{"product_id":"archangels-viper-isbn-9780451488244","title":"Archangel's Viper","description":"\u003cb\u003eEnter \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author Nalini Singh’s breathtakingly passionate Guild Hunter world with the story of a woman who isn’t a vampire or an angel…or human…\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Once a broken girl known as Sorrow, Holly Chang now prowls the shadowy gray underground of the city for the angels. But it’s not her winged allies who make her a wanted woman—it’s the unknown power coursing through her veins. Brutalized by an insane archangel, she was left with the bloodlust of a vampire, the ability to mesmerize her prey, and a poisonous bite.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Now, someone has put a bounty on her head…\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Venom is one of the Seven, Archangel Raphael’s private guard, and he’s as infuriating as he is seductive. A centuries-old vampire, his fangs dispense a poison deadlier than Holly’s. But even if Venom can protect Holly from those hunting her, he might not be able to save himself—because the strange, violent power inside Holly is awakening…\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e No one is safe.\u003cb\u003e“I devour Guild Hunter novels. I can’t get enough of this epic world. Full of danger, intrigue, and heady seduction, the Guild Hunter series is perfect!”—Sylvia Day, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eArchangel’s Heart\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Simply. Magnificent…Guild Hunter is an epic saga, ever twisting, ever twining all the while leading you on one of the most unique literary journeys in the genre.”—Smexy Books\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Singh has created a masterful symphony of angelic war and immortal love in \u003ci\u003eArchangel’s Heart\u003c\/i\u003e.”—Fresh Fiction\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Singh's Guild Hunter novels are known for their darkly intense worldbuilding and for their exquisite romanticism…This eighth novel highlights the author’s ability to weave threads of devastation and hopefulness together; it is emotionally jarring and at times grim yet ultimately fulfilling, resonating with the conviction that love is the strongest force in the universe. Singh explores power, love, and redemption with her typical consummate skill.”—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “This latest entry continues to set the bar high with romance, intrigue, and stellar worldbuilding.”—\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Of course, I loved the same wonderful lighthearted periods along with the deep suspense and even danger that I have come to love with the Guild Hunter books…\u003ci\u003eArchangel’s Heart \u003c\/i\u003ehas leaped to the top of my favorites by this author, and I love all of her books for different reasons.”—Joyfully Reviewed\u003cb\u003eNalini Singh\u003c\/b\u003e is passionate about writing. Though she’s traveled as far afield as the deserts of China and the temples of Japan, it is the journey of the imagination that fascinates her the most. She’s beyond delighted to be able to follow her dream as a writer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand. For contact details and to find out more about her series, please visit her website.1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Holly hugged her sister good-bye one final time, her heart aching.      \"Shoo,\" she said when Mia hesitated at the entrance to the      security line. \"You'll be late for your flight if you don't get      going.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Mia sank her teeth into the fullness of her lower lip, her      chin-length bob gleaming obsidian under the white fluorescent      lighting inside the terminal building. \"I miss home already.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"You'll be fine.\" Though Holly was going to miss her elder      sister-and best friend-desperately, she took Mia's face in her      hands, met eyes as brown as hers had once been, and said, \"You're      the smartest person I've ever known. You'll knock this out of the      park.\" Her newly minted doctor sister had been offered a      prestigious residency at Massachusetts General in Boston.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I'll be so far from everyone.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Holly didn't point out that her sister's new base of operation was      only a few hours' drive from New York, less at the speeds Holly      liked driving. She knew what it was to be homesick. She'd felt      that way in the vibrant city her family called home when she'd      isolated herself from them for several long months in the      aftermath of the attack that had changed her into a being who      wasn't human, but who wasn't vampire, either.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Thankfully, she'd gotten over that stupidity-and her family loved      her enough to forgive her. Of course, her mother reminded her of      it every chance she got, but that was par for the course. Daphne      Chang also reminded Holly of the time she'd snuck out of the house      at seventeen, only to have to call home for help after her asshole      date abandoned her on a dark street in Queens.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Holly still had to keep some secrets from her parents, her younger      brothers, and Mia, but those secrets were for their protection:      mortals didn't need to know about a bloodborn archangel. As far as      Holly's parents and siblings were concerned, it was a deranged      mortal who'd abducted her friends and her, and who'd infected her      with a dangerous virus. An angel had saved her by attempting to      turn her into a vampire, but the transition hadn't gone smoothly      because of the virus in her blood.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e They had no reason not to believe the story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I'll drive up and see you anytime you feel alone,\" she said to      Mia, this sister of hers who'd loved her with unflinching      stubbornness even when Holly didn't-couldn't-love herself. \"Just      call.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I love you, Hollster.\" Another crushing hug, Mia's body a sweep      of soft, womanly curves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Holly, in contrast, was still hoping her breasts would grow a      little bigger if she wished hard enough. In the silverlining      department, at least she didn't have to waste money on bras. \"Love      you more, Mimi,\" she said through a throat that had gone thick.      Not because Mia was heading off on a new adventure, but because      Holly was horrifyingly aware of how life could change without      warning, how a person could be laughing and living one instant      and, in the next, be a bloodsoaked corpse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e She had a serious psychological problem letting those she loved      out of her sight. Which was why she forced herself to release Mia;      she wasn't about to steal Mia's dreams because of her own      nightmares. \"Go.\" Putting her hands on the soft gray of Mia's      cardigan, she gave her sister a little push.