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Rupert didn't especially want to be a prince. And he certainly never asked to be the second son of a royal line that really didn't need a spare. So he was sent out to slay a dragon and prove himself-a quest straight out of legend. But he also discovered the kinds of things legends tend to leave out, as well as the usual demons, goblins, the dreaded Night Witch-and even worse terrors hidden in the shadows of Darkwood.

Rupert did find a fiery dragon-and a beautiful princess to rescue. But the dragon turned out to be a better friend than anyone back at the castle, and with the evil of Darkwood spreading, Rupert was going to need all the friends he could get.

Desperate for money, a down-and-out actor impersonates a prince

The Great Jordan has played the finest stages in the Forest Kingdom, performing for kings and queens, earning thunderous applause, and lining his pockets at the same time. But that was a lifetime ago. At twenty-seven, Jordan is washed up, eking out a living in backwater towns whose citizens prefer tawdry magic to true theatrical talent. Jordan's purse is nearly empty when three men approach him in an alley and offer him the role of a lifetime, which will either make his career—or end his life.

They offer ten thousand ducats if the actor will impersonate the son of the late King Malcolm, whose untimely death has caused some to whisper of poisoning. Swayed by their proposal, Jordan accompanies them to Castle Midnight, where a bit of magic makes him look like royalty. But playing a prince is risky business, and Jordan will quickly find that this is a part for which there can be no encore.

In a fort on the edge of civilization, an ancient evil has awoken

Ten years after the Demon War, the wounds of the Forest Kingdom are finally beginning to heal. Deep in the Darkwood, on the border between two long-feuding territories, a fort has been erected to keep the peace. But a month ago, the soldiers inside stopped speaking to the outside world. Have they come under attack, or is something more sinister at work?

Led by the adventure-hungry warrior Duncan MacNeil, a party of Rangers is sent to investigate. With a witch, a swordsman, and a powerful eight-fingered woman at his side, MacNeil steps into the deserted fort—and discovers a massacre. The gory scene suggests that the soldiers turned on one other, but the witch has an alternate theory. Beneath this newly built fort, she senses an ancient evil, a power older than the Kingdom itself, about to trap them in the dark.