Elf-Shot Book 6 in The Twilight Court Series Read online

  Elf-Shot

  Amy Sumida

  Copyright © 2016 Amy Sumida

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-10:1545089264

  ISBN-13: 978-1545089262

  More Books by Amy Sumida

  The Godhunter Series (in order)

  Godhunter

  Of Gods and Wolves

  Oathbreaker

  Marked by Death

  Green Tea and Black Death

  A Taste for Blood

  The Tainted Web

  Series Split:

  These books can be read together or separately

  Harvest of the Gods & A Fey Harvest

  Into the Void & Out of the Darkness

  Perchance to Die

  Tracing Thunder

  Light as a Feather

  Rain or Monkeyshine

  Blood Bound

  Eye of Re

  My Soul to Take

  As the Crow Flies

  Cry Werewolf

  Beyond the Godhunter

  A Darker Element

  Out of the Blue

  The Twilight Court Series

  Fairy-Struck

  Pixie-Led

  Raven-Mocking

  Here there be Dragons

  Witchbane

  (Elf-Shot)

  Other Books

  The Magic of Fabric

  Feeding the Lwas: A Vodou Cookbook

  There's a Goddess Too

  The Vampire-Werewolf Complex

  Enchantress

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  Pronunciation Guide

  Aideen: Ay-deen

  Ainsley: Ains-lee

  Aodh: Ee

  Balloch: Bal-lock

  Baobhan sith: Baa-vahn-she

  Basmhor: ba-svar (Gaelic for deadly)

  Beag: big(k)

  Bean-sidhe: ban-she

  Cailleach Bheur: CALL-yack Burr or COY-ick Burr

  Catan: KAH-tan

  Cliona: CLEE-oh-nah

  Criarachan: CREE-are-rock-ahn

  Craos-Teine: Cr-oo-SH Teh-nay (Gaelic for a blazing red hot fire)

  Cúl tóna: cool tone-ah (dickhead in Gaelic)

  Dathadair: Dath-ah-dare (death omen in Gaelic)

  Dhoire: Doy-rah

  Diocail: JU-kel

  Duergar: Doo-ay-gahr

  Each-Uisge: Ech-oosh-kee-ya

  Eadan: Ae-dan

  Eibhleann: Eve-linn

  Elara: Ee-lah-ra

  Ewan: You-win

  Fir Darrig: Fear-durg

  Gancanagh: Gon-cawn-ah

  Ghillie-Dhu: Gill-ee-doo

  Glastig: Clee-stickh

  Gradh: Grah

  Greer: Gree-air

  Gwyllion: Gwith-lee-on

  Hrafn: Ha-raf-in

  Iseabal: Ish-bal

  Keelut: Kray-ee-oot

  Keir: Keer

  Latharna: LA-ur-na

  Lonnegawn: lonny-goon (forest dwelling plant-person)

  Lorcan: Lore-cawn

  Mairte: Mahrj-tah

  Marcan: MOR-kawn

  Mo shíorghrá: Muh HEER-grah “my eternal love” in Gaelic.

  Moire: Moy-rah

  Mór: Mo-ore

  Mufasa: Moo-fah-sah

  Nathair-sith: Nah-hith-she

  Nighean: Na-yee-in

  Nuckelavee: Nuke-ah-lah-vee

  Paslein: Pahs-leen, a type of fairy butterfly with crystalline wings

  Qalupalik: Kah-loo-pah-look

  Rayetayah: Rah-yay-tah-yah

  Raza: Rah-zah

  Ryvel: Rival

  Searc: Sherk

  Seelie: See-lee

  Seren: Sare-rin

  Seudachan: Shay-da-kan (jewel box in Gaelic)

  Sorcha: SORE-sha

  Tiernan: Teer-nin

  Torquil: Tore-quill

  Tursa: Ture-sah (a type of fairy bear)

  Uisdean: OOSH-jan

  Unseelie: Un-see-lee

  Character List

  There was a request made for a character list for my other series, so I thought I'd do one for the Twilight Court too. I'll try to keep it as updated as possible but be prepared for it to get long. Please just skim it and use it as a reference.

  Abigail Teagan: Extinguisher. Seren's close friend.

  Aidan: Pack witch, Alpha of Missouri, werewolf.

  Aideen Evergreen: Twilight dryad. Works at Gentry Technologies.

  Ainsley: Twilight sidhe, knight, and member of the Star's Guard.

  Akhila Trivedi: Flame elder, witch.

