Shield of Winter (Nalini Singh)
Berkley titles by Nalini Singh
Psy-Changeling Series
SLAVE TO SENSATION
VISIONS OF HEAT
CARESSED BY ICE
MINE TO POSSESS
HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE
BRANDED BY FIRE
BLAZE OF MEMORY
BONDS OF JUSTICE
PLAY OF PASSION
KISS OF SNOW
TANGLE OF NEED
HEART OF OBSIDIAN
SHIELD OF WINTER
Guild Hunter Series
ANGELS’ BLOOD
ARCHANGEL’S KISS
ARCHANGEL’S CONSORT
ARCHANGEL’S BLADE
ARCHANGEL’S STORM
ARCHANGEL’S LEGION
Anthologies
AN ENCHANTED SEASON
(with Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy, and Jean Johnson)
THE MAGICAL CHRISTMAS CAT
(with Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, and Linda Winstead Jones)
MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS
(with Charlaine Harris, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook)
BURNING UP
(with Angela Knight, Virginia Kantra, and Meljean Brook)
ANGELS OF DARKNESS
(with Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook, and Sharon Shinn)
ANGELS’ FLIGHT
WILD INVITATION
Specials
ANGELS’ PAWN
ANGELS’ DANCE
TEXTURE OF INTIMACY
DECLARATION OF COURTSHIP
WHISPER OF SIN
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
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Copyright © 2014 by Nalini Singh.
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eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-60520-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Singh, Nalini, (date-)
Shield of winter / by Nalini Singh.—First edition.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-425-26401-0
I. Title.
PR9639.4.S566S55 2014
823'.92—dc23
2014000522
FIRST EDITION: June 2014
Cover hand lettering by Ron Zinn.
Cover design by George Long.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Version_1
Contents
Berkley titles by Nalini Singh
Title Page
Copyright
Cast of Characters
Splintered
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Hope
CAST OF CHARACTERS
In Alphabetical Order by First Name
Key: SD = SnowDancer Wolves; DR = DarkRiver Leopards
Abbot
Arrow, teleport-capable telekinetic (Tk)
Aden
Arrow, telepath (Tp)
Alice Eldridge
Human scientist, placed in forced cryonic suspension for over a century, now living with SD
Amara Aleine
Psy member of DR, former Council scientist, twin of Ashaya, mentally unstable
Anthony Kyriakus
Member of the Ruling Coalition, former Psy Councilor, father of Faith
Ashaya Aleine
Psy member of DR, former Council scientist, mated to Dorian, mother of Keenan, twin of Amara
Ben
SD pup
Brigitte
Empath (E), home base: Amsterdam
Carter Hirsch
Father of Ivy
Chang
Cardinal empath (E), home base: research station in Kenya
Concetta
Empath (E), home base: Paraguay
Council (or Psy Council)
The former ruling Council of the Psy race, no longer extant
Cristabel Rodriguez
Arrow, sharpshooter
DarkMind
Neosentient psychic entity and dark twin of NetMind
Dechen
Empath, home base: Tibet
Devraj Santos
Leader of the Forgotten (Psy who defected from the PsyNet at the dawn of Silence and intermingled with the human and changeling populations), married to Katya Haas
Dorian Christensen
DR Sentinel, mated to Ashaya
Faith NightStar
Psy member of DR, gift of Foresight (F), mated to Vaughn, daughter of Anthony, cousin to Sahara
Gwen Jane
Mother of Ivy
Hawke Snow
SD Alpha, mated to Sienna
Indigo Riviere
SD Lieutenant
Isaiah
Empath (E), home base: Niue
Ivy Jane
Empath (E), daughter of Gwen Jane and Carter Hirsch
Jaya
Empath (E), home base: Maldives
Judd Lauren
Psy member of SD, Lieutenant, mated to Brenna, uncle of Sienna, Toby, and Marlee
Julian/Jules
DR cub, son of Tamsyn, twin of Roman
Kaleb Krychek
Cardinal Tk, leader of the Ruling Coalition, former Psy Councilor, psychically bonded to Sahara Kyriakus
Keenan Aleine
Psy member of DR, child, son of Ashaya
Kit
DR Soldier
Lianne
Empath (E), home base: Kuala Lumpur
Lucas Hunter
DR Alpha, mated to Sascha, father of Naya
Marlee Lauren
Psy member of SD, child, daughter of Walker Lauren, niece of Judd Lauren
Mercy Smith
DR Sentinel, mated to Riley
Ming LeBon
Former Psy Councilor, military mastermind, cardinal telepath (Tp)
Naya Hunter
DR cub, daughter of Sascha and Lucas
NetMind
Neosentient psychic entity said to be the guardian and librarian of the PsyNet, twin of the DarkMind
Nikita Duncan
Former Psy Councilor, part of Ruling Coalition, mother of Sascha
Patton
(deceased), Arrow, teleporter (Tk-V), trained Vasic
Penn
Empath (E), home base: Scotland
Pure Psy
Fanatical and violent pro-Silence group
Riley Kincaid
SD Lieutenant, mated to Mercy
Roman/Rome
DR cub, son of Tamsyn, twin of Julian
Ruling Coalition
Formed after the fall of Silence and of the Psy Council. Composed of Kaleb Krychek, Nikita Duncan, Anthony Kyriakus, and the Arrow Squad
Sahara Kyriakus
Unclassified designation, psychically bonded to Kaleb Krychek, niece of Anthony Kyriakus, cousin to Faith
Sascha Duncan
Psy member of DR, cardinal empath (E), mated to Lucas, mother of Naya, daughter of Nikita
Sienna Lauren
Psy member of SD, possesses lethal psychic abilities (X), mated to Hawke, niece of Judd
Tamsyn
SD Healer
Tatiana Rika-Smythe
Former Psy Councilor
Teri
Empath (E), home base: Houston
Vasic
Arrow, teleporter (Tk-V)
Walker Lauren
Psy member of SD, telepath (Tp), father of Marlee, brother of Judd
Zaira
Arrow, in charge of the covert Arrow compound in Venice
Zie Zen
Psy elder, telepath (Tp)
Splintered
THE SILENCE PROTOCOL
has been the defining aspect of the Psy race for over a hundred years. Conditioned not to feel emotion from childhood, they are known for their icy practicality, acute mental abilities, and adherence to strict codes of behavior. It is all they know and all they’ve been since the inception of the Protocol . . . until now.
The twilight of 2081 will be forever remembered as the time when Silence fell in a crash of violence brutally leashed by the furious abilities of the most powerful Psy in the Net. With the fall comes a hush across the world, as the Psy race seeks to understand who they are in this new reality where emotion isn’t a crime punishable by a vicious psychic brainwipe, and the heart is no longer an organ simply used to pump blood. For though Silence was a deeply flawed construct, it existed for a reason.
Insanity, blood-soaked death, murderous aggression, this is who the Psy were before Silence. No other race, it is said, bred more vicious, more intelligent, or more sadistic serial killers. But worse was the clawing madness that destroyed so many of them, saints and sinners alike, until it became known as the flip side to their incredible psychic gifts.