After captivating readers with her Chronicles of the Warlands trilogy, Elizabeth Vaughan now returns to that world with a beguiling tale of daggers and destiny. . . She is a mercenary trained in the ways of war and the blade—nothing more. A woman known only as Red Gloves has come to the land of Palins in search of work. What she finds, however, is the torched fields and razed farms of a land defiled. If you see her without the gloves, run... This is all Josiah knows about the mysterious woman—until he catches a glimpse of the dagger-star birthmark, a sign that she is destined to free his people from a ruthless usurper's reign of terror. But she is more dangerous when following her heart... Red doesn't believe in gods. Nevertheless, she finds herself drawn into the rebellion—not by the prophecy or the chance to win the throne, but by the pain of untold loss in Josiah's eyes...

There is no one more adored… Everyone knows that the Lady High Priestess Evelyn is virtuous and noble, one of the leaders of the rebellion against the unjust usurper, as well as a gentle healer who channels the powers of the gods to help the sick and injured. There is no one more despised… Orrin Blackhart, the Scourge of Palins, is renowned as an evil man. As the war leader of one of the usurper’s supporters, he has killed many and has stood by while the sorceress he served created an army of the undead. And there is nothing more unexpected than passion… When Orrin takes Evelyn prisoner during the war, each will uncover more to the other than they expected. And souls that should have clashed will be forged in desire, redemption, and glory…

View our feature on Elizabeth Vaughan's Destiny's Star .A return to the world of the Warlands... Bethral, a beautiful warrior, and Ezren, a quick-witted storyteller, are confronted with a civil war and a tribe or warriors with their own code of honor and their own rules of pleasure and partnership. To stay alive they must learn new customs, confront their enemies, and conceal Ezren's fiery power.