Kresley Cole - Untuchable

Much love to all my fellow rabid Showalter fans, for sharing a boundless admiration and warm affection for all things Gena. To those of you about to be initiated: Yes, we have T-shirts and we meet in the bar.

And thank you to Swede, for your wintry insights and nonstop support. You didnt have to drag me over the finish line on this one, but it means a lot to me that you were ready to.

THE LORE

and those sentient creatures that are not human shall be united in one stratum, coexisting with, yet secret from, mans.

Most are immortal and can regenerate from injuries. The stronger breeds can only be killed by mystical fire or beheading.

Their eyes change to a breed-specific color with intense emotion.

THE VALKYRIE

When a maiden warrior screams for courage as she dies in battle, Wden and Freya heed her call. The two gods give up lightning to strike her, rescuing her to their hall, and preserving her courage forever in the form of the maidens immortal Valkyrie daughter.

Take sustenance from the electrical energy of the earth, sharing it in one collective power, and give it back with their emotions in the form of lightning.

Possess preternatural strength and speed.

Without training, most can be mesmerized by shining objects and jewels.

THE VAMPIRES

Two warring factions, the Horde and the Forbearer Army.

Each vampire seeks his Bride, his eternal wife, and walks as the living dead until he finds her.

A Bride will render his body fully alive, giving him breath and making his heart beat, a process known as blooding.

Tracing is teleporting, the vampires means of travel. A vampire can only trace to destinations hes previously been or to those he can see.

The Fallen are vampires who have killed by drinking a victim to death. Distinguished by their red eyes.

THE HORDE

In the first chaos of the Lore, a brotherhood of vampires dominated by relying on their cold nature, worship of logic, and absence of mercy. They sprang from the harsh steppes of Dacia and migrated to Russia, though some say a secret enclave, the Daci, live in Dacia still.

The Fallen comprise their ranks.

THE FORBEARERS

his crown stolen, Kristoff, the rightful Horde king, stalked the battlefields of antiquity seeking the strongest, most valiant human warriors as they died, earning him the name of Gravewalker. He offered eternal life in exchange for eternal fealty to him and his growing army.

An army of vampires consisting of turned humans, who do not drink blood directly from the flesh.

Kristoff was raised as a human and then lived among them. He and his army know little of the Lore.

THE NOBLE FEY OF DRAISKULIA

A warrior nobility class who ruled over all the demon serfs in their realm.

Were Fodals, an ancient term for feudal overlords, which became shortened to Fey.

Masters in the art of poisons.

Males prefer to be called Drais.

Over time, divided into numerous subsets, including fire, ice, and forest fey.

THE TURNING

Only through death can one become another.

Some beings, such as the Lykae, vampires, and demons, can turn a human or even other Lore creatures into their kind through differing means, but the catalyst for change is always death, and success is not guaranteed.

THE ACCESSION

And a time shall come to pass that all immortal beings in the Lore, from the Valkyrie, vampire, Lykae, and demon factions to the phantoms, shifters, fey, and sirens must fight and destroy each other.

A kind of mystical checks-and-balances system for an evergrowing population of immortals.

Occurs every five hundred years. Or right now

They say Im as fickle as winter, as shy as frost, and as indifferent as a blizzard. Its rumored my body is pure as driven snow. Nobody imagines that I might be full of fire.

DANIELA THE ICE MAIDEN, VALKYRIE AND RIGHTFUL QUEEN OF THE ICERE, THE FEY OF THE FROZEN NORTH

Women are like bottles of liquor. They should be sampled, savored, then discarded. Matrimony is for men who cant handle their liquor.

MURDOCH WROTH, EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WARLORD, MODERN VAMPIRE SOLDIER

The French Quarter, New Orleans Present day

SHES near.

At his brothers weak and broken words, Murdoch Wroths eyes narrowed in anger toward the one whod brought the proud Nikolai so low.

Myst the Coveted, a female immortal with a vicious heart.

And Nikolais fated Bride.

How can you tell? Murdoch asked.

Because I can feel her, Nikolai said.

Murdoch adjusted Nikolais arm, which hed slung across his shoulders to help his brother walk as they searched. The humans milling all around them merely assumed Nikolai was another drunk.

Proud Nikolai. He was exhausted from consuming too little blood, his body racked with never-ending need for a mad Valkyrie who delighted in his pain. Nikolai had lost weight, his face turning gaunt, his muscles flagging.

Murdoch, when I find her I want you to trace from here.

He shook his head. Ill stay until youve secured her

No. Dont want you to see me. Nikolais weary gaze darted away from Murdochs. I will lose control.

Which would shame his stalwart older brother as little else could.

Murdoch couldnt imagine how Nikolai would react when he found Myst. Five years ago, she had blooded Nikolai, as only a Bride could, bringing to life his dead vampires body. Shed made him breathe, made his heart beat, and stoked his newly reawakened lust with no intention of slaking it.

That same night, another Valkyrie had shot him through with arrows and still another had mocked his desires. Myst had fled with the two, dooming Nikolai.

A blooded vampire could only take release for the first time while touching his Bride in some way. If she wasnt available, then he would remain in a state of constant sexual readiness, aching indefinitely.

Which she well knew.

Promise me youll leave, Nikolai grated.

At length, Murdoch said, I will. If Myst was indeed here tonight, it would make sense that thered be more Valkyrie out on these very streets. More of their deceiving, manipulative, violent kind. But only to find another one, he added.

He could capture one and interrogate her about the Lore, the world of not-so-mythical beings he and his brother were now a part of.

Murdochs knowledge of the Lore was as limited as that of any of the vampires in their warrior order of Forbearers. Their army consisted mostly of turned humans, and the Lore creatures kept their secrets well guarded from them.

Dont underestimate the Valkyrie as I did, Nikolai rasped. Else suffer as I have.

He suffered because fate had forced this blooding on Nikolai. As if Nikolai needed another burden.

The blooding process was what Murdoch detested most about being a vampire, even more than never seeing the sun again.

Though hed once been a rake, bedding a new woman each night, Murdoch hoped it never happened to him. To be mystically tied to a single woman sounded hellish, especially to a woman he didnt choose, and one who could spurn him, as Myst had Nikolai.