The Delve. The Time Before, #0

The sword wants what it wants. The Maer have been on the brink of war with the humans for years. When five brightstone mines go dark on the same day, it can't be a coincidence. Without a steady supply of the stone, the Maer's gauntlets and automatons are useless. The Maer are about to be blasted back to the Time Before. Yglind just got his shiny new Forever Blade and is itching to stick it into something.
Getting sent on a Delve to find out what happened to the Deepfold is the chance of a lifetime. With the help of his trusted partner Ardo and a prickly mage named Aene, he's going to get his five kills and bring glory to his family name. Ardo has never seen Yglind like this. He's always been hot for a fight, but the darkness in his eyes when he looks upon his Forever Blade can't easily be kissed away.
Inside the Deepfold, they are plunged into a world of bloodshed and chaos. Unknown foes have slaughtered many of the miners, and a gruesome dragon stalks the dark tunnels. While taking refuge in the mine's impregnable keep, Yglind and Ardo take comfort in each other's arms and find the courage to face the cruel forces arrayed against them. With their civilization hanging in the balance, they strike out against the invaders as their quest hurtles toward its bloody end.
The Delve is a fast-paced spicy romantic fantasy featuring a variety of LGBTQ characters and relationships. It's the first in the Time Before trio of linked standalones, set 2, 000 years before the Maer Cycle trilogy and the Weirdwater Confluence duology. The series are independent and can be read in any order. Author's note: this book contains explicit, consensual sex scenes, violence, gore, and death, and is not intended for readers under the age of eighteen.