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I'm gonna hold you to your promise!\" Mia called over her shoulder      as she finally tugged her little roll-onboard case in between the      ropes that led to the screening area.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e That area was visible through the glass, so Holly stood and      watched until Mia made it through-all the while fighting her      impulse to jump the barriers and wrench her sister back to where      Holly could watch over her, protect her. Smiling a little      nervously, Holly's eldest sibling waved one last time from the      other side, and then she was gone, lost in the stream of travelers      heading out of a city Holly loved and hated in equal measure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Ashwini, I swear to God . . .\" Holly muttered as she scrambled      for her phone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e That was not the ringtone she'd programmed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Managing to cut off the annoyingly cheerful chipmunk singing at      last, she put the phone to her ear as she headed out of the      terminal. \"Tell your wife I'm going to murder her the next time I      see her.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Janvier laughed, as if threats against his beloved Ashwini weren't      the least unusual. \"You are still at the airport, Hollyberry?\" he      drawled in that lazy Cajun accent of his that fooled the unwary      into thinking he wasn't paying attention to the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Cut that out.\" It came out a snarled order. \"And add Viper Face      to the list of my future murder victims.\" Venom had given her that      ridiculous nickname after she insisted on being addressed as      Sorrow. The latter name had fit her at the time, but looking back,      she could see she'd been acting a little dramatic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e So sue her. She'd been kidnapped and brutalized by a violently      powerful and deeply insane archangel, her life suddenly a miasma      of terror and blinding grief. She'd been only twenty-three at the      time-and she'd had soul-shredding nightmares night after night.      Waking to find herself curled up in a silent, fear-drenched ball      on the floor of her closet had become a daily occurrence. As if      her subconscious believed that the red-eyed monster wouldn't find      her there.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He did, of course.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Always.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Because he lived in Holly's tainted blood.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e She was allowed a few dramatics.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e And it wasn't as if Venom could talk. \"Yes,\" she muttered. \"I'm at      the airport. Just about to head back to Manhattan.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I need you to do a pickup at the private airfield.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Holly froze midstep. \"Oh, hell no.\" She knew exactly who was      flying back into New York today. \"That's your job.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Alas, I am stuck in traffic,\" Janvier said. \"A truck spilled      chickens all over the road in front of me.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Ha ha. I'm hanging up now.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"But this is no laughing matter, 'tite Hollyberry,\" was the      aggravating response, followed by the sound of a window being      lowered. Indignant chicken squawks filled the line seconds later.      \"See? Janvier does not lie. I am surrounded by frustrated drivers      on every side, with no way out, but you are only ten minutes away.      Do the pickup.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Is that an order?\" Janvier and Ashwini were Holly's official      bosses as of seven months ago, when the entire team in charge of      her training-and sanity-had pronounced that she'd gained      sufficient and stable control over the twisted, poisonous power      that marked her as the Archangel Uram's creation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Pride curled her toes at the memory of that day-Holly tried to      focus on the trust the team was showing in her, not on how she      remained on a leash nonetheless. Thanks to Ash's and Janvier's      willingness to utilize her ability to make friends with those who      lived in the shadows, she was now part of the small but efficient      team that kept an eye on the murky gray underground of New York, a      place far from the power-drenched environs of Archangel Tower.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Before her life broke apart in a spray of blood and fear and      anguish, Holly hadn't known there was a hierarchy in the immortal      world. She'd seen the angels who soared high above the skyscrapers      and the vampires who stalked the streets as all the same:      dangerously strong and hauntingly beautiful. These days, she knew      two-hundred-year-old vamps who were homeless addicts with less to      their name than Holly, and understood that when a being lived too      long, he or she could forget any concept of humanity or empathy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e For many, torture and sex alone, often entwined, held any      pleasure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Oui,\" Janvier said in reply to her edgy question. \"It is an      order. See, I am acting bosslike.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Holly's lips twitched despite herself. \"Fine, I'll go pick up      Poison.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Play nice-no putting a cunja on him.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Holly stuck out her tongue at her phone before she hung up. A      little boy wearing a tiny blue and yellow backpack saw her, stuck      out his own tongue with a giggle. Holly winked. Looking over his      shoulder, he waved at her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e She waved back.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e That sweet kid, he didn't know that she was the creation of a      murderous psychopath, that she had horrific urges inside her that      caused her to break out in a cold sweat. He saw only a small-boned      Chinese American woman in skinny black jeans decorated with      appliquŽd black roses on the left calf and thigh, her top a floaty      orange silk, and her ankle boots a shining black with small gold      buckles.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e That ordinary woman's rainbow-streaked black hair was pulled back      in a sleek ponytail, her face framed by blunt black bangs, and her      nails painted in a wild mix of colors.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The only thing that made her stand out in a city overrun with the      stylistically adventurous was the acid green that had taken over      the light brown of her irises. The shade had been darker before,      nearer to the vivid green of the archangel who'd used her as a      human toy, but the acidic lightness had come in firmly over the      past year and settled.