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Zusatztext Praise for Laurell K. Hamilton A Kiss of Shadows “I’ve never read a writer with a more fertile imagination.” –Diana Gabaldon A Caress of Twilight “Sensual! without a doubt . . . This book moves like a whirlwind.” –St. Louis Post-Dispatch 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 A Stroke of Midnight “Nonstop action . . . This book will leave you breathless.” –St. Louis Post-Dispatch Mistral’s Kiss “Steamy . . . will have Hamilton’s fans panting for more.” –Publishers Weekly Informationen zum Autor Laurell K. Hamilton Klappentext I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world. To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch . . . and kill me. My royal guards surround me, and my best loved-my Darkness and my Killing Frost-are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite all my carnal efforts, I remain childless, while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles, hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile isn't enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs. Now King Taranis, powerful and vainglorious ruler of faerie's Seelie Court, has leveled accusations against my noble guards of a heinous crime-and has gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to faerie and the hideous penalties that await them there. But I know that Taranis's charges are baseless, and I sense that his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying.Chapter 1 I was sitting in an elegant conference room in the top of one of the gleaming towers that make up part of downtown Los Angeles. The room’s far wall was almost entirely of glass, so that the view was nearly agoraphobic. They’re predicting that if the big one—the big earthquake that is—hits, this section of L. A. will be eight to fifteen feet deep in glass. Anything on the streets below will be cut to pieces, crushed, or trapped underneath an avalanche of glass. Not a pretty thought, but it was a day for ugly thoughts. My uncle Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, had pressed charges against three of my royal bodyguards. He had gone to the human authorities with charges that Rhys, Galen, and Abe had raped one of his court’s women. In all the long history of his reign in the Seelie Court he had never gone outside to the humans for justice. Faerie rule; faerie law. Or truthfully, sidhe rule; sidhe law. The sidhe had ruled faerie for longer than anyone could remember. Since some of those memories stretched back thousands of years, maybe the sidhe had always been in charge, but it tasted like a lie. The sidhe do not lie, for to truly lie is to be cast out of faerie, exiled. Since I knew that the three bodyguards in question were innocent, that raised interesting problems with Lady Caitrin’s testimony. But today we were just giving statements, and, depending on how that went, King Taranis was standing by for a group call. Which was why Simon Biggs and Thomas Farmer, both of Biggs, Biggs, Farmer, and Farmer, were sitting beside me. “Thank you for agreeing to this meeting today, Princess Meredith,” one of the suits across the table said. There were seven suits across the wide, gleaming table, with th...
