Book 4 of the Children of the Desert series. Lord Alyea Peysimun gambles everything. Deiq of Stass makes an unexpected commitment. Lord Eredion Sessin trades loyalty for ethics. Don't ever call it love. Since her return from the southlands, Alyea has been de facto Head of a newly minted, not-yet-official desert Family-in Bright Bay. Recent events have exposed her enemies and foiled their plans. But things grow only more complicated. She must risk everything to protect what matters-and redefine her understanding of loyalty. What she does next will send yet another shockwave through power structures both north and south. For centuries Deiq has stood poised on the razor edge between man and monster. The conflict has left him exhausted and suicidal, and he risks even worse if the Jungles find out what he's been up to. When he discovers himself in the midst of a war between rival teyanain factions, the conflicting pressures on him reach new heights. If it is true that ha'ra'hain have souls, Deiq will bet his on the people and cause to which he commits himself. Not even the teyanain can predict what will happen next. Eredion has had more than enough of Bright Bay, but the situation is too precarious for him to retire as Sessin liaison to the king: he has long since moved past restricting himself to protecting Sessin interests, and is trying to rebuild sanity in the Northern Kingdom. When the Head of Sessin Family takes the decision out of his hands, Eredion must confront the gap between what is expected of him and what he believes to be right.