Breaker (Ondine Quartet Book 4) (67 page)

Marquis
: Official title of a Redavi demillir

Marquisa
: Official title of a Redavi ondine

Nix
: Originally dark shape-shifters that preyed on humans, this race eventually began living on land and mating with humans. Known for their shady business practices and adeptness with information and technology, nixes maintain a dark reputation and are known Aquidae accomplices. They can no longer shape-shift, but their blood contains latent dark magic. They share similar traits with the selkies, including self-healing and the ability to spot an ondine’s aura.

Origin scar
: Distinguishing mark of the Aquidae. It is the one vulnerable spot through which they can be killed with a
kouperet
. It is the location where they are first turned, when their mortal blood is replaced with the black demonic ichor of the Shadow.

Pedaillon
: The pendant that contains a selkie’s seal skin while in human form.

Redavi
: Equivalent to ondine nobility. Descendants of the first eight families of the ondine race, the Redavi were gifted with the magic of Virtue. Their magical bloodlines are the strongest within the ondine race.

Rogue
: Ondines or demillirs who have left water elemental communities to live among humans in the regular world. Once Rogue, they do not have to abide by the laws and customs of elementals, and they are also without protection from gardinels or chevaliers.

Selkies
: Shape-shifting warrior race that makes up one-fourth of the quadrangle of power that governs the water elemental world. Their physical strength and speed, combined with their ability to shape-shift between human and seal forms, allow them to protect and fight both on land and in water.

The
Shadow
: The legendary leader and creator of the Aquidae. Originally meant to be the dark that balanced Jourdain’s light, his roots are the same as dark creatures like nixes. He takes mortal form to manage the structure and day to day dealings of running the Aquidae. He’s of unknowable strength and power.

Sondaleur
: From the phrase “
le son de la fleur
”, it means the sound of the flower. A chosen ondine prophesied to finally defeat the Shadow and end the war with the Aquidae.

Virtue
: A particularly strong gift of magic possessed by first born Redavi ondines. The only two known exceptions are Jeeves and Julian. There are eight Virtues: Clairvoyance, Kinesis, Projection, Healing, Cloaking, Empath, Teleportation, and Transmutation.

Warden Pairs
: A strong ondine and demillir couple who enforce the magical wards surrounding an ondine community. There are always four Warden Pairs for each community, one for each point on the compass. The magic wards are tied to the bond between the couple, as well as the life force of the ondine.

Acknowledgments

The road to reach the end of a series is never easy. The world, characters, and story of the Ondine Quartet took up four years of my life and I owe many people a great deal of gratitude.

To my husband, the love of my life: Thank you for taking care of our household, for your unconditional support, and for your extraordinary patience as I embarked on this journey. During the course of an enormously challenging year, you have given me more love and support than I could ever have believed possible. I love you.

To Michelle Preast, my cover designer for her beautiful work on Chevalier, Warrior Prince, Ondine, Crest, and Breaker. Her intuitive understanding of my vision has been one of the great blessings of my life and I am enormously grateful to her. Thank you also goes to Lisa Hazard and Cara Milkin, my editors throughout this series.

To Dr. Kobayashi, Dr. Po, and Dr. Slatkin:

Quite simply, my quest to end this series would not have come to fruition without you. Thank you for your skills, talent, and insight. Thank you for healing my body. Thank you for putting up with my impatient demands, for your humor, and at times, much needed admonishments.

To IA, JA, BT, FD for your endless patience and cheerleading. Javi, Sam, Sasha, Blake, and Cathy for your continuing encouragement, feedback, and wisdom. Thank you also to Nancy Cavaliere, Tony Fernandez, and Lillian Nyman for your help.

Thank you to my New Yorkers

- Katya, Lara, Aaron, Maya, Brian, David, Alex, and Jeff — for being such extraordinary friends. A heartfelt thank you to my family for the numerous sacrifices you have made so I could pursue this dream.

Thank you to Aeicha Matteson, assistant extraordinaire. Without you, completing this book would’ve been a nearly impossible task. Thank you for your cheerleading, your insight, your support, and most of all for your belief in me and my work.

To the many bloggers who have kindly shared their enthusiasm for this series and who have supported me and these books in too many ways to list. I appreciate all of you so very much.

To my Elites: Sarah Amer, Samantha Cunningham, Jennifer Desantis, Melanie Hall, Jasmine Hodge, Jacqueline Mellow, Donna Rushton, Ginny Shepard, Tessa Unruh, Heather Villalvazo, and Lindsay Weber. Thank you for your support and enthusiasm, and for always reminding me why I do this. You have been one of the best parts of this journey so far and I look forward to going on more adventures with all of you.

Finally, to the Readers, to whom this book is dedicated:

Your love for these characters is what brought the world and people of the Ondine Quartet alive. Without you, Kendra Irisavie and her story would’ve remained a part of my heart.

The
sondaleur’s
written journey may end here, but it continues to live on in you. Thank you.

About the Author

Emma Raveling writes a wide variety of fiction for teens and adults. She is the author of the young adult urban / contemporary fantasy series, the Ondine Quartet, and
Lost Blood
, the first installment of the forthcoming young adult urban fantasy series, Chancer. She's also working on the first book in her new Steel Magic series for adults.

An avid traveler hopelessly addicted to diet coke and coffee, she currently resides in Honolulu, Hawaii with her husband and German shepherd.

You can connect with Emma online at:

•
Website:
http://emmaraveling.com

•
Blog:
http://writingventures.com

•
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/emmaraveling

•
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/emmaraveling

***

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Ondine Quartet Series

Whirl
(Book 1)

Billow
(Book 2)