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e When strangers spotted Holly's eyes, they automatically assumed      she was wearing contacts. It fit their impression of a woman who      looked as if she'd been dropped in a vat of color.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Maybe a touch quirky or peculiar, but human. Normal.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Holly ached to be that normal human woman every single day. But in      the four years since she'd been stripped naked and forced to watch      her friends be dismembered alive, her throat torn and raw from her      screams, she'd gotten over the first four stages of grief: denial,      anger, bargaining, and depression.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Acceptance . . . well, that was going to take a hell of a lot more      time, she thought as she slid into the Tower vehicle she'd been      assigned. When Janvier had first told her she'd get a vehicle as      part of her job as his and Ash's apprentice, she'd glumly expected      a sedate sedan, but she should've remembered the kind of people      who worked for the Archangel Raphael.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e None were the sedan type.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Holly's car was a sleek black thing that looked like an arrow in      flight. It wasn't new by any stretch of the imagination and had      more than a few dents and scratches-all the better to fit the      environs she prowled in the shadowy corners of the city. The tires      were good, but not so good anyone would bother to steal them, and      the radio only got about five stations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Holly loved her ride with the passion of a thousand suns.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Inside this car, she could be free, could fly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e No leash. No blood that craved the monstrous. No flashfire      memories of a rust red hand stroking her hair as he told her to      \"Drink, girl,\" in a gentle voice that belied the carnage in which      she knelt broken and beaten.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Today, she raced in and out of traffic with bare inches to spare      as she made her way to the airfield that handled the Tower's      private fleet. It wasn't the safest way to drive, but Holly was      very careful not to put anyone else in danger. Only herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Yes, she needed therapy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But Holly wasn't suicidal. Not any longer. Her head was plenty      messed up, but never would she hurt her family by making that      irrevocable choice. Her mom and dad, Mia, her younger brothers,      had suffered more than enough in the immediate days and weeks      after the slaughter, and in her months of confused, angry, scared      silence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It was Janvier who'd made her understand what she was throwing      away.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I will miss my sisters my entire vampiric existence,\" he'd said      to her as they sat on the grass after a sparring session that had      left Holly's body a screaming ache. \"I have a big family that      loves me so, but to grow up with another, ah, 'tite Holly, that is      a different bond.\" A sheen in eyes the shade of bayou moss that      her deadly boss made no effort to hide. \"Amelie and Jšelle . . .      they live here.\" His fist on his heart. \"Always they will stay      safe within.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e His gaze had gone to his wife, who was practicing a martial arts      kata with cool hunter dedication. \"And my dangerous cher, my      Ashblade, she yet grieves for her brother and sister.\" As he'd      risen to go tease Ash into a kiss, the Guild Hunter's fingers      sinking into the chestnut brown of his hair, the copper strands      within it glinting in the sunlight, Holly had felt understanding      kick her. Hard.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Mia would be gone forever one day.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Alvin and Wesley would be gone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Her parents would be gone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e She would never get back that time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Holly had caught the subway home an hour later-to be greeted with      tears and hugs and her favorite meal-followed by a grilling so      intense it had threatened to set her hair on fire.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It was a memory she hoarded against the unknown future.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Zipping into a parking spot outside the airfield building located      at the end of a long and deserted private road, she got out and      showed her Tower ID to the guard. He gave her the hard eye      regardless and pressed his finger to the receiver in his ear after      muttering her name into the microphone on his collar.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Whatever he heard back had him nodding. \"You're cleared.\" A faint      curve to his lips. \"Nice outfit. I didn't know the Tower let      five-year-olds drive.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Eyes narrowed, Holly pulled out her best sincere tone. \"Did you      get your suit at Slick Vampires Are Us? Asking for a friend.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Smile wiped off, the vampire just looked at her, unblinking. Holly      stared back, not about to be intimidated, even if he was at least      five hundred years old according to the internal chronometer she'd      developed over the past year.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A tingle ran behind her eyes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Shit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Though backing down was against her personal religion, Holly      lowered her eyelids and took a deep breath. When she lifted them      back up, the vampire was smirking. Gritting her teeth and      refraining from pointing out that she'd been a second away from      mesmerizing him into clucking like a chicken, she carried on      inside. It was a relatively small area with a glass wall that      looked out onto the airfield.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Air traffic control was high above in their own little aerie.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e That had always struck Holly as funny: angels flew wherever they      wished, but if they traveled in an airplane, they needed to obey      the rules of airspace. Not that the man she was here to pick up      had wings. Venom was a vampire. One of the Seven, Raphael's      private guard. That, unfortunately, also meant he was far, far      stronger than he should've been for his three hundred and fifty or      so years of age.","brand":"Berkley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300265939173,"sku":"NP9780451488244","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780451488244.jpg?v=1767721722","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/archangels-viper-isbn-9780451488244","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}