The Devil and the Deep FINAL Cover Piece + Excerpt Reveal! Coming April 9th!

THE COVER REVEAL IS FINALLY HERE!!!

I’ve been excited about this cover since I began working with the artist on it. I wanted urban fantasy vibes with a general fantasy appeal. I wanted dark and moody with moments of bright to cut through it. But most of all I wanted the two of them on there together, already giving of that hate-to-love vibe they do so well.

I can’t wait for April 9^th so you can finally get your hands on this new series.

And don’t worry…I’m already 25% finished with book two. 😉

For now, enjoy the final early-release chapter, featuring what I hope will be two of your new favorite characters!

Did you miss the first two cover piece and excerpt reveals???
Reveal #1 | Reveal #2 | Reveal #3

THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP
A The Devil’s Playground Novel
2026 © Amber Lynn Natusch

CHAPTER TWO

Myra

I stared at him in silence as he looked at me, a hint of amusement sparkling in the depths of his emerald eyes. He knew how much I hated that nickname and had used it solely to get a reaction out of me. The glow from the street beyond highlighted one side of his face, accentuating the harsh cut of his jaw and cheekbone as a smirk tugged at his lips. Apparently, my obvious attempt to not give him what he wanted delighted him even more, which only further stoked my irritation. If Yael’s arrogance and general demeanor hadn’t historically been enough to make me hate him, the fact that he’d returned looking every bit as frustratingly gorgeous as I remembered sealed the deal.

“Myra,” he said, playing up the hint of English accent he still possessed. “It’s been a while.”

“And yet not long enough.”

He took a step closer into my personal space, and I notched my chin higher as I stood my ground. “Aren’t you going to ask why I’ve come to visit?”

“No, because that would presume that I gave a shit about the answer,” I replied as I leaned in conspiratorially, “and I don’t.”

A serpent’s smile stretched wide across his smug face. “But you do,” he said as he took a stray lock of my midnight hair and twirled it around his finger so the oil slick undertones reflected in the light. “You just don’t know it yet.”

Annoyance thrummed through my body, and I brushed my hair behind my back before I folded my arms across my chest to keep one of them from swinging at him. “You’re obviously dying to tell me, so maybe we could just skip your pretentious bullshit and get it over with. I have somewhere to be.”

His heavy gaze raked over me as he ran his fingers through his raven hair. That fucking smile morphed into a smirk. “I’ll bet you do. You do seem to be a touch more frazzled than usual, and in quite a hurry to get out of here. I can’t help but think that my appearance has something to do with that.”

“There’s that narcissism I love to hate. Would you believe that not everything is about you?”

“Not really—”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” I muttered under my breath. “How about you just tell me why you’re here and then fuck right off on your merry little way?”

A darkness flashed in his eyes as his amusement fell. “I have a proposition for you—”

“Pass!” I shouted before pushing past him. I glanced at my watch to ensure that I could still make it home before meeting the druid, but before I even had a chance to see the time, Yael’s hand shot out and caught my arm, yanking me back. I crashed against his body like a wave against a rock and caught my balance as he looked on, narrowed, angry eyes pinning me in place.

I wrestled against his hold for a moment, but it was unrelenting. I couldn’t shake him at all. My free hand should have lit him up with a haymaker for manhandling me, but surprise had eclipsed that knee-jerk reaction, and instead, I just stared back at him and tried to make sense of what was happening. Sure, he was tall and muscular in an inconspicuous sort of way, but he’d never exhibited anything that resembled aggression or brute strength before. Beyond that, he was a nature fae—one who used magic that drew upon the forces of the elements, rather than sheer brawn. And yet, the way his hand pulsed as it curled around my bones, I knew that he could snap them like twigs if he wanted to.

He was definitely holding back.

The light from the street beyond reflected in his glare before he pulled me in closer to whisper in my ear. “I think you might reconsider once you hear what I have to say.”

His words were soft and gentle against my skin as he held me hostage in his grip, and I bristled against his dominance, wishing I had a blade on me to carve my way free. “Then say it.”

“I can help return you to the sea.”

