Lord of Shadows is the second book of the The Dark Artifices trilogy.
Description
Sunny Los Angeles can be a dark place indeed.
Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she'd be at peace. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a Shadowhunter again?
And the faerie courts are not silent. The Unseelie King is tired of the Cold Peace, and will no longer concede to the Shadowhunters' demands. Caught between the demands of faerie and the laws of the Clave, Emma, Julian, and Mark must find a way to come together to defend everything they hold dear—before it's too late.[2][3]
A Shadowhunter's life is bound by duty. Constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners—sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.
Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn't just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?
Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina, and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and "unsuitable" Nephilim. They'll do anything in their power to expose Julian's secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.
When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear.
— hardbound jacket blurb[4]
Chapters
There are 29 chapters; the titles are derived from lines (in no particular order) in the poem "Dreamland" by Edgar Allan Poe.[5]
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Information
- As with Lady Midnight and its eponymous character, a character called Lord of Shadows will be introduced.[6][7][8] It has since been revealed to be the Unseelie King.[4]
- The characters will visit London,[9][10] specifically the Institute.[11][12] The ley lines and sacred sites of England may be discussed.[13]
- Cornwall will be visited.[14]
- There will be "tons of Centurions".[15][16]
- The Shadowhunters will hunt down a squid demon—a Teuthida—that has been snatching and terrorizing people going to the carnival at the pier.[17]
- There will be about a one to two-week time jump between the end of Lady Midnight and the beginning of this installment.[18][19][20]
- Emma and Mark's conversation in the last scene of Lady Midnight (after Mark says "Why lie?") will be told.[21]
- Emma is fake-dating Mark, and Cristina is aware of their deal.[17]
- A faerie arrives to tell Mark that Kieran will be executed for killing another faerie, forcing the Shadowhunters to journey to Faerie to save him.[22] Kieran was captured after the end of Lady Midnight and never made it back to the Hunt, where Gwyn may have been able to protect him.[23]
- Some of the children of the Unseelie King—Kieran's siblings—will be introduced,[24][25][26][27] including Adaon.
- The rise of a company called the Cohort, a part—the worst part—of the Clave which believes that Downworlder rights should be restricted and that there should be a registry of werewolves and warlocks will be dealt with. They start coming down hard on the main characters, specifically Mark and their relationships with Downworlders.[22]
- The previously-teased trans character, one that has been introduced before,[28] will be featured.[22]
- Ty will learn more about his nature—the fact that he is neuroatypical—and may explore romance.[22] For one, Kit may tell Julian about it.[29]
- Jem and Tessa may or may not appear in this installment, and even if they do, they will mostly be background characters.[22]
- Kit will be getting a Herondale family ring. [30]
- There will be some focus on Kit and Ty,[31][32][33] Julian and Emma,[34] Cristina and Mark, and Mark and Kieran.[35] Cristina may "sort of" choose between Diego and Mark,[36] while Mark will also have to make a choice.[37][38]
- Julian will go into detail regarding the timeline of the development of his feelings for Emma.[39]
- Cristina will have a romantic dance with an unexpected guy,[40] and she will also dance with Mark.[41]
- There will also be more Cristina, Dru,[42][43] Livvy,[44] and Diana.[45]
- Dru will make an important discovery.[43]
- Livvy will be protective of Kit.[46] They will become friends, though they do argue, in particular due to her protectiveness of Ty and Kit's refusal to commit to the idea of being a Shadowhunter. She is concerned that he might take off at any moment.[47]
- Livvy will kiss someone.[48]
- Diana Wrayburn will have her a portion of the book told in her POV.[45] Her past will be explored,[49] and her backstory will be told: the story of her family, and her friendship with Catarina Loss.[50]
- Kieran and Kit will interact a bit.[51]
- A big, new aspect to the parabatai bond will be revealed.[52][53]
- Jules and Emma's parabatai bond, or the powers Jules may get from their love, may be affected when he finds out about Emma and Mark.[54]
- Cortana has magic powers.[55] It will do something no other sword has ever done, and the angel feather in its hilt is a big part of what gives it its special powers.[56]
- Helen and Aline will make appearances.[57][58][59][60] The Blackthorns' goal of getting them out of exile will also be discussed.[61]
- A part of the book will take place in Faerie.[62]
- Magnus Bane, Clary Fairchild, Jace Herondale, Alec Lightwood,[63][64] and Robert Lightwood,[65] who as Inquisitor will have a surprising part to play,[66] will make appearances.
