Nalini Singh - Shield of Winter

In Alphabetical Order by First Name

Key: SD = SnowDancer Wolves; DR = DarkRiver Leopards

Abbot Arrow, teleport-capable telekinetic (Tk)

Aden Arrow, telepath (Tp)

Alice Eldridge Human scientist, placed in forced cryonic suspension for over a century, now living with SD

Amara Aleine Psy member of DR, former Council scientist, twin of Ashaya, mentally unstable

Anthony Kyriakus Member of the Ruling Coalition, former Psy Councilor, father of Faith

Ashaya Aleine Psy member of DR, former Council scientist, mated to Dorian, mother of Keenan, twin of Amara

Ben SD pup

Brigitte Empath (E), home base: Amsterdam

Carter Hirsch Father of Ivy

Chang Cardinal empath (E), home base: research station in Kenya

Concetta Empath (E), home base: Paraguay

Council (or Psy Council) The former ruling Council of the Psy race, no longer extant

Cristabel Rodriguez Arrow, sharpshooter

DarkMind Neosentient psychic entity and dark twin of NetMind

Dechen Empath, home base: Tibet

Devraj Santos Leader of the Forgotten (Psy who defected from the PsyNet at the dawn of Silence and intermingled with the human and changeling populations), married to Katya Haas

Dorian Christensen DR Sentinel, mated to Ashaya

Faith NightStar Psy member of DR, gift of Foresight (F), mated to Vaughn, daughter of Anthony, cousin to Sahara

Gwen Jane Mother of Ivy

Hawke Snow SD Alpha, mated to Sienna

Indigo Riviere SD Lieutenant

Isaiah Empath (E), home base: Niue

Ivy Jane Empath (E), daughter of Gwen Jane and Carter Hirsch

Jaya Empath (E), home base: Maldives

Judd Lauren Psy member of SD, Lieutenant, mated to Brenna, uncle of Sienna, Toby, and Marlee

Julian/Jules DR cub, son of Tamsyn, twin of Roman

Kaleb Krychek Cardinal Tk, leader of the Ruling Coalition, former Psy Councilor, psychically bonded to Sahara Kyriakus

Keenan Aleine Psy member of DR, child, son of Ashaya

Kit DR Soldier

Lianne Empath (E), home base: Kuala Lumpur

Lucas Hunter DR Alpha, mated to Sascha, father of Naya

Marlee Lauren Psy member of SD, child, daughter of Walker Lauren, niece of Judd Lauren

Mercy Smith DR Sentinel, mated to Riley

Ming LeBon Former Psy Councilor, military mastermind, cardinal telepath (Tp)

Naya Hunter DR cub, daughter of Sascha and Lucas

NetMind Neosentient psychic entity said to be the guardian and librarian of the PsyNet, twin of the DarkMind

Nikita Duncan Former Psy Councilor, part of Ruling Coalition, mother of Sascha

Patton (deceased), Arrow, teleporter (Tk-V), trained Vasic

Penn Empath (E), home base: Scotland

Pure Psy Fanatical and violent pro-Silence group

Riley Kincaid SD Lieutenant, mated to Mercy

Roman/Rome DR cub, son of Tamsyn, twin of Julian

Ruling Coalition Formed after the fall of Silence and of the Psy Council. Composed of Kaleb Krychek, Nikita Duncan, Anthony Kyriakus, and the Arrow Squad

Sahara Kyriakus Unclassified designation, psychically bonded to Kaleb Krychek, niece of Anthony Kyriakus, cousin to Faith

Sascha Duncan Psy member of DR, cardinal empath (E), mated to Lucas, mother of Naya, daughter of Nikita

Sienna Lauren Psy member of SD, possesses lethal psychic abilities (X), mated to Hawke, niece of Judd

Tamsyn SD Healer

Tatiana Rika-Smythe Former Psy Councilor

Teri Empath (E), home base: Houston

Vasic Arrow, teleporter (Tk-V)

Walker Lauren Psy member of SD, telepath (Tp), father of Marlee, brother of Judd

Zaira Arrow, in charge of the covert Arrow compound in Venice

Zie Zen Psy elder, telepath (Tp)

THE SILENCE PROTOCOL has been the defining aspect of the Psy race for over a hundred years. Conditioned not to feel emotion from childhood, they are known for their icy practicality, acute mental abilities, and adherence to strict codes of behavior. It is all they know and all theyve been since the inception of the Protocol . . . until now.

The twilight of 2081 will be forever remembered as the time when Silence fell in a crash of violence brutally leashed by the furious abilities of the most powerful Psy in the Net. With the fall comes a hush across the world, as the Psy race seeks to understand who they are in this new reality where emotion isnt a crime punishable by a vicious psychic brainwipe, and the heart is no longer an organ simply used to pump blood. For though Silence was a deeply flawed construct, it existed for a reason.

Insanity, blood-soaked death, murderous aggression, this is who the Psy were before Silence. No other race, it is said, bred more vicious, more intelligent, or more sadistic serial killers. But worse was the clawing madness that destroyed so many of them, saints and sinners alike, until it became known as the flip side to their incredible psychic gifts.

Is the past their future?

Will the Psy race once more devolve into endless nightmare?

No one can answer that question. Not yet.

To be an Arrow is to be an island, devoid of attachments that create vulnerability.

First Code of Arrows

THERE WAS NOTHING left of the man hed been.

Vasic stared through the glass wall in front of him as the computronic gauntlet biologically fused to his left forearm hummed near silently in the diagnostic mode hed initiated. Sleek black, the new invention remained relatively unstable, despite the constant and ongoing refinement by the medics and techs, but Vasic wasnt concerned about his life.

He hadnt been concerned about anything for a long time. At first it had been his conditioning under Silence that kept him cold, his emotions on ice. Now, as the world navigated the first days of a new year, he was beyond Silence and into a numbness so vast, it was an endless grayness.

The only reason he kept waking up in the morning was for the others, the ones in the squad who still had some hope of a normal life. It was far too late for him, his hands permanently stained with blood from the countless lives hed taken in pursuit of a mandate that had proven false in a very ugly way.

What is it? he said to the man clad in a black combat uniform whod just entered the common area of Arrow Central Command. None of them were sociable, yet they maintained this space, having learned through bitter experience that even an Arrow couldnt always walk alone.

Today the room was empty except for the two of them.

Krychek has a theory. Aden came to stand beside Vasic, his dark eyes on the vista beyond the glass. It wasnt of the outside worldthe Arrows were creatures of shadow, and so they lived in the shadows, their headquarters buried deep underground in a location inaccessible to anyone who didnt know the correct routes and codes.