Shadow Heir

SOMETHING IN THE SNOW

Outside, darkness had fallen, with only well-placed torches to give us light. The terrible screech sounded again, echoed by smaller, terror-filled cries from the Palm residents as they scurried for shelter. A flash of red caught my eye, and I grabbed Rhona’s arm as she ran past.

“What’s going on?” I demanded. Even in the flickering torchlight, I could see she was as pale as the snow around us.

“The storm,” she cried. “The storm is coming.” She tugged desperately against me and I released her, more confused than ever.

“What’s going on?” said Rurik, coming to my side. “Are they being raided?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “They keep saying that—”

I heard the roar again and this time its owner came into view. My jaw dropped.

“That’s the storm?” I asked.

If you could take every stereotype and caricature of the abominable snowman and roll them into one archetypal snow monster, you’d have what was standing before me. It was about twenty feet tall, covered in white shaggy fur. Three curved horns—one on each side and one in the forehead—protruded from its head. Its eyes were large and black, as were the six-inch claws on its hands.

When it roared, I caught a glimpse of a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth....

Books by Richelle Mead

The Georgina Kincaid Series

SUCCUBUS BLUES

SUCCUBUS ON TOP

SUCCUBUS DREAMS

SUCCUBUS HEAT

SUCCUBUS SHADOWS

SUCCUBUS REVEALED

The Eugenie Markham/Dark Swan Series

STORM BORN

THORN QUEEN

IRON CROWNED

SHADOW HEIR

Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

SHADOW HEIR

A Dark Swan Novel

Richelle Mead

ZEBRA BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

Table of Contents

SOMETHING IN THE SNOW
Books by Richelle Mead
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Copyright Page

For my brother Steve,
who helps keep our family on track.

Acknowledgments

Bringing Eugenie’s story to a close is bittersweet. She was my first real action heroine—and a fellow redhead to boot. I’ve had a great time writing her series and am grateful to all the friends and family who have loved me, supported me, and helped me come up with new and terrifying monsters for her to take down! Many thanks go to editor John Scognamiglio at Kensington, who took the chance on Eugenie and helped bring her story to print. Thank you also to my amazing literary agent, Jim McCarthy, for guiding these books every step of the way. And finally, I can’t say enough how grateful I am to all the fans that have followed Eugenie on her journeys in both worlds. Your enthusiasm is what continues to make writing such a joy for me.