The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his son must venture out into the gray lands, slay a dragon and rescue a damsel to be his bride. When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She knows only this handsome young man, the story he tells of her rescue and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. But there is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows, and the greatest threats may not be behind her, but around her, now, and closing in.

When Nina Faye was 14, her mother told her there was no such thing as unconditional love. Nina believed her. Now she'll do anything for the boy she loves, to prove she's worthy of him. But when he breaks up with her, Nina is lost. What is she if not a girlfriend? What is she made of? Broken-hearted, Nina tries to figure out what the conditions of love are.

Sephora Golding lives in the shadow of her unbelievably beautiful mother. Even though they scrape by in the seedier part of Venice Beach, she's always felt lucky. As a child, she imagined she was a minor but beloved character in her mother's fairy tale. But now, at sixteen, the fairy tale is less Disney and more Grimm. And she wants the story to be her own. Then she meets Felix, and the fairy tale takes a turn she never imagined.

Scarlett loves the touch of her boyfriend, Will. But when he leaves Catalina Island to start college on the East Coast, she wonders whether their passion can survive a long-distance relationship. Scarlett's senior year should be a breeze, but her parents have recently separated, and her already-wild best friend, Lily, is becoming involved with a dangerous boy named Gunner...a boy Scarlett is also attracted to.

Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. But his best friends don't have college to look forward to, so to make them happy, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447. Lala and her Gypsy family earn money by telling fortunes. But lately Lala's been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben's cards is the day that everything changes for her...and for him.

Scarlett Wenderoth has led a fairly isolated life. After her brother dies, her isolation deepens as she withdraws into herself, shutting out her friends and boyfriend. Her parents fail to notice Scarlett's pain and sudden alarming thinness. Scarlett finds pleasure only on her horse. One day, as she races around a bend, Scarlett is startled by a boy who raises his hand in warning and says one word: "Stop."