A mixed-blood princess, a destined warrior and a devious mermaid intent on destroying them all.
Elainne leaves her father's kingdom to join the human world in hopes of helping her aunt keep the human kingdom stable for they are currently without heir and king and queen are at odds about how it shall be handled. Accustomed to proving herself Elainne trains herself to be the best future when she happens upon Viktor. A soldier in training with eyes as dark as coal and a connection to her that leaves her feeling as if she were struck by lightning...a mild strike but still a strike.
Before she can figure out what that means, for either of them, a mermaid princess and her entourage arrive in her new home claiming to represent the merpeople and their wish to trade with humans but Elainne knows differently, she can feel the magic this siren uses to enchant others. Oddly enough Viktor knows it too and helps her escape the trap most in the castle have fallen prey to. only to lead her into even greater danger, the one place she vowed never to enter again after her mother’s murder, her Elvin home. Can they save the kingdom from falling into seemingly willing slavery? Or will their quest for magic doom them all?
The mermaid threat has been dealt with and Viktor and Elainne understand their bond…well more than they did before. Elainne's next journey has her testing her mettle as an emissary for political and personal reasons. The humans need trading partners and her uncle demands proof that she is the right choice for heir to his kingdom. As for the personal reasons well Viktor cannot control his new powers and it's getting dangerous for everyone, even Elainne who Viktor is supposed to protect.
Unwilling to leave her side, even to be trained, she agrees the mages are their best hope so they travel into perilous lands with magic, wild beasts, and humans full of corrupting power. Even worse the mages hate Elves. Even half Elvin princesses that were not even born when their feud with the elves started making her role as emissary even more stressful, not to mention dangerous, than normal. With Viktor by her side and her will of steel she will risk everything to bring about the peace between the branches of humans and help Viktor on his quest to find his family…even her own life.
Talon has finally accepted being a Champion. The lone fighter is finally part of a team and oddly enough glad for it. In Elainne he has found someone worth following. After Viktor leaves to train the army he is sure they will need, Elainne is left alone in court with no one but a partially trained, court stupid mage who is not prepared for the new tasks befalling him.
Elainne helps as much as she can but Talon knows he should be helping her not the other way around. So when he asks Elainne if he can go on a journey to cement his power in himself, a task all mage's do on their twenty-first birthday, he is not surprised she instantly agrees. He is shocked she decides to join him. They forge their way to the sacred grounds where Talon will be forced to realize his part in this ever-changing world and that he better learn to keep up.
The world is changing as is everyone in it. Civilizations which were once thought lost are coming back into the world. Alliances are being forged, friendships tested, and everyone is finding their place in their world.
Not everyone is happy with how things are going and not everyone wants the unity Elainne is trying to achieve between races. She is pushing for peace at any cost, melding the old bloods into her kingdom and avoiding war whenever possible...which it will not always be.
Avren prepares to bring his old home out of the shadows, complete with a castle fit for the empress he wants Elainne to become and with plenty of room for the unicorns. Talon follows by Elainne's side loyal and steadfast, a constant, in the ever-changing world. One she is not sure she can handle.
Will she take her place as Empress of the world or will the world fall into chaos so deep that not even she and her allies can save it?