Several weeks ago Emmerich saved the royal family—but at great cost to himself. He keeps going into trances and wandering off, and the problem is getting worse. If they don't figure out a solution soon, whatever's wrong will kill him. As if that's not enough, the person stuck babysitting him is a man he desperately wishes had wanted him for more than one night. Pearce is at his wits end trying to save the man he cares about. Nothing he tries helps for more than a moment, and each time Emmerich falls asleep and slips into a trance, bringing him back out requires greater and greater magic—if the trance doesn't kill him first, waking him most certainly will.