The walled town of Murrin Mere is suffering under siege. A young prince Auri turns to his tutor for guidance. The tutor, a Magus called Sterling, says they can use blood magic to defend the town. Sterling thinks only pain will feed his powers, by Auri thinks that other sensations might serve in its place, and in the privacy of the Magus' tower, he takes the opportunity to prove it. Together they must fight enemies and find allies to somehow survive the inevitable attack, but these two are increasingly hard to tell apart and the two lovers find it almost impossible even to trust each other. Auri and Sterling are unavoidably separated by their promises and their obligations to others. After everything that they have achieved together, will the last thing they have to sacrifice be love? Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: male/male sexual practices.