An uncertain and uneasy peace has fallen on the kingdom of Wendar, but at the court of King Henry the various factions still jockey relentlessly and ruthlessly for position. It seems that the king's favour has fallen upon Prince Sanglant, his bastard son, and that he is to be the chosen heir.
But Sanglant is too troubled by the recent past to seek that crown. He needs time to recover and, most of all, he needs Liath, the woman who saved him from his terrible captivity - even though such a liaison must incur his father's implacable wrath.
For her part, Liath knows that her future lies with Sanglant. But she has also learned that her mother, a powerful practitioner of the banned sorcerous arts, is not dead, as she always thought, and is seeking her, to school her in the same arts.
And Alain, their friend and ally, although happily restored to the bosom of his family and married to the saintly Tallia, is in mortal danger from the curse of Bloodheart, who is reaching out from the graveAn uncertain and uneasy peace has fallen on the kingdom of Wendar, but at the court of King Henry the various factions still jockey relentlessly and ruthlessly for position. It seems that the king's favour has fallen upon Prince Sanglant, his bastard son, and that he is to be the chosen heir. But Sanglant is too troubled by the recent past to seek that crown. He needs time to recover and, most of all, he needs Liath, the woman who saved him from his terrible captivity - even though such a liaison must incur his father's implacable wrath. For her part, Liath knows that her future lies with Sanglant. But she has also learned that her mother, a powerful practitioner of the banned sorcerous arts, is not dead, as she always thought, and is seeking her, to school her in the same arts. And Alain, their friend and ally, although happily restored to the bosom of his family and married to the saintly Tallia, is in mortal danger from the curse of Bloodheart, who is reaching out from the grave...