Rogue Ethereal

I was burned at the stake at 14...I was drowned in a lake when I was 24...at 27, I was stoned in a public square. I have died a hundred times in a hundred different ways, usually at the hands of the humans I've tried to save. But when a pregnant young woman finds her way into my tattoo shop with a demon on her tail, things go from bad to worse. Being a centuries-old witch isn't going to help me—nothing will. This time I might just die in a way that sticks...permanently.

I was burned at the stake at 14.... I was drowned in a lake when I was 24.... At 27, I was stoned in a public square.... I have died a hundred times in a hundred different ways, usually at the hands of the humans I've tried to save. But when a pregnant young woman finds her way into my tattoo shop with a demon on her tail, things go from bad to worse. Being a centuries-old witch isn't going to help me - nothing will.

A Council full of Ethereal Elders wants me dead. Yep, it's a regular Tuesday. When you kill a demon there are consequences. Centuries-old witch, tattoo artist, half-demon...none of those titles are going to save me this time. The only way I'm going to get out of my death sentence is to take down the biggest, baddest demon there is...my father. And I thought being burned at the stake was bad....

When I was offered a seat on the Ethereal Council, no one said anything about meeting the actual Fates. On the day of my presentation, not only do I offend the three women who control every single thread of life, but an Angel's thread is cut short, and no one knows how. Now, it's my job to find out who did it before the death gets pinned on me, and starts an all-out Angel-Demon war.

I thought I'd get a little time off before the veritable poop hit the fan, but fate - or rather the Fates - have other ideas. The witch who tried to have my sister possessed has escaped, and not only do I find him dead, but I don't have a clue who he was working with. Or working for.... Now I have a Council Member in human jail, a ragtag bunch of stuffy law-abiders to lead, and a solid inkling that the next person on the chopping block is me.

If there is one lesson I've been taught in my life, it's that fairies are the absolute worst. Finding a fledgling succubus in Faerie is like locating a needle inside a realm-sized haystack. With a guide I can't trust and a goal more ephemeral than smoke, my odds of success are tenuous at best. Not to mention, as the last Elemental in existence, I have a giant target painted on my back. Because one half of Faerie wants me dead, and the other half wants to use me as a sacrifice to open the gates to Earth.

A crown I don't want. A bargain I can't take back. A life I refuse to sacrifice. After 400 years on my own, one would think I'd be able to walk away and never look back. I'd done it a thousand times before with nary an inkling of guilt. But with my brand new predicament, there is no way I can turn down the offered bargain - not if I want everyone I love to stay alive. Now, all I have to do is trek through the very realm I nearly died to keep sealed. Sure. Because there's no way that could go wrong. Unseelie Court, here I come.