Kresley Cole: Dark Needs at Night's Edge

Many, many thanks to my fantastic agent Robin Rue. So happy to be working with you. To Caroline Phipps, my steadfast friend who's always willing to do a midnight line-edit. To Gena Showalter, because my life's a more meaningful (and riotous) trip with you in it.

And to Roxanne St. Claire, a.k.a. G.U.F. Did I happen to mention you're my rock?

The Lore

"... and those sentient creatures that are not human shall be united in one stratum, coexisting with, yet secret from, man's."

The Lykae Clan

"A proud, strapping warrior of the Keltoi People (or Hidden People, later known as Celts) was taken in his prime by a maddened wolf. The warrior rose from the dead, now an immortal, with the spirit of the beast latent within him. He displayed the wolf's traits: the need for touch, an intense loyalty to its kind, an animal craving for the delights of the flesh. Sometimes the beast rises... ."

Also called werewolves, war-wolds.Enemies of the Vampire Horde.

The Vampires

Two warring factions, the Horde and the Forbearer Army.

Each vampire seeks his Bride, his eternal wife, and walks as the living dead until he finds her.A Bride will render his body fully alive, giving him breath and making his heart beat, a process known as blooding.Tracing is teleporting, the vampires' means of travel. A vampire can only trace to destinations he's previously been or to those he can see.The Fallen are vampires who have killed by drinking a victim to death. Distinguished by their red eyes.

The Horde

"In the first chaos of the Lore, a brotherhood of vampires dominated, by relying on their cold nature, worship of logic, and absence of mercy. They sprang from the harsh steppes of Dacia and migrated to Russia, though some say a secret enclave, the Daci, live in Dacia still."

Their ranks are comprised of the Fallen.Enemies of most factions in the Lore.

The Forbearers

"... his crown stolen, Kristoff, the rightful Horde king, stalked the battlefields of antiquity seeking the strongest, most valiant human warriors as they died, earning him the name of Gravewalker. He offered eternal life in exchange for eternal fealty to him and his growing army."

An army of vampires consisting of turned humans, who do not drink blood directly from the flesh, unless from an immortal Bride.Kristoff was raised as a human and then lived among them. He and his army know little of the Lore.Enemies of the Horde.

The Demonarchies

"The demons are as varied as the bands of man... ."

A collection of demon dynasties. Some kingdoms ally with the Horde.Most demon breeds can trace like vampires. Some breeds are bound to obey summonses.A demon must have intercourse with a potential mate to ascertain if she's truly his—a process known as attempting.

The House of Witches

"... immortal possessors of magickal talents, practitioners of good and evil."

Mystickal mercenaries who sell their spells.Strictly forbidden to create personal wealth or grant immortality.Separated into five castes: warrior, healer, enchantress, conjurer, and seeress.The only witch known to possess the powers of all five castes is Mariketa the Awaited.

The Valkyrie

"When a maiden warrior screams for courage as she dies in battle, Wóden and Freya heed her call. The two gods give up lightning to strike her, rescuing her to their hall, and preserving her courage forever in the form of the maiden's immortal Valkyrie daughter."

Take sustenance from the electrical energy of the earth, sharing it in one collective power, and give it back with their emotions in the form of lightning.Possess preternatural strength and speed.Without training, they can be mesmerized by shining objects and jewels.Enemies of the Vampire Horde.

The Talisman's Hie

"A treacherous and grueling scavenger hunt for magickal talismans, amulets, and other mystical riches over the entire world."

The rules forbid killing—until the final round. Any other trickery or violence is encouraged.Held every two hundred fifty years.Hosted by Riora, the goddess of impossibility.

The Turning

"Only through death can one become an 'other.'"

Some beings, like the Lykae, vampires, and demons, can turn a human or even other Lore creatures into their kind through differing means, but the catalyst for change is always death, and success is not guaranteed.

The Accession

"And a time shall pass that all immortal beings in the Lore, from the Valkyrie, vampire, Lykae, and demon factions, to the phantoms, shifters, fey, and sirens... must fight and destroy each other."

A kind of mystickal checks-and-balances system for an ever-growing population of immortals.Occurs every five hundred years. Or right now...

A femme fatale? With a history of burlesque dancing? You must have the wrong girl. I'm naught but a humble ballet dancer, a mere delicate sparrow.

—Néomi Laress, prima ballerina, former femme fatale and burlesque dancer

(b. approx. 1901—d. August 24, 1927)

I hereby vow to devote my life to annihilating the vampiir. None shall know my presence and live.

—Conrad Wroth, age thirteen, upon being inducted into the Order of Kapsliga Uur in the year 1609

New Orleans

August 24, 1927

I'll kill you for spurning me... .

Struggling to block out memories of Louis Robicheaux's latest threat, Néomi Laress stood at the top of her grand staircase and gazed out over the packed ballroom.

As she might cradle a babe, she held bouquets of roses swathed in silk. They were gifts from some of the men in the crowd of partygoers below, a motley mix of her rollicking set, rich patrons, and newspaper reporters. A sultry bayou breeze slid throughout the space, carrying strains of music from the twelve-piece orchestra outside.

... you'll beg for my mercy.

She stifled a shiver. Her ex-fiancé's behavior had become more chilling of late, his atonement gifts more extravagant. Néomi's long-standing refusal to sleep with Louis had frustrated and angered him, but breaking off their relationship had enraged him.

The look in his pale eyes earlier tonight... She gave herself an inward shake. She'd hired guards for this event—Louis couldn't get to her.

One admirer, a handsome banker from Boston, noticed her aloft and began to clap. The throng joined in, and in her mind she envisioned a curtain going up. With a slow, gracious smile, she said, "Bienvenue to you all," then began descending her stairs.

No one would ever sense her anxiety. She was a trained ballerina, but above all things, she was an entertainer. She would work this room, dispensing teasing nibbles of sarcasm and softly spoken bons mots, charming any critics and coaxing laughter from even the most staid.

Though her arms already ached from cradling so many bouquets, and flashbulbs went off in glaring succession, her smile remained fixed. Another gliding step down.

She'd be damned before she'd let Louis ruin her night of triumph. Three hours ago, she'd given the performance of a lifetime to a sold-out house. For tonight's soirée celebrating her newly renovated estate, Elancourt, the Gothic manor house was resplendent with the glow of a thousand candles. Through her dancing, she'd paid for the painstaking restoration of her new home and all the sumptuous furnishings inside it.