words would change my life. Or how they’d changed my life already...until the day the most dangerous man I’ve ever met waltzed onto my farm and left us a death sentence. In an invitation. My younger brother has been chosen for the prestigious, secret magical school hidden within the folds of our mundane world. A place so dangerous, they don’t guarantee you’ll make it out alive. If he doesn't go, our entire family will be killed. It’s the same invitation my older brother received three years ago - the same place where he mysteriously died.

Raven Danvers is a typical college student…until a demon attacks her on the night of her 21st birthday. Luckily, she’s saved by Noah - a mysterious, sexy wolf shifter who appears and disappears before she can ask him any questions. Then Raven's mom is abducted by the same demon who came after her. And who turns up at the scene of the crime again? Noah. He’s hunting the demons who are taking humans, and he’s ultimately heading where Raven needs to go to save her mom - the mystical island of Avalon.

Lysta lives in constant fear of Trialing, a deadly test that bestows an ability upon its victors, but only after pushing their mental and physical limits. Forced to Trial against her will, Lysta becomes a weapon others plan to use against the Untrialed until an unexpected intruder from another Court presents her with an opportunity to stop it. But can she trust the plans of a man who seems to play the lines between enemy and ally? Only through treason can Lysta save the people she once struggled beside.

The last of the Culling Trials is here. I foolishly thought I’d survived the worst. My team is falling to pieces around me, and my heart is shattered for the losses I’ve endured. But I can’t stop when I’m so close to the end. There are too many people depending on me. I foolishly thought there wasn’t much more I could lose...until the nature of my bloodline comes to light. I’m not who I thought I was. Not what anyone thought I was. But to tell people the truth would be to kill us all.

Being accepted into an elite school of magic, monsters, and assassins was not my idea of higher education. But here I am, fighting my way through the Culling Trials to claim my right to be taught. As if the gauntlet-type physical and mental tests aren’t enough, people are going missing. People who are my friends. In a dangerous world where no one is as they seem, the golden rule is simple: Trust no one. They think we should just look out for ourselves. That we should leave the fallen behind and ask no questions. They clearly think we’re idiots.

The Shadow Trials have returned after nearly 40 years. For Finn Tempest and his crew, survival may bring glory, but what comes after could cost them everything. Finn never asked to command The Tidebreaker, a legendary ship carved with ancient runes and bound to a forgotten legacy. But when Starweaver Academy revives its most dangerous gauntlet, he and his crew are hurled into storms, shifting mazes, and shadow-forged arenas where fear itself takes form.

Eighteen-year-old Sebastian Smith never expected to be chosen as a Dragon Rider. Coming from the lowest ranks of Torvald society, his future seemed bleak—until he’s selected to train at the prestigious Dragon Academy. Thrust into a world where he doesn’t belong, Seb finds the connection with his dragon more powerful than he ever imagined.

Ravaged by grief and driven to the brink, Eira and her crew are caught at the heart of a tempest:… Five kingdoms on the verge of war… An empire poised to crush them all… A pirate queen terrorizing the seas… And a madman, the architect of every shattered dream, broken heart, and spilled blood. He is on the verge of achieving is dream of ushering in a new era—one ruled by his iron fist and fueled by blind, unwavering loyalty. His only mistake? He made it personal for the one woman powerful enough to stop him.

A hunted princess. A violent gameshow. A nation that wants her dead. When Princess Briar moved to the Amstraad Republic, she didn't expect it would be a battle for survival. She certainly did not expect to star in a violent game show where contestants compete for her death. Her only chance of leaving the purge alive is a scarred young man entered into the games as an underdog. But will he betray her to win the grand prize?

Kodyn expected hardships along his journey to return a kidnapped girl to her father. Yet harsh deserts and cutthroat bandits prove far less lethal than the foes that await him in Shalandra, the City of the Dead. In the shadows of golden spires carved from mountain stone, currents of corruption and vice run deep. Priests of the god of death rule with an iron fist, imposing a rigid caste system that elevates some to a life of privilege and condemns others to miserable squalor.

Somehow, Raven has convinced Noah and Sage - the two wolf shifters who saved her from a demon attack - to let her tag along on their quest to kill 10 demons. The payoff for completing the mission? Entrance to the mystical island of Avalon, where Raven will go through trials to gain the strength she needs to save her mom’s life. Raven wants to help the shifters on their quest. But Noah refuses to put her in any danger - which makes no sense, since he hates her. At least she thinks he hates her...until he catches her off guard and kisses her.

The fate of five kingdoms teeters on the knife’s edge, and Eira’s destiny is in the icy grasp of the Pirate Queen. After a narrow escape from the brutal end of the Tournament of Five Kingdoms, Eira and her friends find themselves prisoners of the legendary Pirate Queen Adela. To most, death follows shortly after the pirate queen’s icy stare. But for Eira, those all to familiar eyes hold long-sought truths.

Last night, Eira killed a man. However justified her actions were, many now regard her as a cold-blooded murderer and a heretic. But there's no time to explain herself. She barely has a chance to wash the blood off her hands before the Tournament of Five Kingdoms begins. Sequestered with the other champions for the duration of the tournament, Eira must now navigate the games, her competition, the enemies who hunt her head, and—worse than all the rest—being stuck in close quarters with the man who broke her heart.

The Royal Trials were never meant to be easy, not even for an imposter like Rybet Waise. But nothing could have prepared her for the magical storms, mutated animals, and malicious gods standing in her way. There is no time for tears. Mere hours after being bathed in Prince Alexander’s blood, Rybet must embark on a quest. The second trial dictates she find a missing magical artefact - Queen Ophelia’s crown. Released from the overbearing confines of the royal palace, Rybet competes not only with the other remaining ladies, but also with the land itself.

Eira is now a champion of the Solaris Empire. She’s off to a land she’s only dreamed about. But a nightmare awaits her. Her sworn enemy has escaped. His allies are powerful and deadly. And Eira finds herself tangled in the dangerous web of the undercity of Risen, where the mysterious Court of Shadows and lethal Pillars battle for the fate of the kingdom. But vengeance has a price. When Eira is captured by her enemies, it’s not only her life, but the lives of her friends, and the man she loves most, at stake.

Zea’s adventure continues in the pause-resisting sequel to The Princess Trials. The stakes are higher and the competition more brutal in round two of the Princess Trials. Zea’s relationship with Prince Kevon intensifies, and she must choose between the prince and the rebel who holds her heart. When her enemies uncover a secret that drives a rift between Zea and Prince Kevon, she’s not only battling for survival but facing execution.