by Jasmine Walt
Serapha charms: paired amulets that allow two people, usually a couple, to find each other via twinned stones imbued with a small part of their essence. Normally, only the wearer can take a serapha charm off.
Shifter: a human who can change into animal form and back by magic; they originally resulted from illegal experiments by mages on ordinary humans.
Shifter Courier: Solantha newspaper specifically geared towards the shifter population.
Shifter Royale: an illegal underground betting concourse where kidnapped and drugged shifters were forced to fight against each other, sometimes to the death. Discovered and exposed by Sunaya, with help from Boon Lakin and Annia Melcott, after her cousin Mika had been kidnapped by the organizers.
Shiftertown: the part of Solantha where the official shifter clans live.
Shiftertown Inspector: a shifter chosen by the Shiftertown Council to police shifter-related crime. The position is currently held by Boon Lakin, a jaguar shifter, appointed after the murder of his predecessor Roanas Tillmore.
Solantha: the capital of Canalo State, a port city on the west coast of the Northia continent, home of Sunaya Baine.
Solantha Palace: the seat of power in Canalo, where both the Chief Mage and the Mages Guild reside. It is located near the coast of Solantha Bay.
Taili the Wolf: in shifter legend, the very first shifter (a female).
Lady Talari ar’Dronach: mage, wife to the Chief Mage of Osero.
Mrs. Tandry: human, head chef in the kitchens of Solantha Palace.
Tanzarite: a rare semi-precious stone.
The Twilight: a bar in Rowanville where Sunaya used to bartend.
Thrase, Nelia: a young human, Sunaya’s social secretary.
Timbran’s Gourmet Food: a meat-canning company, with a factory north of Turain.
Tillmore, Roanas: the former Shiftertown Inspector and father figure/mentor to Sunaya. He was poisoned while digging into the silver murders, prompting Sunaya to take over the investigation.
Tua: a legendary and highly dangerous race of very long-lived beings with powerful magic, who sometimes cross from their own world into Recca, most frequently in Manuc.
Tular, Jolen: Director of the Osero Mages Guild.
Turain: a small town north of Solantha, where the Shifter Royale took place.
Ur-God: the name the humans call the Creator by.
Vanderheim, Curian: human millionaire and businessman, husband to Thorgana Mills.
Wacoma: an area in the Northwest of the Federation, part of Osero.
Willis: a human member of the Resistance, rank of Private.
Witches’ End: a pier in Solantha City, part of the Port, where immigrant magic users sell their wares and services.
Witley, Captain: night watch captain of the Resistance lab facility in Osero; impersonated by Rylan Baine.
Word(s): magically imbued phrases, ranging in length from a single word to a long sentence, typically in Loranian. Mages use them to practice and focus their magic. Without Words, ‘instinctive’ magic requires far more energy, and is less predictable in its effects.
Yantz, Petros: the former Chief Editor of the Herald, implicated in the silver murders. A close collaborator of the Benefactor, he found refuge in her Solantha mansion as a fugitive.
Zavian Graning: see under Graning, Zavian.
Zuric, Harun: human, employed as handyman in Solantha Palace.
Acknowledgments
I’d like to give a BIG thank you to my beta readers, for providing great feedback despite the tight deadline they had to work with. Special thanks again to Victoria Newman, who as always is very thorough. You guys are invaluable to my writing process. <3
Thank you to Mary Burnett, for getting to the finish line with me on Book 5! I am very lucky to have found someone I work so well with, and have come to realize you are truly one of a kind.
I’d also like to thank Michael Anderle, for being a true champion for indie authors, and a defender against trolls. You rock! ;)
And thank you to my illustrator, Judah Dobin, for providing such awesome cover art. I know this one was a little rocky, but I really love the way it turned out. And I love you. <3
About the Author
Jasmine Walt is obsessed with books, chocolate, and sharp objects. Somehow, those three things melded together in her head and transformed into a desire to write, usually fantastical stuff with a healthy dose of action and romance. Her characters are a little (okay, a lot) on the snarky side, and they swear, but they mean well. Even the villains sometimes.
When Jasmine isn’t chained to her keyboard, you can find her practicing her triangle choke on the jujitsu mat, spending time with her family, or binge-watching superhero shows on Netflix.
Want to connect with Jasmine? You can find her on Twitter at @jasmine_writes, on Facebook, or at www.jasminewalt.com.
Also by Jasmine Walt
The Baine Chronicles Series:
Burned by Magic
Bound by Magic
Hunted by Magic
Marked by Magic
Betrayed by Magic
Future titles to be announced!
The Shadows of Salem Series:
Shadow Born
Shadow Marked
Collections and Anthologies:
Magic and Mayhem: 21 Fantasy Novels by NY Times, USA Today and Internationally Bestselling Authors