- Magnus and Alec will be featured prominently in this installment.[22][67]
- Jace and Clary will arrive at the Los Angeles Institute with a message from the Consul and will hold a meeting, for which they will request the presence of Emma and Jules.[17]
- The reason for Clary turning down Jace's marriage proposal will be revealed.[68][69][70][71][72]
- Clary and Jace will eat Chinese food from Jade Wolf.[73]
- Jessamine Lovelace will most likely appear, and it is possible that Kit Herondale will see her.[74][75]
- The last word will be "hour",[76] and the first is "Kit".[77][78] The last word being "hour" was intentional, referencing The Last Hours.[79]
- Mark and Helen's faerie names will be revealed.[80][81]
- Jaime Rosales will be introduced.[82]
- Jaime and Diego will have significant roles in this installment.[83] Their secrets and their demanding pasts will be told.[84][85]
- Jaime is set to have a very significant and important love interest, which will be hinted at in this installment.[86]
- The twist at the end of the book will be "brutal",[87] and Cassie has described the end with the word "blood".[88]
- At least four characters who are relatively familiar to the readers will die,[89] and there will also be characters introduced in this installment who will die.[90]
- Rafael and Max will play and become friends with Tavvy in this installment.[91][92]
- The Seelie Queen will be present in this installment.[93][94][95]
- Jon Cartwright, now a Centurion, will make an appearance, and Marisol Garza, now Jon's girlfriend, will be mentioned in this installment.[96][97]
- The terms Blackthorn Hall, Thule, The Eldest Heir, and The Riders of Mannanan will be featured in this installment.[98]
- Gwyn ap Nudd will have a "surprisingly big role to play".[99]
- The characters will be investigating the real story of Annabel Blackthorn. They will seek answers in the past: they will go to Blackthorn Hall and to Cornwall, where Annabel and Malcolm grew up. How Annabel lost her finger and got her scars may be revealed.[102] She will be featured in Lord of Shadows.[103][8]
- The characters "face the wrath of faerie kings and ancient immortal warriors, the schemes of the Seelie Queen, the restless dead and the bigots of the Clave."[104]
- A building will burn down.[105]
- A new warlock (or more) may be introduced,[106] including one Hypatia Vex.[107]
- A Seelie, potentially secret,[108] Prince may also be introduced.[109]
- Kit will hear music from Ty's headphones.[110]
- The family mottos of some Shadowhunter families, including the Lightwoods', will be revealed.[111]
- For a list of characters set to appear in the book, see here.
- The book is longer than Lady Midnight,[112] with around 700 pages.[113]
Snippets
- For more, either go to the page of the series or check the unidentified snippets page.
Kieran shook his head. "I cannot do it," he said.
"Kier -" Mark began angrily, but Kieran had his head down, like a beaten dog. His hair fell, sweat-tangled, into his face, and his shirt and the waist of his breeches were soaked in blood. "You're bleeding again. I thought you said you were healing?"
"I thought I was," Kieran said softly. "Mark, leave me here -"
A hand touched Mark's shoulder. Cristina. She had put her knife away. She looked at him, levelly. "I'll help you get him over the wall."
And even odder, when Mark and Kieran had come into the library, Kieran had gone immediately over to Max and picked him up, delighted by his blue skin and his tiny horns.
Max had stuck his hand into Kieran's wavy hair and pulled. Kieran had just laughed. "That's right, it changes color, little nixie-like warlock," he said. "Look." And his hair went from blue-black to blue in an instant. Max giggled.
"I didn't know you could do that on purpose," said Mark, who had always thought of Kieran's hair as a reflection of his moods, uncontrollable as the tides.
"You don't know a lot of things about me, Mark Blackthorn," Kieran said, setting Max down.
Alec and Magnus had exchanged a look at that, the sort of look that made Mark feel as if they had reached a silent and agreed-upon consensus...
"I know." Mark brushed his lips across her forehead. Cristina could feel his heart pounding. "We'll figure it out. We'll fix it."
Kieran sat up rather reluctantly. The waves of his hair had lightened to blue; he turned around, and leaned back against Mark, rather as if they were on horseback and Mark was behind.
"Oh. Right." Kit glanced down at his split knuckles. "I hurt my hand at the Shadow Market."
"How?" Ty asked, leaning against the edge of the counter.
"I punched a board," Kit said. "I was angry."
Ty's eyebrows went up. He had interesting eyebrows, slightly pointed at the tops, like inverted V's, and very black. "Did it make you feel better?"
