Princess of Shadows

CONTENTS Also by Shari L. Tapscott Factions 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 Message from Shari Bonus Collection Also by Shari L. Tapscott About the Author 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 Princess of Shadows Obsidian Queen, Book Two 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 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 1 “He’s fine,” Eric assures me, growing exasperated. I face the Viking warrior lookalike with my arms crossed. “Then why won’t you let me see him?” “Because he found this whole experience very traumatizing, and I don’t think he’s ready to face you.” Just stab me in the heart, why don’t you? I turn away from the knight marshal, unable to even look at him any longer. How dare he separate me after I’ve been this worried? It’s been over a week and a half. Eric sets a hand on my shoulder. “Maddie, sweetheart. Let him sleep for now.” The knight is going to have to let me in soon because we’re moving out of our suite in Tahoe this morning. For the last few weeks, we’ve attempted to track down a deranged pixie who was murdering bank tellers and impersonating them to steal private customer information to sell to identity thieves. Though the pixie got away, we opened a whole can of worms while we were here. Now the Royal Guild wants us back in Avon. Plus, we have to go home to deal with the tiny matter of my ex-boyfriend fraternizing with a criminal casino owner bent on using magical means to exploit humans out of their money. Jonathan, my other teammate, walks through the door, ready to grab more bags to take down to his Hummer. His short-but-messy black hair has been meticulously styled in such a way it looks like he rolled out of bed looking sexy—but it actually takes him thirty minutes to pull it off. As if reading my thoughts, the Griffon—member of the Gryphon faction and reader of magic—smirks in my direction. “You were just checking me out, weren’t you? Don’t deny it.” “I was actually thinking I never want to share a bathroom with you again.” He opens his mouth, that wicked look growing as he thinks of something suggestive to say, but Eric cuts him off. “Shut up, you two. He’s sleeping.” Jonathan rolls his eyes. “He’s fine, Bunny Hugger. So his dinner was twelve hours late, and you fed him Kitten Nibbles instead of Pedigreed Perfection. He’ll live.” Try telling that to Charles Archibald Argyle III, my pedigreed Sphynx hairless cat. He thinks he’s royalty. (With the price I paid for him, he probably is.) He still hasn’t forgiven me for the evening I didn’t feed him. I had a good excuse—I was being held hostage. The cat’s going to have to get over it. Gray steps into the room, not far behind Jonathan. “Are you still coddling that stupid cat?” he asks Eric. “You barely remembered to throw granola bars and bottled water at me after I was shot.” “We found you a healer—it’s not like we left you in the humans’ care for long,” Jonathan says. “Besides, we all know Maddie was your preferred nurse.” I turn my eyes to the floor, uncomfortable. Things are weird between Gray and me, especially now that his ex-partner/nemesis and I are friendly. And by friendly, I mean Rafe’s my dark knight, and I’m his dark queen. Together, we’re destined to open the magical thresholds to our land of Aparia and take over the world, ruling over Aparians and humans alike using black magic and monsters from the nightmarish depths of darkness. Since I haven’t figured out a way to break that piece