Ashlyn is desperate to leave the confines of the Citadel she has practically been imprisoned in since childhood. For her own safety. Finally able to fulfill her calling as the Erede of the realm she is determined to follow her own path. Unfortunately she is saddled with five arrogant but rather handsome Knights of the Order, who are equally determined to see her returned to the safety of the Citadel. At least she will have something nice to look at on her travels, if only she could ignore haughty attitudes. No one more than she know’s how dangerous the job of Erede can be, after all the previous Erede was assassinated. Yet the more she tries to keep them at bay the more she realizes she needs them. Finding great joy and heartbreaking sorrow is just the beginning of her journey and she needs the Knights to face what’s coming.

Ashlyn has spent the last few months traveling the realm and reveling in her calling as Erede. She and the Knights are closer than ever and she basks in their love and support. They are everything she has always wanted in her Consorts; honorable, protective, fierce, loyal and they adore her for herself and not her exalted position. But she is once more pulled towards danger and as she journeys to the oasis city of Solei it becomes obvious trouble is abound. Amidst powerful forces and dangerous foes she discovers a new threat even more menacing than she could imagine.

Anita has been traveling with the desert tribes for a year, experiencing their primal, dangerous way of life and coming into her own. Her heart stolen, bit-by-bit, by the tribal Chieftain throughout all that time. She wants nothing more than to devote her life to the tribe and adore the male who rules it. But her feelings are not returned and she comes home, to Solei, for the yearly fertility festival heartbroken and humiliated. Zaier is the Chieftain of the Raza. His duty and loyalty to his people absolute. His heart...struggles to hold back his feelings for the feisty, vivacious Anita. Believing her too young to stand by his side and help carry his burdens. But danger strikes at a time of great renewal and his heart will not her go. \\\*This is a novella in the Aurum series, featuring characters met in Consorts. It is advised to read the books in order since events in the previous book are featured in this story.