I was afraid of the dark tide that stirred in me. I did not want any part of my mother’s blood. And yet it called to me.‘

Imriel de la Courcel, third in line to the throne, was enslaved and tortured as a boy, leaving him scarred and wary of his future. Son of a traitor, Imriel fears the dangerous passions of his bloodline - and his potential for destruction.

His beloved stepmother, exotic and lovely, has trained him in the arts of covertcy - espionage skills that will either serve his country well, or draw him into a web of corruption and treachery. Imriel will need all of these resources as he travels, incognito, to escape the demands of court and family …

What he discovers is not freedom, but a city at war, and a political game so deep that he may never escape its net.