Guild of Secrets

ALSO BY SHARI L. TAPSCOTT Obsidian Queen Guild of Secrets Princess of Shadows Knights of Obsidian Creatures of Midnight Queen of Aparia Traitor of the Entitled: An Obsidian Queen Novella Crown and Crest Knight from the Ashes Forged in Cursed Flames Fall of the Ember Throne Rise of the Phoenix King Royal Fae of Rose Briar Woods The Masked Fae The Gilded Fae The Disgraced Fae The Riven Kingdoms Forest of Firelight Sea of Starlight Dawn of Darkness Age of Auroras Silver & Orchids Moss Forest Orchid Greybrow Serpent Wildwood Larkwing Lily of the Desert Fire & Feathers: Novelette Prequel to Moss Forest Orchid Eldentimber Series Pippa of Lauramore Anwen of Primewood Seirsha of Errinton Rosie of Triblue Audette of Brookraven Elodie of the Sea Genevieve of Dragon Ridge Grace of Vernow: An Eldentimber Novelette Fairy Tale Kingdoms The Marquise and Her Cat: A Puss in Boots Retelling The Queen of Gold and Straw: A Rumpelstiltskin Retelling The Sorceress in Training: A Retelling of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Guild of Secrets Obsidian Queen, Book One Copyright © 2023 by Shari L. Tapscott All rights reserved This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Editing by Z.A. Sunday Cover Design by MoorBooks Design CONTENTS Factions Prologue 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 Message from Shari Bonus Collection Also by Shari L. Tapscott About the Author FACTIONS Urocyon The Foxes Masters of Stealth and Manipulation Lupus The Wolves Leaders Gryphus The Griffons Masters of Magical Intuition & Insight Lepus The Rabbits Animal Whisperers Draconem The Dragons Masters of the Elements Cervidae The Deer Healers Passeridae The Sparrows Jack of all Trades, Master of None Taurus The Bulls Gifted with Great Strength Canis The Hounds Trackers Cristatus The Peacocks Gifted with Beauty and Grace Sciuridae The Squirrels Tinkers and Craftsmen Rhopalocera The Butterflies Masters of Light and Illusion Chamaeleonidae The Chameleons Shifters Strigiformes The Owls Alchemists Struthio The Ostriches Ungifted Equus The War Horses Metalsmiths and Enchanters Cathartes The Vultures Thieves of Magic PROLOGUE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA It was a difficult birth, long and tiresome. When the infant finally came into the world, her skin was blue from lack of oxygen, and she did not cry. Monitors beeped in the room, human devices that made complications easier to detect. The mother lay on the bed, her face pale and slicked with sweat. “Is it a girl?” she managed. But the midwife didn’t answer. The woman wrapped the baby in a blanket and swept her away, sending magic into the child’s lungs, opening her airways, coaxing her to breathe. Finally, the baby cried, quiet at first and then louder. But the midwife did not take her back, did not lay her in her mother’s 1 AVON, COLORADO TWENTY-TWO YEARS LATER There are precisely three reasons why parents send their daughters to Briarwood School for Young Women. Reason Number One: It looks good on an apprenticeship application. Reason Number Two: A coveted apprenticeship will lead to a proper marriage with a man of high character established in a well-esteemed faction. And finally, Reason Number Three: Nothing makes a girl realize she needs to marry well like spending four years with the matronly spinster teachers at Briarwood. The problem is the apprenticeship written in loopy calligraphy on the rolled-up parchment in my hand won’t lead to a proper marriage and all the honor that accompanies such a union. It’s not even with the right