Ellysetta Baristani has won the heart of the Fey King -- the magnificent Rain, her ally and her love -- fought at his side against the armies of Eld, and saved the offspring of the magical tairen. But the most powerful and dangerous Verse of her Song is yet to be sung. Now, as the final battle draws nigh and evil tightens its grip upon her soul, will Ellysetta and Rain complete their truemate bond and defeat the evil High Mage of Eld...or must they make the ultimate sacrifice to save their world?

The first deadly battles of the new Mage Wars have been fought, and victory has been won at a terrible price. As the toll of an unfulfilled matebond and the torment of war begins tips Rain towards madness, Ellysetta knows if she cannot find a way to defeat the darkness growing inside her and complete the truemate bond, Rain will die and she will become the prophesied monster Vadim Maur uses to destroy the Fey and enslave the World.

Returning to the Fading Lands with his Celierian truemate, Rain discovers a dissension among the most powerful members of his own council. As the Eld plot their next deadly strike, Ellysetta struggles to master her powerful magic and discover how to save the tairen, while Rain confronts open challenge to his rule and prepares to lead the Fey army to war.

He had stepped from the sky to claim her like an enchanted prince from the pages of a fairy tale, but behind the mesmerizing beauty of his violet eyes she saw the driving hunger of the beast and an endless sorrow only she could heal. Only for him would she embrace her frightening magic. Only for him would she find the courage to confront the shadows that haunted her soul. Only with him could she hope to defeat the terrifying evil that had pursued her all her life. No barrier could stand between truemates, not of the body, mind or soul. For ahead an epic battle was fast approaching, and only united could they hope to turn back the armies of darkness.

Re-Issued by HarperCollins Avon 2010 / Prior Issued via Dorchester 2007

Once he had scorched the world. Once he had driven back overwhelming darkness. Once he had loved with such passion, his name was legend... TAIREN SOUL Now a thousand years later, a new threat calls him from the Fading Lands, back into the world that had cost him so dearly. Now an ancient, familiar evil is regaining its strength, and a new voice beckons him--more compelling, more seductive, more maddening than any before. As the power of his most bitter enemy grows and ancient alliances crumble, the wildness in his blood will not be denied. The tairen must claim his truemate and embrace the destiny woven for him in the mists of time.