The right of Laurell K. Hamilton to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in the USA in 2021 by

BERKLEY

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

First published in Great Britain in 2021 by

HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

First published in Great Britain as an Ebook in 2021 by

HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

Excerpt from Duino Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke. Translation by David Young.

1

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 4722 8535 5

Cover images © Nik Keevil/Arcangel (man with a gun)

Cover design by Tim Green/Faceout Studio

Author photograph © Stefan Hester

HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

An Hachette UK Company

Carmelite House

50 Victoria Embankment

London EC4Y 0DZ

www.headline.co.uk

www.hachette.co.uk