Summer, 1193. They call him the Devil’s Blade and say that the fires of hell burn in him when he wields his sword. It might be midsummer when Zander arrives at the tournament, but there is winter in his soul. Battle hardened and war weary, he intends to amass spoils, win the champion’s prize, and find a wealthy wife. Then he discovers that Elinor of York has accompanied her father to the tourney. He desired her as a youth, and soon learns that he still does. But whatever he will ever have of her will have to be seized in secret, before the tournament ends. Elinor was born a lady but the last years have impoverished her. She now sews for coin, and takes care of her lame, aging father, a knight who blames Zander for his diminished fortunes and health. She should ignore the handsome knight whom she teased when they were young, but his magnetism draws her closer. He is not for her—he is her father’s enemy and she has no dowry. Yet he evokes sweet memories and deep emotions and a heart-wrenching dilemma—Can she keep her father from issuing the challenge that will leave one of the men she loves dead?