J.R. Ward the Black Dagger Brotherhood Novels 5-8 - J. R. Ward [217]
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
Chapter Forty-four
Chapter Forty-five
Chapter Forty-six
Chapter Forty-seven
Chapter Forty-eight
Chapter Forty-nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-one
Chapter Fifty-two
Chapter Fifty-three
Chapter Fifty-four
Chapter Fifty-five
Chapter Fifty-six
Chapter Fifty-seven
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With immense gratitude to the readers
of the Black Dagger Brotherhood
and a shout-out to the Cellies!
Thank you so very much:
Karen Solem, Kara Cesare, Claire Zion, Kara Welsh.
Thank you, S-Byte and Ventrue and Loop and Opal for
everything you do out of the goodness of your hearts!
As always with gratitude to my Executive Committee:
Sue Grafton, Dr. Jessica Andersen, and Betsey Vaughan.
And with much respect to the incomparable
Suzanne Brockmann.
To DLB—RESPECT love u xxx mummy
To NTM—as always, with love and gratitude. You are
indeed a prince amongst men.
PS—is there anything you can’t find?
To LeElla Scott—are we there yet? are we there yet?
are we there yet?
Remmy, cruise control is our friend and we are nothing
without LeSunshine.
Love to you, my bestie.
To Kaylie—welcome to the world, baby girl.
You have a spectacular mother—she’s absolutely my Idol,
and not just because she keeps me in hair care products.
To Bub—thanks for schwasted!
None of this would be possible without:
my loving husband,
who is my adviser and caretaker and visionary,
my wonderful mother, who has given me so much love I
couldn’t possibly ever repay her,
my family (both those of blood and those by adoption),
and my dearest friends.
Oh, and the better half of WriterDog, of course.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND PROPER NOUNS
ahstrux nohtrum (n.) Private guard with license to kill who is appointed to his or her position by the king.
ahvenge (v.) Act of mortal retribution, carried out typically by a male loved one.
Black Dagger Brotherhood (pr. n.) Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength, as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings for the most part, and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant, and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of the other classes except when they need to feed. They are the subjects of legend and the objects of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed only by the most serious of wounds, e.g., a gunshot or stab to the heart, etc.
blood slave (n.) Male or female vampire who has been subjugated to serve the blood needs of another. The practice of keeping blood slaves has recently been outlawed.
chrih (n.) Symbol of honorable death in the Old Language.
the Chosen (n.) Female vampires who have been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. They are considered members of the aristocracy, though they are spiritually rather than temporally focused. They have little or no interaction with males, but can be mated to Brothers at the Scribe Virgin’s direction to propagate their class. Some have the ability to prognosticate. In the past, they were used to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, and that practice has been reinstated by the Brothers.
cohntehst (n.) Conflict between two males competing for the right to be a female’s mate.
doggen (n.) Member of the servant class within the vampire world. Doggen have old, conservative traditions about service to their superiors,