“Nonstop action . . . This book will leave you breathless.”— St. Louis Post-Dispatch Faced with a baffling double homicide, Merry Gentry must decide how much of the sinister side of faerie she’ll have to embrace in order to sit on a throne that has ruled through bloodshed for centuries—a thrilling installment in the New York Times bestselling Merry Gentry series. In Los Angeles, she is Merry Gentry, private investigator. In the faraway world of the faerie she is Princess Meredith, heir to a dark throne. In this realm of peril and deception, adversaries watch her every move, while the enemies of her aunt, the queen, lay in wait to usurp power. For the first time in history, human police will enter faerie—and Meredith will need all her allies when fate leads her into the arms of Mistral, Master of Storms, the queen’s new captain of the guard. Their passion will awaken powers long forgotten among the warriors of the court. But as Meredith’s many enemies gather, both courts of faerie begin to unravel. Praise for Laurell K. Hamilton A Kiss of Shadows “I’ve never read a writer with a more fertile imagination.”—DIANA GABALDON “Sizzling . . . Memorable characters and wicked wit make it all delicious, ribald fun.” —Publishers Weekly A Caress of Twilight “Sensual, without a doubt . . . This book moves like a whirlwind.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch “[A] sexy, tension-charged dark fantasy mystery.” — Locus Seduced by Moonlight “This [faerie] society is one of the most detailed, imaginative, and lovingly drawn in all fantastic fiction, and the Meredith Gentry series has become something special.” — San Jose Mercury News “Hamilton’s books [are] must-reads.” — The Denver Post I am Meredith Gentry, P.I., solving cases in Los Angeles, far from the peril and deception of my real home-because I am also Princess Meredith, heir to the darkest throne faerie has to offer. The Unseelie Court infuses me with its power. But at what price does such magic come? How much of my human side will I have to give up, and how much of the sinister side of faerie will I have to embrace? To sit on a throne that has ruled through bloodshed and violence for centuries, I might have to become that which I dread the most. Enemies watch my every move. My cousin Cel strives to have me killed even now from his prison cell. But not all the assassination attempts are his. Some Unseelie nobles have waited centuries for my aunt Andais, Queen of Air and Darkness, to become weak enough that she might be toppled from her throne. Enemies unforeseen move against us-enemies who would murder the least among us. The threat will drive us to allow human police into faerie for the first time in our history. I need my allies now more than ever, especially since fate will lead me into the arm of Mistral, Master of Storms, the queen's new captain of her guard. Our passion will reawaken powers long forgotten among the warriors of the sidhe. Pain and pleasure await me-and danger, as well, for some at that court seek only death. "From the Hardcover edition. LAURELL K. HAMILTON is the New York Times bestselling author of the Meredith Gentry novels A Kiss of Shadows, A Caress of Twilight, and Seduced by Moonlight, as well as twelve acclaimed Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novels. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit the author’s official website at www.laurellkhamilton.org CHAPTER 1 I hate press conferences. but I especially hate them when I've been ordered to hide large portions of the truth. The order had come from the Queen of Air and Darkness, ruler of the dark court of faerie. The Unseelie are not a power to be crossed, even if I was their very own faerie princess. I was Queen Andais's niece, but the family connection had never bought me much. I smiled at the nearly solid wall of reporters, fighting to keep my thoughts from showing on my face. The queen had never allowed this much of the human media inside the Unseelie's hollow hill, our sithen. It was our refuge, and you don't let the press into your refuge. But yesterday's assassination attempt had made allowing the press into our home the lesser evil. The theory was that inside the sithen our magic would protect me much better than it had in the airport yesterday, where I'd nearly been shot. Our court publicist, Madeline Phelps, pointed to the first reporter, and the questions began. "Princess Meredith, you had blood on your face yesterday, but today the only sign of injury is your arm in a sling. What were your injuries yesterday?" My left arm was in a green cloth sling that matched my suit jacket near perfectly. I was dressed in Christmas, Yule, red and green. Cheerful, and it was that time of year. My hair was a deeper red than my blouse. My hair is the most Unseelie part of me, sidhe scarlet hair for someone who looks good in black. Not the gold or orangey red of human hair. The jacket brought out the green in two out of the three circles of color in my iris. The g