"No," Kit admitted. He felt ever so slightly judged.
Ty tilted his head to the side. "I can fix it," he said, taking one of the Shadowhunters' magic pencils out of his jeans pocket. Steles, they were called. He held out his hand.
Kit supposed he could have refused to accept the offer, the way he had when Julian had suggesting healing him in the car. But he didn't. He held his forearm out trustingly, wrist turned upward so the blue veins were exposed to the boy who'd held a knife to his throat not that long ago.
Cristina spread her hands apart in bewilderment, and winced. Mark's expression turned to one of concern.
"You're not in pain?" he said.
"No," she said. "Are you?"
"You're near me," he said. "There is no reason for me to hurt."
"You're going to have to learn to live with it," Jules said. "Even if it horrifies you, Emma. Even if it makes you sick. Just like I'm going to have to live with whatever other boyfriends you have, because we are forever no matter how, Emma, no matter what you want to call what we have, we will always be us."
Ty: "Why did you say you wanted to be my friend if you didn't mean it?"
Kit: ....
There was a commotion atop the pavilion, and a single blast from a horn shattered the murmuring quiet in the clearing. The gentry looked up. A tall figure had appeared beside the throne. He was all in white, salt-white, with a doublet of white silk and gauntlets of white bone. White horns curled from either side of his head, startling against the blackness of his hair. A gold band encircled his forehead.
Cristina exhaled. "The King."
Emma could see his profile: it was beautiful. Clear, precise, clean like a drawing of something perfect. Emma couldn't have described the shape of his eyes or cheekbones or the crook of his mouth, and she lacked Jules' ability to paint it, but she knew it was uncanny and wonderful and that she would remember the face of the King of the Seelie Court for all of her life.
He turned, bringing his face into full view. Emma heard Cristina gasp faintly. The King's face was divided down the middle. The right side was the face of a handsome young man, luminous with youth and beauty. The left side was an inhuman mask, gray skin tight and leathery over bone, eyesocket empty and black, mottled with red scars.
Kieran, bound to the tree, looked once at the monstrous face of his father and turned his head away, his chin dropping, tangled dark hair falling to hide his eyes.
"Okay," Kit said. "But I would just say that it isn't always about people knowing what's best for you, or thinking they do. Sometimes they would just miss you."
"Livvy would miss me —"
"Your whole family would miss you," said Kit, "and I would miss you."
They threw their weapons down and hurled themselves toward the row of horses, one after the other — Livvy leapt at Julian, throwing her arms around his neck. Mark flung himself from his horse and landed to find himself being hugged tightly by Dru and Tavvy. Ty came more quietly, but with the same incandescent happiness on his face. He waited for Livvy to be done nearly strangling her brother and then stepped in to take Julian's hands.
And Julian, who Kit had always thought of as an almost frightening model of control and distance, grabbed his brother and yanked him close, his hands twisting in the back of Ty's shirt. His eyes were shut, and Kit had to look away.
He had never had anyone but his father, and he was sure beyond any words that his father had never loved him like that.
Dru reached automatically for the weapons at her belt, but there was nothing there. She'd come here completely unprepared, in only jeans and a black t-shirt with cats on it.
"Not one of my best," said Magnus, to Kieran. "I apologize — I'm not a big fan of your father's."
"My father does not have fans." Kieran leaned against the edge of the table. "He has subjects. And enemies."
"And sons."
"His sons are his enemies," said Kieran, without inflection.
When Emma came out into her bedroom, wearing sweatpants and a tank top and rubbing her hair dry with a green towel, she found Mark curled up at the foot of her bed, reading a copy of Alice in Wonderland.
He was wearing a pair of cotton pajama bottoms that Emma had bought for three dollars from a vendor on the side of the PCH. He was partial to them as being oddly close in their loose, light material to the sort of trousers he'd worn in Faerie.
If it bothered him that they also had a pattern of green shamrocks embroidered with the words GET LUCKY on them, he didn't show it. He sat up when Emma came in, scrubbing his hands through his hair, and smiled at her.
Mark had a smile that could break your heart. It seemed to take up his whole face and brighten his eyes, firing the blue and gold from inside.
"A strange evening, forsooth," he said.
Emma put her hands on her hips. "Don't you forsooth me."
"It can't last," Emma said, staring at him, because how could it, when they could never keep what they had? "It'll break our hearts."
