Four never-before-published stories set in Robin D. Owens' beloved ten-volume Celtia series:

Heart and Sword

Aboard Nuada's Sword Kelsey Bounty is awakened from cryogenic sleep more than a century after the trio of colonizing Ships were to have made planetfall. The situation is dire; mutineers are trying to shut down power to the vulnerable sleepers in order to power a foolhardy journey back to Earth. The captain has been murdered and the new generation of humans aboard ship are without strong leadership. Should they risk everything on a marginal and mysterious planet, or face delayed but certain death as the ship deteriorates? Kelsey and his wife, Fern struggle to regain the faith and optimism needed to complete the Mission, to allow the psis who has been persecuted on Earth to colonize a new, safe home.

Heart Story

After her mother's death, Blush Willow is at last free to pursue her Heartmate, but is it 25 years too late? Will anger and hurt echoing from the evil done by her mother make any future happiness impossible to attain? Or will Dri Paris' real need of her help soften the hurts dealt so long ago to them both?

Heart and Soul

Genista Furze is rebuilding her life in a small town far from where she caused a scandal by being the highest ranked woman to seek a divorce. She is learning to enjoy her new circumstances, working each day on clockwork and magic mechanicals. If only her next door neighbor would back off a bit. Just having to return his greeting each day is wearing her shell thin. But when the danger that lurks in the shadows threatens her new life, perhaps he is the only one who can save her.

Noble Heart

Walker Clover has everything he wants in life when everything suddenly changes. He is thrust through three Passages at once and when he awakes he learns he is not fully a Clover, that his birth mother was a Noblewoman. Suddenly his large and boisterous family can become Noble themselves based solely on his newly-developed Flair. He longs for the simpler days as Nuin Ash's tutor but is instead thrust into the political and harrowing world of the Celtan FirstFamilies. Thank goodness for the help of Sedwy Grove who is eager to be of service to lighten the stain of her notorious past.

The stories within HEARTS AND SWORDS are more than short glimpses into Celta, Robin D. Owens has written hearty and complex novellas that truly plunge you once more into the world she has built. I found myself charmed once again, and more than glad to have another chance to live in Owens' world for a time.