Imriel de la Courcel's blood parents are history's most
reviled traitors, but his adoptive parents, the Comtesse
Phèdre and the warrior-priest Joscelin, are Terre d'Ange's
greatest champions. Stolen, tortured, and enslaved as a
young boy, Imriel is now a Prince of the Blood, third in
line for the throne in a land that revels in art, beauty,
and desire. It is a court steeped in deeply laid
conspiracies…and there are many who would see the young
prince dead.
Some despise him out of hatred for his birth mother
Melisande, who nearly destroyed the realm in her quest for
power. Others because they fear he has inherited his
mother's irresistible allure-and her dangerous gifts. And
as he comes of age, plagued by dark yearnings, Imriel
shares their fears.
At the royal court, where gossip is the chosen poison and
assailants wield slander instead of swords, the young
prince fights character assassins while struggling with his
own innermost conflicts. But when Imriel departs to study
at the famed University of Tiberium, the perils he faces
turn infinitely more deadly.
Searching for wisdom, he finds instead a web of
manipulation, where innocent words hide sinister meanings,
and your lover of last night may become your hired killer
before dawn. Now a simple act of friendship will leave
Imriel trapped in a besieged city where the infamous
Melisande is worshiped as a goddess; where a dead man leads
an army; and where the prince must face his greatest test:
to find his true self.