He caught her by the wrist, brought her hand to his chest. Splayed her fingers over his heart. It beat against her palm, like a fist punching its way out of his ribcage. "Break my heart," he said. "Break it in pieces. I give you permission."
"I haven't told anyone but you." Clary looked at Emma anxiously.
"Clary, what are you not telling me?"
There was a long silence. Clary looked out toward the dark water, biting her lip. Finally, she spoke. "Jace asked me to marry him."
"Oh!" Emma had already begun opening her arms to hug the other girl when she caught sight of Clary's expression. She froze. "What's wrong?"
There was a long silence. Magnus sighed. "I have to hand it to you," he said. "I never thought Jace and Clary would be topped by anyone else in terms of insane, self-destructive decisions, but you all are giving them a run for their money."
"I really had nothing to do with this," Kieran pointed out stiffly.
"I think you will find many poor decisions led you here, my friend," Magnus said. "All right, you — all of you — wait here. And don't do anything stupid."
He strode out of the room on long, black-clad legs, swearing under his breath.
"He's getting more and more like Gandalf," said Emma, watching him go. "I mean, a hot, younger-looking Gandalf, but I keep expecting him to start stroking his long white beard and muttering darkly."
"I have always needed you, Kieran," Mark said. "I have needed you to live. I've always needed you so much, I never had a chance to think about whether we were good for each other or not."
Kieran sat up. "That is honest," he said, finally. "I cannot fault you there."
Teaser #20
Chapter sampler given away at NYCC 2016 - TBA when officially made available offline
Mark almost crashed into Helen, half lifting her off her feet as he spun with her in a circle.
They were far out from shore now—it was a shining line in the distance, the highway a ribbon of moving lights, the houses and restaurants along the coastline glimmering. "Well, as it turns out, my parents didn't die in the ocean." Emma took a shuddering breath. "They didn't drown."
"Knowing that doesn't wipe out years of bad dreams." Julian glanced toward her. The wind blew soft tendrils of his hair against his cheekbones. She remembered what it felt like to have her hands in that hair, how holding him had anchored her not just to the world, but to herself.
"I hate feeling like this," she said, and for a moment even she wasn't sure what she was talking about. "I hate being afraid. It makes me feel weak."
"Emma, everyone's afraid of something." Julian moved slightly closer. "We fear things because we value them. We fear losing people because we love them. We fear dying because we value being alive. Don't wish you didn't fear anything. All that would mean is that you don't feel anything."
"Jules—" She started to turn toward him in surprise at the intensity in his voice, but paused when she heard Cristina's footsteps quicken, and then her voice, raised in recognition, calling:
"Mark!"
Cristina was there, in the middle of the room, looking up at one of the chandeliers. There was a row of three of them, unlit but glittering with crystal drops.
Mark let the door fall shut behind him and she turned. She didn't look surprised to see him. She was wearing a plain black dress that looked as if it had been cut for someone shorter than her — it probably had been.
"Mark," she said. "Couldn't you sleep?"
"Not well." He glanced ruefully down at his arm, though the pain had gone now that he was with Cristina. "Did you feel the same?"
She nodded. Her eyes were bright. "My mother always said that the ballroom in the London Institute was the most beautiful room she'd ever seen." She looked around, at the Edwardian striped wallpaper, the heavy velvet curtains looped back from the windows. "But she must have seen it very much alive and filled with people. It seems like Sleeping Beauty's castle now. As if the Dark War surrounded it with thorns and since then it has slept."
Mark held out his hand, his wound circling his wrist like Julian's sea-glass bracelet circled his. "Let us wake it up," he said. "Dance with me."
Kieran gave a soft, impatient noise and flopped down on the bed, among the sheets. The blankets were already flung onto the floor. With his black hair tangled against the white linen, his body sprawled out with no regard for human modesty, Kieran looked even more of a wild creature. "Come with me, then," he said. "Stay with me. I saw the look on your face when you saw the horses of the Hunt. You would do anything to ride again."
Suddenly furious, Mark leaned down over him. "Not anything," he said. His voice throbbed with low anger.
Kieran gave a slight hiss. He caught at Mark's shirt. "There," he said. "Be angry with me, Mark Blackthorn. Shout at me. Feel something."
Mark stayed where he was, frozen, just above Kieran. "You think I don't feel?"
More Shadowhunters had entered the Council Hall. They were a mix of ages, from old to young. Some wore Centurion uniforms. Most wore gear or ordinary clothes. What was unusual about them was that they were carrying placards and signs. REGISTER ALL WARLOCKS. DOWNWORLDERS MUST BE CONTROLLED. INTERNMENT CAMPS FOR WEREWOLVES. CREATE THE REGISTRY. PRAISE THE COLD PEACE.
Among them was a stolid brown-haired man with a bland sort of face, the kind of face where you could never really remember the features later. He winked at Zara.
"My father," she said proudly. "Registering all Downworlders was his idea."
"What interesting signs," said Mark.
"How wonderful to see people expressing their political views," said Zara. "Of course the Cold Peace has truly created a generation of revolutionaries."
"It is unusual," said Cristina, "for a revolution to call for fewer rights for its people, not more."
For a moment Zara's mask slipped, and Cristina saw through the artifice of politeness, the breathy little-girl voice and demeanor. There was something cold behind it all, something without warmth or empathy or affection. "People," she said. "What people?"
Diego took hold of her arm. "Zara," he said. "Let's go sit down."
"You're the heart of this family, sweet girl," he said in the voice that only his brothers and sisters ever heard. "You're our heart."
Ty laughed.The salt air had tangled his arrow-straight black hair, and his eyes glowed like the moonlight on the water. Kit just stared.
Kieran muttered something under his breath and said, "I will swear loyalty to Mark. I will do as he bids me do, and follow the Nephilim for his sake. And I shall argue with Prince Adaon for your cause, though it is his choice in the end."
Something flickered in Julian's eyes. "No," he said. "You will not do this for Mark."
Mark looked at his brother, startled; Kieran's expression tensed. "Why not Mark?"
"Love complicates things," said Julian. "An oath should be free of entanglements."
Kieran looked as if he might explode. His hair had gone completely black. With an angry look at Julian, he strode toward the Shadowhunters—and knelt in front of Cristina.
Everyone looked surprised, none more than Cristina. Kieran tossed his dark hair back and looked up at her, a challenge in his eyes. "I swear fealty to you, Lady of Roses."
"You have blood on your hand," Ty said. "I noticed it earlier."
"It is a weakness of your kind, to regard death as so final," said the Queen.
"Because when this universe was born, when it blasted into existence in fire and glory, everything that would ever exist was created. Our souls are made of that fire and glory, of the atoms of it, the fragments of stars. Everyone's are, but I believe ours, yours and mine, are made from the dust of the same star."
Ty climbed up onto the porch beside Kit and sat down. He smelled faintly of desert, sand and sage. Kit thought of the way he liked the sound of Ty's voice: It was rare to hear someone get that kind of sincere pleasure out of simply sharing information, but Ty did.
"Why are you outside?" Ty asked. "Are you thinking about running away again?"
"No," Kit said. He wasn't, really. Maybe a little. Looking at Ty made him not want to think about it. It made him want to discover a mystery so he could present it to Ty for solving, the way you might give someone who loved candy a box of See's.
"I wish we all could," Ty said, with disarming frankness. "It took us a long time to feel safe here, after the Dark War. Now it feels as if the Institute is full of enemies again."
Julian bought some food and supplies at a small grocer's shop, while Emma darted next door to pick up pajamas and t-shirts at a small New Age shop that sold tarot cards and crystal gnomes. When she emerged, she was grinning. She produced a blue and purple t-shirt emblazoned with a smiling unicorn for Jules, who stared at it in horror. She tucked it into his pack carefully before they started across the town to find the beginning of the path to the coast.
"Please," said Cristina, "please, don't fight. We need to be on the same side in this."
Kieran turned puzzled eyes on her. Then he stepped close to Mark; he put his hands on Mark's shoulders. They were nearly the same height. Mark didn't avert his gaze. "There is only one way I know that you cannot lie," Kieran said, and kissed Mark on the mouth.
There was no way Mark could reject the kiss, not without rejecting Kieran and severing the delicate chain of lies that kept the faerie prince bound here.
If, indeed, Mark didn't want to kiss Kieran back. Cristina couldn't tell; he returned the kiss with a fierceness like the fierceness Cristina had seen in him the first time she'd glimpsed him with Kieran. But there was more anger in it now. He gripped Kieran's shoulders, his fingers digging in; the force of the kiss angled Kieran's head back. He sucked at Kieran's bottom lip and bit it, and Kieran gasped.
They broke apart. Kieran touched his mouth; there was blood on his lip, and triumph in his eyes. "You did not look away," he said to Cristina. "Was it that interesting?"
"It was for my benefit." Cristina felt odd and shivery and hot, but refused to show it. She sat with her hands in her lap and smiled at Kieran. "It would have seemed rude not to watch."
At that Mark, who had been looking furious, laughed. "She understands you, Kieran."
"Manuel is limping," said Cristina. She had come up behind Emma and wrapped her arms around her from behind, resting her chin on her friend's shoulder. "Did you do that?"
"I might have," Emma murmured. She heard Cristina giggle. "He was trying to talk me into joining the Cohort."
Kieran's gaze seemed dazzled by moonlight. He reached for Mark and laid his hands on Mark's shoulders. There was a moment where Mark could have drawn away, but he didn't.
"I would that you would meet me, formally, that I might court you," said Gwyn. His large hands moved aimlessly at his sides — he was nervous, actually nervous. "We could together slay a frost giant, or devour a deer."
Thoughts of home tore at Cristina. Her mother, her cousins. Better, past days with Diego and Jaime: She remembered a weekend she had spent with them once, tracking a demon in the dilapidated ghost town of Guerrero Viejo. The dreamlike landscape all around them: half-drowned houses, feathery weeds, buildings long discolored by water. She had lain on a rock with Jaime under uncountable stars, and they had told each other what they wanted most in the world: she, to end the Cold Peace; he, to bring honor back to his family.
"Do you remember," Emma said, "before you saw Diego again, you said we should go to Mexico together? Spend a travel year there?"
Cristina nodded.
"It'd be a while before I could go," said Emma. "I don't turn eighteen until the winter. But when I do …"
Leaving Los Angeles. Spending the year with Cristina, learning and training and traveling.
Without Jules. Emma swallowed against the pain the thought caused. It was a pain she'd have to learn to live with.
They said that men joined the Wild Hunt sometimes when they had sustained a great loss, preferring to howl out their grief to the skies than to suffer in silence in their ordinary gray lives. Emma remembered soaring through the sky with Mark, his arms around her waist: She had let the wind take her screams of excitement, thrilling to the freedom of the sky where there was no pain, no worry, only forgetfulness.
And here was Mark, beautiful in that way that the night sky was beautiful, offering her that same freedom with an outstretched hand. What if I could love Mark? she thought. What if I could make this lie true?
Then it would be no lie. If she could love Mark, it would end all the danger. Julian would be safe.
She had nodded. Reached her hand out to Mark's.
Magnus shook his head without answering. "Years ago," he said, "I had a recurring dream, about a city drowned in blood. Towers made of bone and blood running in the streets like water. I thought later that it was about the Dark War, and indeed the dream vanished in the years after the war was fought." He drained his glass and set it down. "But lately I've been dreaming it again. I can't help but think something is coming."
Mark pushed past the last of the courtiers. This close, he could see that Kieran wore something around his neck on a chain. An elf-bolt. Mark’s elf-bolt. Mark's stomach tightened.
"Em?" He looked at her, dazed, his eyes sleepy and hot and wanting. It made her swallow hard. But his words echoed in her head: He'd wanted her, and she'd come as if she'd heard him call—she'd felt that wanting, known it, not been able to stop herself.
All these weeks of insisting to herself that the parabatai bond was weakening, and now he was telling her they'd just practically read each other's minds.
"Mark," she said, and it was just one word but it was the word, the most brutal reminder of their situation. The sleepy look left his eyes; he whitened, aghast. He raised a hand as if he meant to say something—explain, apologize—and the sky seemed to rip down the middle.
They both turned to stare as the clouds directly above them parted. A shadow grew in the air, darkening as it neared them: the figure of a man, massive and bound in armor, bareback on a red-eyed, foaming brindled horse—black and gray, like the storm clouds overhead.
Julian moved as if to thrust Emma behind him, but she wouldn't budge. She simply stared as the horse came to a neighing, pawing stop at the foot of the Institute steps. The man looked up at them.
His eyes, like Mark's, were two different colors, in his case blue and black. His face was terrifyingly familiar. It was Gwyn ap Nudd, the lord and leader of the Wild Hunt. And he did not look pleased.
"Alec," Magnus said, reaching out a hand, and his voice was less a warning than a sort of stripped-down urgency—the uncanniness of Faerie had come into the room, and Magnus was moving to protect what he loved.
Kieran flinched, and Cristina saw the hurt in his eyes. She felt a wave of sympathetic pain for him. It must be horrible to be so alone.
Even Mark looked stricken. "I didn't mean that," he said. "I am not only a faerie."
"And how glad you are," said Kieran, "how you brag of it at every opportunity."
"Please," said Cristina, "please, don't fight. We need to be on the same side in this."
Kieran turned puzzled eyes on her. Then he stepped close to Mark; he put his hands on Mark's shoulders. They were nearly the same height. Mark didn't avert his gaze. "There is only one way I know that you cannot lie," Kieran said, and kissed Mark on the mouth.
A pulse of pain went through Cristina's wrist. She had no idea if it was random or some reflection of the intensity of what Mark was feeling. There was no way he could reject the kiss, not without rejecting Kieran and severing the delicate chain of lies that kept the faerie prince bound here.
If, indeed, Mark didn't want to kiss Kieran back. Cristina couldn't tell; he returned the kiss with a fierceness like the fierceness Cristina had seen in him the first time she'd glimpsed him with Kieran. But there was more anger in it now. He gripped Kieran's shoulders, his fingers digging in; the force of the kiss angled Kieran's head back. He sucked at Kieran's bottom lip and bit it, and Kieran gasped.
Art
Gallery
Special content
- First editions of the book from North America (and the trade paperback special editions of W.H. Smiths and Easons) will have 30 new runes, designed by Valerie Freire, printed on the inside of the book jackets.[114][115][116]
- Certain special editions, including the one from Target, will include a map of Alicante in the back.[117][116]
- The Barnes & Noble edition will feature a bonus story.[118]
- A deleted scene with Emma and Jules on the Blackfriars Bridge talking about The Infernal Devices characters—specifically Jem, Tessa, and Will—and indirectly relating their relationships to their own was cut from the book but will be featured as an extra on the back of some editions,[87] including the Barnes & Noble edition[119] and the Waterstones trade paperback special edition,[116] which will also have sprayed color edges.
- The edition from Costco will include art by Cassandra Jean—specifically Julian's portrait of Emma mentioned in Lady Midnight.[120][116]
- A limited "deluxe" edition hardback released by Waterstones that will match the the Lady Midnight one, which will also have the scene of Emma and Julian on Blackfriars Bridge and the map of Alicante,[116] this time with the parabatai rune on the cover.[121]
Trivia
- The cover features Julian Blackthorn underwater,[122] the London skyline, with the Tower Bridge prominent, in the backdrop, a map of constellations behind Julian, and a "Magnitudes of the Stars" scale from 1 to 5 by the bridge.
- The first announced title of the book was Prince of Shadows.[123][124]
- As with Lady Midnight and its eponymous character, the title of this book is also in reference to a character: the Unseelie King who is called Lord of Shadows.[4][6][7]
- The beginning of the book will be set about a week or two after the events of Lady Midnight.[125][126][127]
References
- ↑ http://ew.com/books/2017/04/07/james-marsters-will-narrate-new-cassandra-clare-audiobook/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lord-of-Shadows/Cassandra-Clare/The-Dark-Artifices/9781442468405
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Shadows-Artifices-Cassandra-Clare/dp/1442468408
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 https://www.instagram.com/p/BRlf8pSAYht/
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159943813294/cassie-whats-your-favorite-chapter-of-los
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/141790446614/hi-cassie-i-was-wondering-since-lady-midnight-is
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/16888567330946913/
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159832146454/hi-cassie-i-love-you-books-all-the-love-i-wanted
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800010673136824321
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159712153414/hi-cassie-im-a-huge-fan-of-your-books-you-said
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/707300479747756032
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800011265544454144
- ↑ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/16888567331328703/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800010346123694080
- ↑ https://www.pinterest.com/cassclare/dark-artifices-research/
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/151621824879/cassandrajp-set-15-shadowhunter-centurions
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Lord of Shadows chapter sampler released at NYCC
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/141443521304/hi-cassie-seriously-cannot-wait-for-lord-of
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/824657490491166720
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159674490204/hi-cassie-i-have-just-finished-reading-lady
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159707515584/hello-maam-been-huge-fan-of-your-books-since
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedTFSANYC - ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158160604404/hello-cassie-ive-been-wonderingwe-already
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/771493075445252096
- ↑ [1] [2] [3]
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800014170880151552
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/821440592123228160
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800013613717213185
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/141496808809/lady-midnight-questions
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158288006409/hello-again-cassie-hope-youre-having-an-amazing
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/144841180869/cassandrajp-ty-why-did-you-say-you-wanted-to
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/146826404979/cassandrajp-okay-kit-said-but-i-would-just
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800010573501132800
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800011301653200896
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800017189059330048
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800013014040723456
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800015180361039872
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158203469259/hi-cassy-thank-you-so-much-for-writing-about-lgbt
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159154569114/in-totsa-julian-seemed-kind-of-upset-during-his
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/824657257875042305
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/824658995361251328
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800015010399285248
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800008928931233792
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158236575739/hi-cassandra-my-name-is-isabel-and-im-a
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800019498644492288
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/824657795123384320
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158916936494/hi-will-we-see-a-relationship-platonic-between
