The Cyprian (Elemental Masters Book 18)

Elena Whitstone and her seven brothers are abandoned by their mother and gain a new stepmother. After Christmas, the stepmother reveals herself to be a Water Master who attempts to murder the brothers while they skate. They survive by transforming into swans, and the stepmother drives them away. Elena's father dies from the shock, and the estate passes to Elena by entailment, forcing the stepmother to leave but keeping her as Elena's legal guardian. The stepmother retreats to Bath with only her marriage gifts and takes up residence in a townhouse, resuming her former profession as a Cyprian—an exclusive courtesan—with Elena reluctantly serving as a page-boy and servant. Three years later, Elena is maturing too visibly to maintain the disguise, and the stepmother's youth is fading. The stepmother devises a plan to establish an exclusive brothel and regain wealth by selling Elena to the highest bidder. Elena must find a way to save herself and reverse the spell transforming her brothers. This stand-alone novel in the Elemental Masters series is based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans.