“You’re being careful?”
She didn’t chide him for his rumbling concern. Her mate was an alpha bear—he couldn’t help being protective of those he loved. Neither could she. “Yes,” she said. “This data is old, that’s why it’s so difficult to unravel. I don’t think there’s any real risk of attracting dangerous attention, but I’m taking maximum precautions.”
“Good.” He ran his hand over her hair, a wild peacefulness to him even as they discussed this emotionally wrought topic. “No information is worth your life.”
Silver interlaced her fingers through his. “I know, but as you know,” she added in a cool tone, “I can be just slightly relentless in pursuit of a goal.”
His chuckle was warmth wrapping around her, an acceptance so deep she knew nothing could ever shake it—Valentin Nikolaev saw every part of her and he loved every part of her.
Before he could speak, however, her phone lit up with a call from Lily Knight.
“Bo is degrading,” Lily told them, her face stark on the small screen, but her voice clear. “The doctors are giving him days at most.”
“I’m very sorry, Lily.” Silver had a brother she loved; she knew Lily would be devastated by Bo’s death—but the impact of his loss would spread far beyond the other woman. First and foremost, it would leave the Alliance with a huge power vacuum. The previous leadership had been swept away by Bo and his group when they came in fighting for the Alliance’s future, and Bo hadn’t had long enough to train a successor.
The Alliance stood in real danger of collapsing right when it was needed most. Their world was a triad; it could not stand strong if one part of that triad was missing. “Is there any way EmNet can assist?” Their mandate was to offer help in all emergencies; to Silver’s mind, this qualified.
“Smoke and mirrors if you can,” Lily said. “Anything that’ll keep the focus off the Alliance and off Bo.” Huge gray eyes met Valentin’s. “If it all comes tumbling down, we may need a place to hide certain vulnerable people.”
“No need to ask, Lily,” Valentin said. “StoneWater will protect them.”
“We’re standing on a precipice,” Silver said after Lily signed off.
His face grim, his fingers warm and rough around her own, Valentin spoke her concerns aloud. “Trinity, EmNet, your PsyNet, it could all collapse if humans withdraw from the playing board.”
“Yes.” Humans needed Bo, needed the Alliance, needed to know they had someone in their corner who’d protect them should the Psy or changelings become aggressive. “Right now, all we can do is give Lily what she’s requested. Any ideas for the smoke and mirrors?”
Her mate’s eyes gleamed just as soft flakes of winter’s first snowfall drifted out of the sky. A second later, she found herself bent over a bear alpha’s powerful arm while his laughing mouth covered her own right there in the center of Moscow.
MOSCOW DAILY: MORNING EDITION
SILVER MERCANT WITH ALPHA NIKOLAEV! EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS WITHIN!!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to thank all the people who helped me with research questions for this book, most of them to do with translating Latin and Russian.
Before I do that, I’d like to say that I did take some liberties with the information provided: for example, as Russian is written using Cyrillic script, where the spellings of the translations varied, I’ve chosen a spelling and run with it.
Those of you familiar with Russian naming conventions—where many surnames have a different form, depending on the gender of the bearer—will have noticed that Valentin and his sisters all bear the name Nikolaev (rather than Nikolaev/Nikolaeva). This is because not all the naming traditions in the Psy-Changeling world are identical to our own.
One Russian custom seen throughout Silver Silence is the way diminutives are used to show affection. A single person can have multiple nicknames, some used by friends (Valya), others by family (Mishka)—and, of course, there are the special names a lover might think up and use (Valyusha).
My thanks to everyone who helped me find the right diminutives for the characters.
As for the Latin maxim, as one of my translators pointed out, because it’s a dead language, there’s no one around to ask if a translation is perfect. The final translation used in this book is the result of several people’s input.
Without further ado, I’d like to thank (in alphabetical order): Tatiana Agapov, Teresa Anderson, Lana Calinin, Rachel K., Galina Krasskova, Cathleen Kuznesoff, Lori Jo Levy, Melissa Martinez, Tetiana Matsypura, Father Nick, Irim Sarwar, Jenny Sliger, and Julia Sullivan.
An extra-special thanks to Karen Lamming and Vladimir Samozvanov for their detailed explanations of the structure of the Russian language and how Russian culture so often impacts particular words and the way they’re used.
As always, any errors are mine—I hope you’ll forgive them!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh is passionate about writing. Though she’s traveled as far afield as the deserts of China, the Highlands of Scotland, and the frozen landscapes of Antarctica, it is the journey of the imagination that fascinates her most. She’s beyond delighted to be able to follow her dream as a writer.
Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand. You can contact her directly through her website: nalinisingh.com. While visiting the site, Nalini invites you to join her newsletter for up-to-date news about both the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series, as well as fun exclusive extras, including free short stories set in her worlds.
You can also find her online at twitter.com/NaliniSingh, facebook.com/AuthorNaliniSingh, and instagram.com/AuthorNaliniSingh.