Commander Devin Varish arrives at Senna Ardin's forge with armed riders and a summons from King Marekh. By sunset, she is leaving behind the village and the life she has fought so hard to build.
No one will tell her when she can return.
At the royal palace, Senna learns why Marekh wanted her: she possesses the rare ability to read the ancient script of the Lion-Rider, whose surviving texts hold secrets the king is desperate to uncover. Senna translates accounts of extraordinary powers that seem impossible to believe… until she herself begins experiencing things she cannot explain.
When a deadly fire traps her with terrified children, something happens that defies everything she knows. The children escape, but for days afterward, Senna wakes gasping, convinced she is still surrounded by flames.
Devin is the last man she should want, yet he becomes the one person she turns to as she searches for answers. Their early-morning combat lessons bring them dangerously close, and his infuriating self-control only makes her more determined to discover what lies beneath it. When their growing attraction finally gives way to stolen kisses and nights together, Senna finds herself wanting a future with the man who took her freedom.
But Devin still serves the king. And he is keeping secrets.
As Senna uncovers evidence that Marekh has deliberately cultivated the terror gripping Valum, she begins to understand how dangerous her discoveries have become. The king is watching her like a hawk, and if he realizes that the woman he brought into his palace is becoming something he cannot control, he will never let her leave alive.
Devin may be the only man capable of protecting her, but doing so would mean betraying the king he has served for centuries.
Senna has already trusted him with her heart. Soon, she may have to trust him with her life.