The Lady Caissa, heir to the Ambassador of the Federated Sentient Planets to the world Demeathorn, had grown up knowing that she owed her sire obedience and unconditional loyalty. She was expected to do her duty, even to the extent of entering into a marriage alliance she did not understand with a man she despised. Lady Caissa, beautiful, rich, and well-educated, had never learned the great secret of Demeathorn, although she was about to be caught in its spell.In the aftermath of disastrous diplomatic negotiations, she fled north toward interdicted territory. A distress signal from deep within the forbidden zone drew her to a rocky island where she would encounter a man alone: intense, handsome, and severely injured in the crash of his antique flyer. Lady Caissa did not know it, but she had just set in motion events which would determine the fate of her family, her planet...and her happiness.

Another adventure filled fantasy by a master of the genre

The second in a mesmeric trilogy that runs the gamut of human experience and emotion from Anne McCaffrey, storyteller extraordinare and New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author. Perfect for fans of David Eddings, Brandon Sanderson and Douglas Adams. 'Anne McCaffrey, one of the queens of science fiction, knows exactly how to give her public what it wants' - THE TIMES 'Storytelling at its best' — \\\\\* Reader review 'It's Anne Mccaffrey - always 5 star!' — \\\\\* Reader review 'Classic Sci Fi that just hasn't aged' — \\\\\* Reader review 'A real page-turner' — \\\\\* Reader review \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ She was one of the Crystal Singers, the élite, mysterious ones, who cut the crystals from the planet Ballybran - precious glittering crystals without which the universe could not function. Sent to the planet of Optheria to repair the famous crystal organ, she was - at first - accorded all the honour and pomp due to her rank. Then her life became threatened and she found herself isolated at the very heart of the planet, knowing that she alone had the power to confront and destroy the evil that had permeated the world of Optheria. Would she be able to find the strength she needed?

"A treat for long-time McCaffrey fans, a good read and a satisfying look at one of the most haunting facets of the crystal singers' profession." LOCUS When Killashandra Ree joined the mysterious Heptite Guild, she knew that she would be forever changed. Crystal singing brought ecstasy and pain, near-eternal life...and gradual loss of memory. What she hadn't counted on was the loneliness she felt when her heart still remembered what her mind had forgotten. Fortunately, someone still cared enough to try to salvage what was left of Killashandra's mind. But she would have to learn to open herself—to another person, and to all her unpleasant memories.