  Alan Murdock: Head of Human Council House in San Francisco. Brendan's father.

  Albert Fremond: Quake witch who got thicker and taller after visiting Fairy.

  Alby: Twilight knight and member of the King's Guard.

  Alex Kavanaugh: Extinguisher, telepath and twin brother to Alexis.

  Alexis Kavanaugh: Extinguisher, telepath, and twin sister to Alex.

  Aluki: Unseelie qalupalik.

  Amanda: Human girl Seren saved from Unseelie.

  Aodh Silvereed: Seelie sylph and brother to Nighean.

  Arran: Unseelie corrigan caster.

  Balloch: Unseelie shellycoat Seren rescued from Seelie, friends with Raza.

  Bambam: Unseelie bunyip, Lord of Australian rath.

  Barran: Twilight sidhe and hunter.

  Baxia: King of the Court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon.

  Beatrix: Unseelie corrigan caster.

  Beixi: King of the Court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon. And yes, I know these sea dragon names are really similar to each other but I didn't come up with them, these are the names from the myths.

  Bian: King of the Court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon.

  Bixi: King of the Court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon.

  Breasal: Twilight knight and member of the Star's Guard.

  Brendan Murdock: Extinguisher. Grew up with Seren and had a crush on her until she rejected him. Now he's a bit of an ass.

  Bress Thorn: Unseelie sidhe, Marquess, and Seren's cousin.

  Brett: Unseelie sidhe, knight, and member of the King's Guard.

  Briana Sloane: Head of Human Council House in New York.

  Cailleach Bheur: Unseelie hag who caused a bit of trouble with her staff in Pixie-Led.

  Cat(riona); Seren's best friend and twilight puka.

  Catan: Head of Twilight Council House.

  Chad: King Chiwen of the Court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon.

  Chantelle Robinson: Elder of Tide, witch.

  Chaofeng: King of the Court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon.

  Cliona Timberstride: Seelie sidhe and Tiernan's ex-wife (AKA that bitch who broke Tiernan's heart).

  Conri Shatterhowl: Twilight bargest and knight, on Seren's Star's Guard (and is a horrible flirt).

  Corc: Twilight sidhe. The dungeon guard when Moire came for Bress.

  Crispin Arterbury: Elder of Bite, witch.

  Dagur: Unseelie dark elf.

  Daiyu: Queen of the Court of the Nine Sons and sea dragon.

  Daniel Claybourn: Elder of Casters, bite witch.

  Davy: Unseelie sidhe and Lord of the Alaskan Rath.

  Diocail Shadowcall: Seelie sidhe and Tiernan's father.

  Dylan Thorn: Unseelie sidhe, duke, heir to Unseelie, and Seren's uncle.

  Effie: Unseelie qalupalik.

  Elara Blair: Caster witch, ex-Storm witch, Killian's mother.

  Elena: Twilight sidhe and lady-in-waiting.

  Digby: Twilight knight and member of the Star's Guard.

  Eadan Gale: Lord of the Wild Hunt, unseelie sidhe.

 
; Eibhleann Evergreen: Seelie oak dryad, and Aideen's mother.

  Ed Teagan: Extinguisher: Worked on the Cailleach case with Seren.

  Ewan Sloane: Extinguisher, raised Seren. He believed himself to be her father until the truth of his wife's adultery came out.

  Frederick: Storm witch who grew tiny dragonfly wings after visiting Fairy.

  Gabriel Alegre: Elder of Beckoning, witch.

  Gradh: Twilight sidhe, knight, and the only female member of the Star's Guard.

  Greer: Councilman of the High Fairy Council, seelie sidhe.

  Haoxian: King of the Court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon.

  Hana: Unseelie dragon-djinn, countess, and Raza's cousin.

  Hinrik: Light elf

  Horacio: Unseelie duende, hunter stationed in Hawaii.

  Hrafn: Seelie hunter.

  Iain: Twilight sidhe, knight, member of the Star's Guard.

  Illarion Maksimov: Elder of Storm, witch.

  Iseabal Bloodburn: Queen of the Seelie, seelie sidhe, and Keir's mother (Seren's grandmother).

  Ivor: Unseelie corrigan, caster.

  Jake Sloane: Worked on the Cailleach case with Seren.

  James: Seelie keelut.

  James Penderson: Human politician caught up in Cailleach's schemes (Pixie-Led).

  Jared Turner: Elder of Quake, witch.

