Seanan McGuire - Once Broken Faith

This book is for Margaret.

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

It’s sometimes a little surprising for me to realize that we’re ten books into this adventure, but here we are, and here we go, and we’ve traveled so far, and we have so far yet to go. Thank you for coming along with me. I promise I’ll 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 Disney’s 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 I’m 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 we’re 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 O’Shea, 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 aren’t here are the ones that all these people helped me fix.

It wouldn’t 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.”

Dóchas Sidhe: doe-sh-as shee . Plural is “Dóchas 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 voices—mercifully—but I could still hear more than enough to know that I didn’t 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 we’re doing this, and why I’m not drowning them both in the bathtub.”

“Drowning Quentin would be an act of treason against the Westlands, and you’d probably be executed,” said May. “Also, you’d 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 hadn’t slept much since she’d been elf-shot during our visit to the Kingdom of Silences—she got better, thanks to alchemical intervention—and that meant we had a lot of cookies. We didn’t have anything near enough for the nightmare that was to come, but still. A lot of cookies.

The oncoming disaster didn’t 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, you’d 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, she’s just proving he was unfit to rule, which means it’s not treason, it’s 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 months—after years —of chaos and life-threatening situations and people stabbing me for no good reason, we’d somehow managed to find a moment to breathe. That didn’t just deserve to be enjoyed. It deserved to be celebrated, held up as proof that the world was a good place and didn’t 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, it’s likely to become my problem. I’m 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, we’d only been back for six weeks, but I’d 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.