His words came out of nowhere like a right hook to the jaw, then reverberated through my skull as my addled mind fought to catch hold of them. “What did you say?” I whispered with disbelief.

He pulled away just enough to assess my reaction. “Judging by your wide-eyed expression, I’d say you heard me just fine.”

The satisfaction sparking in his eyes was undeniable, which ripped me from my shock immediately. Anger firmly in place once again, I wrenched my arm from his grasp and took a step back. “You couldn’t if you wanted to, you smug prick. But even if you could, you wouldn’t—not unless you got something in return.”

His arms spread wide. “Those would be the terms, yes.”

“At a cost I’m not willing to pay, no doubt.”

“The price is simple: all you need to do is help me with a particular matter I can’t easily handle on my own. Once you do, you can escape this place back to the sea.”

At that, I laughed. “What could you possibly need me for when you have the backing of the fae king? I mean, you are his right-hand man, aren’t you? Isn’t that why you dropped us and went running back to the fae the second his position was restored?” I edged closer, venom on my tongue. “In fact, I’m shocked you lowered yourself enough to even be seen back here.”

His expression didn’t falter. “Like I said, I need your help.”

“Well, as much as I’d looove to help you out, it turns out that I don’t really need to,” I said as I backed away to leave. “Good luck with that ‘particular matter’, though.”

“I wonder how exactly you plan to secure your return when the Queen of the Deep has not yet revoked your punishment.”

I stopped short. “She will—once I can get her alone.”

“And make her see reason?” he asked in a mocking tone that his position in our argument didn’t warrant. I had the upper hand, and yet, somehow, it felt like he was winning. “I wonder how you plan to do that. You’d have to be very compelling…”

The way he said that word sent chills up my spine. There was no way he could have known about my ability, but the way he was staring right through me gave me doubts. “I can be,” I bit out through gritted teeth, “when I need to.”

He feigned a sympathetic look that came off more condescending than anything. “Of course you can, in all your cool-headed glory. I’m sure it will go smoothly for you—”

“It will, once I get there.”

“And how, precisely, do you plan to do that when you cannot even set foot in the sea?”

“That would be none of your fucking business.” I turned to walk away, exhaling hard when I didn’t hear his footsteps following. But this time, it was his words, not his strength, that stopped me cold.

“There isn’t a spell in this world that can get you to the bottom of the Pacific without drowning, you know.”

I dared a look back at him flashing that all-knowing smirk he’d been wearing only moments earlier. “Good luck with whatever the fuck it is you came back for, Yael.”

Something sinister swam in the depths of his forest-green eyes. “I’ll see you soon, love.”

All Myra Morningtide wants to do is go home.

Unfortunately for the cursed mermaid, she’s been banished from the sea and landlocked in The Devil’s Playground—a rogue pocket of Seattle that the outcasts and miscreants of the supernatural world call home. Myra would do anything for the chance to return and enact revenge on the one who betrayed her; the one responsible for her punishment.

And Yael Kristoris plans to exploit that truth.

The charming yet cunning fae from Myra’s recent past can’t be trusted, but when deadly events force her into a magically binding deal with him, she has no choice but to use her secret power to help find what he seeks if she wants a shot at the vengeance she craves.

But as it goes in The Playground, exposure is dangerous and secrets can kill, and Myra fears Yael will risk both to meet his end—even if it causes hers.

THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP, the first gritty urban fantasy romance novel in the The Devil’s Playground series by USA Today bestselling author Amber Lynn Natusch.

Coming April 9, 2026
Preorder Your Copy Today

Romance Tropes + Plot Bunnies
Badass FMC With Stabby Tendencies
Morally Gray Shadow Daddy MMC
Enemies-to-Lovers
Secret Past
Emotional Scars + Baggage
Betrayal
Estranged Family
Exiled From Home
Chosen Family
Forced Proximity
Forced Alliance
Fish Out of Water (Umm….Literally)
Revenge
Volatile Powers
Unique Magic
✦
Critters + Creatures
Mermaid
Fae
Shifters
Vampires
Witches
Druids
Ogres
Incubus
Adorable Cuddly Otters