Never step into a fairy ring. Those sweet little mushroom rings that seem so harmless are actually patches of Fairy bleeding over into our world. Under Council Law, these rings are pieces of Fairy, and anything that happens within them are outside of Extinguisher jurisdiction. So, when humans start disappearing and a connection is made to fairy-rings, the Human Council's hands are tied. The Extinguishers can't protect humans who willingly enter Fairy... but Ambassador Seren Firethorn can. Seren is called in to investigate, and what begins as a case of missing persons progresses into something that may change her life forever.

“This collection is Jane Yolen at her best. This is magic.”—Patricia C. Wrede, author of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles Fantasy icon Jane Yolen (The Devil’s Arithmetic, Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Lightship) is adored by generations of readers of all ages. Now she triumphantly returns with this inspired gathering of fractured fairy tales and legends. Yolen breaks open the classics to reveal their crystalline secrets: a philosophical bridge that misses its troll, a spinner of straw as a falsely accused moneylender, the villainous wolf adjusting poorly to retirement. Each of these offerings features a new author note and original poem, illuminating tales that are old, new, and brilliantly refined.

A collection of essays on the Deresthai culture with accompanying extracts from the Dragon Court archives comprising the official history of the Dragon peoples.