Seanan McGuire - Once Broken Faith

This book is for Margaret.

There are many books in the world, but this one is hers.

Its sometimes a little surprising for me to realize that were ten books into this adventure, but here we are, and here we go, and weve traveled so far, and we have so far yet to go. Thank you for coming along with me. I promise Ill do things to make sure you get back safely.

A novel is never a solo undertaking, no matter how much it may feel like one. My thanks go to the Machete Squad, for their tireless attempts to make me better, and to the entire team at DAW, where they take excellent care of me. Thanks to the Agora, for hosting me, and to the staff of Disneys Old Key West resort, where chunks of this book were written. (Fun fact: the last book partially written at the Old Key West was Late Eclipses.)

Thank you Vixy, for continuing to be the star I steer by; Amy, for being ready to defend me at the crossroads; Brooke, for keeping me from destroying North America in a fit of pique; and Shawn, for cheering when I say Im going to write the X-Men someday. Thanks to Alexis and Mary, for math and music, and to Randy, for grilled cheese and Target.

Sheila Gilbert remains the best of all possible editors, Diana Fox remains the best of all possible agents, and Chris McGrath remains the best of all possible cover artists. While were on this track, my cats are the best of all possible cats. So are yours, if you have them. All hail the pit crew: Christopher Mangum, Tara OShea, and Kate Secor.

My soundtrack while writing Once Broken Faith consisted mostly of After It All, by Delta Rae, 1989, by Taylor Swift, the soundtrack of Hamilton, endless live concert recordings of the Counting Crows, and all the Ludo a girl could hope to have (barring a new album). Any errors in this book are entirely my own. The errors that arent here are the ones that all these people helped me fix.

It wouldnt be a party without you.

All pronunciations are given strictly phonetically. This only covers races explicitly named in the first nine books, omitting Undersea races not appearing or mentioned in book ten.

ORN

Afanc: ah-fank. Plural is Afanc.

Annwn: ah-noon. No plural exists.

Bannick: ban-nick. Plural is Bannicks.

Barghest: bar-guy-st. Plural is Barghests.

Blodynbryd: blow-din-brid. Plural is Blodynbryds.

Cait Sidhe: kay-th shee. Plural is Cait Sidhe.

Candela: can-dee-la. Plural is Candela.

Coblynau: cob-lee-now. Plural is Coblynau.

Cu Sidhe: coo shee. Plural is Cu Sidhe.

Daoine Sidhe: doon-ya shee. Plural is Daoine Sidhe, diminutive is Daoine.

Djinn: jin. Plural is Djinn.

Dchas Sidhe: doe-sh-as shee. Plural is Dchas Sidhe.

Ellyllon: el-lee-lawn. Plural is Ellyllons.

Gean-Cannah: gee-ann can-na. Plural is Gean-Cannah.

Glastig: glass-tig. Plural is Glastigs.

Gwragen: guh-war-a-gen. Plural is Gwragen.

Hamadryad: ha-ma-dry-add. Plural is Hamadryads.

Hippocampus: hip-po-cam-pus. Plural is Hippocampi.

Kelpie: kel-pee. Plural is Kelpies.

Kitsune: kit-soo-nay. Plural is Kitsune.

Lamia: lay-me-a. Plural is Lamia.

The Luidaeg: the lou-sha-k. No plural exists.

Manticore: man-tee-core. Plural is Manticores.

Merrow: mare-oh. Plural is Merrow.

Naiad: nigh-add. Plural is Naiads.

Nixie: nix-ee. Plural is Nixen.

Peri: pear-ee. Plural is Peri.

Piskie: piss-key. Plural is Piskies.

Puca: puh-ca. Plural is Pucas.

Roane: row-n. Plural is Roane.

Satyr: say-tur. Plural is Satyrs.

Selkie: sell-key. Plural is Selkies.

Shyi Shuai: shh-yee shh-why. Plural is Shyi Shuai.

Silene: sigh-lean. Plural is Silene.

Sluagh Sidhe: sloo-ah shee. Plural is Sluagh Sidhe.

Tuatha de Dannan: tootha day danan. Plural is Tuatha de Dannan, diminutive is Tuatha.

Tylwyth Teg: till-with teeg. Plural is Tylwyth Teg, diminutive is Tylwyth.

Urisk: you-risk. Plural is Urisk.

June 5th, 2013

QUENTIN AND RAJ were in the living room arguing about who got to pick the first movie of the night. Loudly. The walls and doors between us were thick enough to blunt their voicesmercifullybut I could still hear more than enough to know that I didnt want to get involved. I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter, casting a wry look at the kitchen door.

All right, I said. Somebody remind me again why were doing this, and why Im not drowning them both in the bathtub.

Drowning Quentin would be an act of treason against the Westlands, and youd probably be executed, said May. Also, youd miss him. She never took her eyes off the tray of cookies she was removing from the oven. My Fetch had been baking since she got out of bed. She hadnt slept much since shed been elf-shot during our visit to the Kingdom of Silencesshe got better, thanks to alchemical interventionand that meant we had a lot of cookies. We didnt have anything near enough for the nightmare that was to come, but still. A lot of cookies.

The oncoming disaster didnt keep Jazz from snatching a cookie from the tray and retreating to the kitchen table, juggling her purloined treat from one hand to another the whole time. Drowning Raj would be an act of treason against the Court of Dreaming Cats, youd miss him, and Tybalt would look all sad and noble right before he put you through a wall.

Actually, I think if Toby drowns Raj, shes just proving he was unfit to rule, which means its not treason, its natural selection. Sort of like you burning your mouth on that cookie is your punishment for stealing it. Tybalt would still probably be pissed, though. May began shifting the remaining cookies to the cooling rack. Jazz stuck her tongue out. May laughed.

I stayed where I was, avoiding the danger of molten chocolate chips, and grinned to myself. Oh, right, I said. I remember why I agreed to this. After monthsafter yearsof chaos and life-threatening situations and people stabbing me for no good reason, wed somehow managed to find a moment to breathe. That didnt just deserve to be enjoyed. It deserved to be celebrated, held up as proof that the world was a good place and didnt actually need to be destroyed in order for me to have a nap.

It used to be that I could have all the naps I wanted. Of course, back in those days, I had few friends, no prospects, and the life expectancy of a stray dog. These days, I have plenty of backup, and no time to sleep. As a knight errant and hero of the realm, any time something goes wrong, its likely to become my problem. Im the go-to girl for terrible adventures, whether I like it or not. Usually not. But things had been pretty calm since my allies and I returned home from overthrowing the puppet government of the Kingdom of Silences. Sure, wed only been back for six weeks, but Id take it. It was a hell of a lot better than nothing. I was safe and healthy, my chosen family was safe and healthy, and it was time to stop and smell the flowers.