Keegan has dealt with a lot over the last two years: Death, black magic and the loss of her bond to her chosen mate. But on her eighteenth birthday, the bond with Rourk returns. Rourk longs to be by her side. Though he knows the distance between them causes Keegan physical pain, he wants to give her the time she needs. Now, Keegan faces her hardest decision. Tradition requires elves marry at eighteen. If she accepts the path laid out for her, she will be spared a lifetime of physical and emotional pain. But will that life ever really be her own?