Accustomed only to mucking stalls, wielding nothing sharper than a pitchfork, Lesi is no match for the immortal enemies she's about to make. With the blood of royalty on her hands, she finds herself caught up in an ancient feud between the deathless children of Aganon and the descendants of the man who murdered him hundreds of years ago. Soon the fire mage Pyresain pursues her with an army at his back.Lorah is deadly with a hunting bow, and he helps Lesi escape the known lands of Thimalos. Unable to speak like ordinary folk, Lorah seems a bird trapped in a man’s body. Or is he a man cursed? Whatever he is, Lesi has no time for the feelings he stirs in her. Not when a witch whispers to her from the flames, a witch whose reputation makes even the fire mages tremble – Yutsara seeks the stablegirl even more fervently than Pyresain and his Xerxian army. But why? Lesi’s quest for survival turns into a frantic search for answers. It soon becomes clear that there is more at stake than just her life.