The Gauntlet
A short story.
The Gauntlet is a Kit Marlowe short from The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 and a companion piece to The Queen's Witch.
The story is available for free on Karen Chance's website.
Karen Chance
Karen Chance has a rare gift for blending the supernatural with high-stakes action, creating worlds where magic pulses just beneath the surface and danger lurks in every shadow. Known for her Cassandra Palmer series and the Dory Basarab spin-offs, Chance has built a loyal following of readers who crave fast-paced urban fantasy with sharp characters, compelling plots, and an ever-present sense of intrigue.
Born with a fascination for the mystical and the unknown, Chance’s early love for fantasy and history shaped the worlds she would go on to create. From the very beginning, she was determined to write stories that felt both thrilling and deeply emotional, where characters weren’t just facing external challenges but battling their own inner demons as well. Her writing is marked by a distinctive blend of suspense, wit, and adventure that keeps readers hooked, page after page.
Cassandra Palmer
In a world where magic is as dangerous as it is powerful, Cassandra Palmer is no stranger to the chaos that comes with it. Gifted with a rare and volatile ability—clairvoyance—she's spent her life running from forces that want to control or destroy her. But everything changes when she is thrust into the role of Pythia, the chief seer of the supernatural world, a position that brings with it unimaginable power and even greater peril.
Cassandra Palmer consists of fourteen primary books, and includes ten additional books that complement the series but are not considered mandatory reads — series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Main series Cassandra Palmer Universe