  Jarne Vinter: Elder of the Pack, witch

  Jason Murdock: Extinguisher. Worked on the raven-mockers disappearance with Seren.

  Jeb Murdock: Councilman out of the San Francisco House.

  Jeffrey Lyman: Human councilman, scientist, and medium.

  Jiaotu: King of the Court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon.

  John Sullivan: Human councilman in Tulsa.

  Julie McNeil: Caster witch, blend of Beckoning and Bite.

  Justine: Aidan's beta in the Missouri pack, witch, werewolf.

  Karmen Simmel: Extinguisher. Grew up with Seren, a very close friend.

  Kate Teagan: Extinguisher. Works at Tulsa Council House.

  Keir Bloodthorn: King of Twilight, the first twilight sidhe, and Seren's biological father.

  Kevin Chepaney: Unaligned witch, shaman, discovered raven-mockers.

  Killian Blair: Caster witch, blend of Storm and Flame.

  Koko: Unseelie qalupalik.

  Latharna Shadowcall: Seelie sidhe and Tiernan's sister.

  Lewis: Selkie from the Court of the Nine Sons, meets Seren on a turtle.

  Lorcan Timberstride: Councilman of the Fairy High Council, seelie sidhe, Cliona's father.

  Luava: Unseelie qalupalik.

  Mairte: Twilight brownie and Seren's maid.

  Marcan Luminary: King of the Seelie, seelie sidhe.

  Mark Sloane: Extinguisher. Worked on locating the missing raven-mocker plane with Seren.

  Moire Thorn: Unseelie sidhe, marchioness, Bress' mother, and Seren's aunt (we hate her).

  Mufasa: Unseelie djinn.

  Neala Silvereed: Seelie sylph and mother to Nighean and Aodh.

  Nessa Buinne: Unseelie water sidhe.

  Nighean Silvereed: Seelie sylph who Seren rescued from Bress.

  Pulao: King of the Court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon.

  Qiuniu: King of the court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon.

  Rachel Forester: Councilwoman out of the San Francisco House.

  Ralph: Unseelie adlet.

  Randy Sullivan: Extinguisher. Worked on the Cailleach case with Seren.

  Rath: Pixie who Seren meets on her first approach to Twilight Castle.

  Ray Teagan: Councilman out of the San Francisco House.

  Rayetayah: Twilight fairy, raven-mocker, and Raza's son.

  Raza Tnyn: Unseelie dragon-djinn and Seren's ardent admirer.

  Reginald Murdock: Head of the Human High Council House.

  Richard Nelson: witch, Elder of Flight.

  Rose: Seelie buttery sprite who Seren rescued from Unseelie.

  Rue Reòthadh: You're about to find out.

  Ryvel: Seelie hunter once on Tiernan's team. AKA the jackass who has it out for Seren.

  Sarah Jacobson: Beckoning witch, Vex of the East.

  Searc: Twilight cat-sidhe and stable boy.

  Seren Sloane: Extinguisher, fairy princess, and ambassador. Our heroine (I hope you already know this).

  Shane Luminary: Prince of the Seelie. Seelie sidhe, and Seren's uncle.

  Sorcha Silverlight: Seelie sidhe and Tiernan's mother.

  Suanmi: King of the court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon.

  Taotie: King of the Court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon.

  Ted: Seelie merman (technically without a court).

  Ted Teagan: Head of Human Council House in Tulsa.

  Tiernan Shadowcall: Seelie sidhe, seelie count, Lord of the Wild Hunt, member of the Star's Guard, and Seren's main squeeze.

  Tom: Aidan's beta in the Missouri pack, witch and werewolf.

  Torquil: Twilight sidhe, knight, and member of the Star's Guard.

  Tristan Lightheart: Beckoning witch changed into a dullahan hybrid and made a high councilman on the Isle of Danu, by Danu herself.

  Uisdean Thorn: King of Unseelie, sidhe, and Seren's evil uncle.

  Wesley Dearheart: Alpha of the Alaskan Pack, witch, werewolf.

  William Sehoka: Flight witch.

  Yazi: King of the Court of the Nine Sons, sea dragon (general asshole).

  Yuki Shinsato: High Councilwoman, seelie kitsune.

  Zhayu Sin-Eater: King of the Court of the Nine Sons and sea dragon.

  Chapter One

  “You don't have to be here,” I murmured to my cousin, Bress.

  “Yes, I do,” he insisted. “She's my mother.”

