"Am I to understand," Ran Corbin continued, "that my orders were not carried out?" "Yes, sir—no, sir. That is, until the bodies were actually counted, the child was not missed." "You will find her, Captain, and soon...or your name will replace hers on the list of casualties." With the full weight of the supreme military commander of Dynt on her trail, five-year-old Coryelle Foxxe was doomed to slaughter. Her one hope for survival, the legendary rebel leader Eban Foxxe, was Corbin's bitter enemy and as difficult to find as the creature whose name he bore, but miracles happen. A slave's kindness changes both their lives and sets them on a path full of danger, pursued through spaceports, outlying planets and forest wilderness by a ruthless mercenary, each choice a slim path between life and death. And they just might be the pivot point of the kingdom's deliverance . . .