Save the land, or follow his heart? Time has run out for Lord Domlen. The Fortress of Rain has been cursed by the enemy Boa Visk, his people trapped as phantoms within its walls, and the rain ever falling across his lands. If he does not break the curse soon, the trapped spirits will become revenir, ghosts that feed upon the life force of the living. He needs a miracle. And he gets one. He learns of a ritual that can break the curse and free his people. But nothing comes without a price, and the price is one Lord Domlen cannot bring himself to pay: the ritual demands blood-royal blood. Desperate, he abducts Prince Falken of Teirlan to be his blood sacrifice on the night of the red moon and forces all gentle emotion far, far away. He must save his people, even at the cost of an innocent life. But as the time of the ritual draws near, how will he find the strength to kill an innocent man? Especially one who reignites all the emotions he believed he'd buried so deeply away? Prince Falken, sorcerer from Teirlan, needs his magic to escape the Fortress of Rain, but the shackles on his wrists have cut him off from his power. When he discovers the servants around him are actually spirits, he understands the stronghold is bound by dark forces-a curse that somehow revolves around his grim, noble captor. There is dark magic here, but how can he help the strong, enigmatic Domlen while he's trapped, his powers bound? There is greater magic than that of the curse, and Falken has resources beyond Domlen's ken. But when the ritual goes horribly wrong, how will Falken make his enemy trust him? And how will he save the man he's coming to love?