  “Moire mentally tortured you and nearly drove you insane,” I shook my head. “No one would think badly of you if you wanted to go back to Twilight, and ignore this whole thing.”

  “I'm just now starting to feel whole again, Seren. Like I'm my own person,” Bress' stormy eyes swirled like fog. “I need to do this. I need to be here to confront my mother and prove to myself that I'm strong enough to survive her. Maybe prove it to her as well.”

  “Alright,” I sighed.

  I don't even know why I'd brought it up again, Bress was already there. I knew he wouldn't go back now. I suppose it was just one of those last minute instincts, a sort of mental flinch, an attempt to slap my cousin's hand away from the Moire fire.

  We were in San Francisco, at the Human Council House, in a meeting to discuss Moire. I was serving as both Ambassador and Princess of Twilight, a representative of my father, King Keir. As two of Moire's last remaining relatives, Bress and I had the right to be involved in the investigation. Since that also made us her biggest targets, it was also in our best interests to be there.

  I was sitting between Bress and my boyfriend, King Raza Tnyn II of Unseelie, with my puka companion, Cat, laying across my feet, beneath the council table. Raza had been invited to attend because he was technically Moire's king, but he was actually there to be true to the vow he'd made me on Halloween. He had promised to kill Moire with me.

  Sounds vicious, I know, but you need to understand what kind of woman Moire is. The ex-Marchioness is as wicked as they come. Even her son had been a product of evil. She had raped Bress' father while he was a prisoner in Unseelie. Fertility strikes fairy women only once every hundred years. Moire had decided she wanted to be a mother, but she didn't have a lover at the time. So she had taken what she wanted from a seelie prisoner.

  That's what Bress had told me, but I suspected it was far more Machiavellian than that. By having a child with a seelie sidhe, Moire had ensured that her baby would be born a twilight fairy. Twilight fey were held in high esteem in Fairy, but again, I believe it went further than that. Moire knew that her half-brother, my father, was (at the time) without an heir. As Keir's nephew, and as a twilight fairy, Bress made a perfect candidate. So, not only would she be having her coveted child, she'd produce a twilight fairy in line for the Twilight throne.

>   That's how cunningly evil Moire Thorn is.

  At the Battle for Unseelie, Moire had attacked my father. Bress had come between them and saved Keir. An act which shocked all of us. Previously, Bress was wound so tight around his mother's little finger, it was a miracle her finger didn't turn black and fall off. But Moire's attack on Bress' beloved uncle had somehow freed her son from her influence. Bress stood up to her and Moire fled. After the battle, Bress came to Twilight to live with us. Moire got away. We hadn't seen hide nor hair of her (both hide and hair were pure white and very hard to miss) until Halloween when she'd started stalking me.

  So now I was back in HR (the Human Realm), over two months later, with my mentally fragile cousin, Bress, my trusty puka, Cat, and my fierce dragon-djinn boyfriend, Raza. Oh, and all of our assorted guard members. As royalty, Raza and I both had our own personal Guard, a collection of fairy knights whose only job was to protect us. Raza had his King's Guard and I had the Star's Guard. We both tried to leave them behind pretty often, but a fairy knight takes his (or her) duty seriously. They can be hard to shake. I told Raza he shouldn't have assigned himself guards if he didn't want to be followed around, but he insisted that it was tradition. Dragons like tradition. I think they actually invented it.

  The combined mass of our guards couldn't fit in the meeting room with us, so they were all waiting upstairs. There were only two ways down to the subterranean levels of the San Francisco Council House. You either had to take the elevator or the stairs. Our guards had stationed themselves outside the entrances to both. One of the members of my Star's Guard, currently standing his post upstairs, was actually my ex-boyfriend, Tiernan Shadowcall, Lord of the Wild Hunt. Can you say awkward?

  If Tiernan found it awkward, he didn't let on. I'd tried to free him of his guard vows, but he'd been furious at me for even offering. He insisted that he still loved me, and it was his honor to protect me. Even if I was behaving like a child with a potty mouth (his words). So Tiernan continued to follow me around with all of my other guard members. And I continued to feel weird about holding Raza's hand in front of him.

  But Tiernan wasn't in the meeting room, so I could hold Raza's hand without any weirdness. Well, without Tiernan weirdness. It felt kind of strange to hold Raza's hand at the moment. He was in his human glamour, and without his talons curving over my skin, his hand just didn't feel right. But one glance settled the sensation. I'd seen Raza use this particular glamour often enough to be comfortable with it. It was like Raza version 2.0.