Death Before Dragons

Mist and Magic by Lindsay Buroker follows Val Thorvald, a freelance assassin who usually keeps her distance from attachments, whether people or pets. While tracking a missing friend in an urban fantasy world of ogres, trolls, wizards, and other paranormal beings, she discovers a stray silver tiger cub with clear ties to another realm and no obvious way home. The magical shapeshifter-like feline is the only witness to the kidnapping, forcing Val to balance her lethal skills with the unfamiliar demands of caring for a destructive, sharp‑toothed creature. As she struggles to build trust with the cub and interpret what it knows, Val faces escalating danger that threatens not only her belongings but the fragile connections she has tried to avoid.

Sinister Magic by Lindsay Buroker introduces Val Thorvald, a half-elven assassin who specializes in eliminating dangerous supernatural threats in a modern, magic-laced world. Armed with an enchanted sword and aided by a telepathic tiger, she has survived years of hostility from vampires, ogres, and other paranormal enemies. Her precarious balance shatters when her boss falls ill from an unknown magical cause, a persistent government agent begins tracking her activities, and a powerful dragon appears with plans to bend her will to his own purposes. Blending urban fantasy, action, and a thread of reluctant attraction amid dragons, fae, and shapeshifters, the novel follows a sharp-tongued, strong female protagonist forced to navigate new alliances or risk losing everything.

Battle Bond by Lindsay Buroker continues the urban fantasy adventures of Val Thorvald, a pragmatic assassin who specializes in eliminating dangerous magical threats. Still navigating her uneasy alliance with dragon lord Zav, Val takes on a new assignment when her weapons supplier Nin is targeted by rival werewolves with influential supernatural backing. As a second dragon arrives in town—an enemy of Zav who intends to use Val as leverage—she finds herself entangled in high-stakes dragon politics while trying to protect her friend and livelihood. The novel blends magic, shapeshifters, dragons, and paranormal intrigue with a strong, capable female protagonist balancing deadly work, fraught alliances, and escalating supernatural conflicts.

In Tangled Truths, Lindsay Buroker continues her urban fantasy series with a mission that collides uncomfortably with family life. Sent to Northern Idaho to investigate disturbing magical activity, an assassin who specializes in taking down criminal werewolves, orcs, and trolls discovers that her ex-husband and teenage daughter are vacationing at the center of the disturbance. As the Dragon Justice Court hunts her and strange forces close in on her family, she must navigate hostile dragons, paranormal politics, and old resentments. The novel blends magic, shapeshifters, vampires, fae, and other supernatural factions with a strong female protagonist whose professional skills and maternal instincts are pulled in conflicting directions.

Elven Doom by Lindsay Buroker continues the urban fantasy saga of Val, a tough, magically gifted heroine trying to protect her city from increasingly dangerous threats. Back from Idaho, she faces dark elves wielding unfamiliar, devastating magic that could wipe out everyone she cares about, while still trying to understand her uneasy bond with Zavryd, the dragon who claimed her as his mate. As if hostile elves, vampires, and other paranormal forces were not enough, Zav’s powerful sister arrives on Earth, determined to dismantle their relationship and scrutinize every part of Val’s life. The novel blends modern setting, fae politics, dragons, and romantic tension into a fast-paced story of survival and divided loyalties.

The Forbidden Ground by Lindsay Buroker follows Val, Dimitri, Sindari, and dragon lord Zavryd on a supposedly routine assignment in Southern Oregon that quickly reveals deeper magical complications. Set in the urban fantasy world of the Death Before Dragons series, the novella blends action, paranormal intrigue, and a developing romance as a strong female protagonist navigates assassins, supernatural politics, and dangerous ground she was warned not to cross. Bonus scenes retell key moments from the first three books through Zavryd’s perspective, offering insight into his reactions to Val and to the wider world of dragons, fae, vampires, shapeshifters, and other magical beings. Written to function as a standalone story, The Forbidden Ground fits chronologically between books four and five and contains mild spoilers for earlier installments.

False Security by Lindsay Buroker continues the urban fantasy adventures of Val Thorvald, a pragmatic, magically gifted assassin trying to balance her dangerous work with an uneasy romance. Now in a relationship with the dragon lord Zavryd’nokquetal, Val is invited to visit elven lands, confront her heritage, meet her father, and finally gain proper training in the magic she barely controls. Her plans are derailed when vampires unleash chaos in Seattle and her friend and business partner Dimitri vanishes under suspicious circumstances. Torn between long-delayed magical instruction and an urgent rescue mission, Val must rely on her combat skills, shaky new powers, and uneasy alliances with dragons, elves, and other paranormal factions.

Storm Forged by Lindsay Buroker continues the urban fantasy saga of Val, a tough human warrior sharing a crumbling Victorian house with a basement-dwelling vampire. When her friend Nin’s long-missing grandfather, a gnome, collapses gravely injured in her yard, Val is drawn into a new web of magical threats involving assassins, fae politics, and paranormal enemies. At the same time, a powerful female dragon arrives in town, immediately hostile to Val and apparently interested in Val’s dragon mate, Zav, with the approval of his formidable mother. Balancing romance, danger, and dark humor, the novel follows Val’s struggle to keep Nin’s grandfather alive while surviving dragons, vampires, and other supernatural forces that would prefer her dead.

In Secrets of the Sword I, Lindsay Buroker continues the urban fantasy adventures of Val, a human assassin tasked with eliminating dangerous supernatural threats in modern-day Seattle. After a mysterious artifact transforms her ancient dwarven blade into a beacon, every ambitious orc, ogre, troll, and other paranormal predator can track her from afar, turning routine hunts into constant ambushes. While Val struggles to survive escalating attacks and uncover how to neutralize the sword’s new magic, her dragon mate Zav is distracted by a very human mission involving engagement rings and expectations about marriage. The novel blends action, dry humor, and slow-burn romance with dragons, shapeshifters, vampires, fae, and zombies orbiting a resourceful, battle-hardened female lead.

Secrets of the Sword II by Lindsay Buroker follows a tough, magically gifted heroine as she travels to the dwarven homeland to uncover the true origin and potential of her unusual sword. Allies and enemies alike hint that the weapon holds powers beyond its talent for destruction, and she needs every possible edge in a world filled with dragons, vampires, fae, shapeshifters, and other paranormal threats. Complications escalate when a half-dwarf thief appears, claiming to be the sword’s rightful heir, forcing the protagonist to confront how she acquired it in the first place. Losing the blade could cost her both her livelihood as an assassin and her only real protection against those waiting for a chance to kill her.

Secrets of the Sword III continues Lindsay Buroker’s urban fantasy series with assassin Val Thorvald juggling supernatural threats and personal upheaval in modern-day Seattle. As Val prepares to marry Lord Zavryd'nokquetal, a proud dragon from another realm, a bombing at her coffee shop, the disappearance of a young employee, and the sudden arrival of an elven family she never knew complicate everything. With Zav’s dragon clan descending on the city for the ceremony, Val must balance wedding plans with dangerous investigations involving magic, fae politics, and paranormal enemies. The novel blends action, romance, and humor around a strong female protagonist navigating assassins, shapeshifters, and other supernatural factions.