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158236765529/hi-cassandra-you-can-tell-if-livvy-will-appear
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/821435596564533253
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159141556374/hi-cassie-1-thank-you-x-1000-for-sharing-your
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/824660179010592769
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/824664864677330945
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158636743549/hey-cassie-first-of-all-i-really-love-your
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/824662928062353408
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159736258664/dear-cassie-im-currently-watching-the-walking
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/160552979034/hi-cassie-i-was-re-reading-tid-for-nth-time
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800013944190423040
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800016730403864577
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800018114171834368
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/818952753565286400
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800013944190423040
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/824660849382023168
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800013385974812673
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/821435792543383557
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/821433066031902720
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158966697014/hi-cassie-i-really-love-your-books-and-i-cant
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/821437955109691393
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/763009211185889280
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/149421064989/happy-birthday-clary-snippet
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800014536287735809
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/821436336292974592
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159039533559/i-recently-just-read-some-of-your-seriesi
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/824658934887837696
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800014680215298048
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158202276324/hey-will-kit-see-or-talk-to-the-ghost-of-johnny
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800015090594549760
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800017082591092737
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159841674969/hi-cassie-i-have-two-question-about-lord-of
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159941454789/the-last-word-is-hour-that-is-almost-a-pun
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800016925703176192
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/160031028949/mark-and-helen-also-have-true-faerie-names-that
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800016962764083200
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158202232989/hi-cassie-i-love-your-work-ive-been-reading-over
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158364687809/hi-cassie-i-was-wondering-about-the-mexican
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158236708769/could-you-tell-us-a-bit-more-about-jaime-rosales
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159664540274/hi-cassie-i-just-wanted-to-tell-you-i-love-your
- ↑ 87.0 87.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1CTHVQ8Z3k
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/817054636230184960
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/817487742649139201
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158638860174/hi-its-said-that-4-characters-will-die-in-los
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/817031027118014464
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/821435047932755969
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/818895371439112192
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BQlbjlKgmHV/
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159712017839/hi-cassie-i-wanted-to-say-i-love-your-books-so
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/821432334587142144
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159717111984/will-any-of-the-tftsa-gang-show-up-in-los-or
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/821441367033389058
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/824658838263570432
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158288017319/will-we-get-more-gwyn-and-emma-moments-in-los-i
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158362110979/hi-cassie-i-cant-wait-for-los-to-come-out-i
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158514954969/hi-cassie-i-must-admit-that-i-love-to-see-how-you
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158634136749/will-we-get-to-see-annabel-again-in-lord-of
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158515203144/hi-cassie-i-have-two-questions-the-first-one-is
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158518836159/hey-cassie-huge-fan-of-your-books-just-wondering
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/149929824599/and-soon-there-will-be-more-warlocks-to-meet-in
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/160552641759/hey-i-noticed-a-lot-if-not-all-your
- ↑ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/16888567332708609/
- ↑ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/16888567331094392/
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158082794084/hey-i-dont-know-if-its-said-in-lady-midnight-i
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159664382804/hi-cassie-first-of-all-i-would-like-to-say-that-i
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/817051773164720128
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/821435703368282112
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BP82Ep_AXkI/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/827273214153797633
- ↑ 116.0 116.1 116.2 116.3 116.4 http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/158751789849/cassieclare-cassie-when-will-you-announce-where
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BREW44LgCIo/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/830076296457814017
- ↑ http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lord-of-shadows-cassandra-clare/1123863196
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BR_pRHFg7oW/
- ↑ https://www.waterstones.com/book/lord-of-shadows-limited-edition/cassandra-clare/9781471165269
- ↑ "They're all underwater, like sunken cities." Cassandra Clare on Twitter
- ↑ "Prince of Shadows" 1 — Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
- ↑ "Prince of Shadows" 2 — Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/141443521304/hi-cassie-seriously-cannot-wait-for-lord-of
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/824657490491166720
- ↑ http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/159674490204/hi-cassie-i-have-just-finished-reading-lady