However, as generations went by, the male heirs to the throne became intensely resentful of the prophecy that emasculated their claim to power. Finally Queen Agnalain took the throne and the people of Skala suffered under her erratic and selfish command. Prompted by the people's outcry over this mad queen, her son Prince Erius claimed primogeniture, and seized the throne. Erius's ascent may have pleased the people of Skala, but a faction of the population, one who had not forgotten the prophecy, were worried. Plague, drought and famine spread throughout the kingdom weakening it's defenses and offering easy pickings to Skala's old enemy and neighbor, Plenimar. As people start to recall the Oracle's prophecy, Erius begins to quietly kill of his female relatives who pose the only threat to his monarchy. and Iya has sinister plans for the babes...

As the only living child of Erius's dead sister, Prince Tobin is second in line to the Throne of Skala, but he is not what he seems. To protect him from the paranoid assassinations ordered by his uncle, the wizard Iya gave Tobin the appearance of his murdered twin brother at birth. But now, with the onset of puberty, Tobin has discovered his true identity - SHE the rightful heir to the throne.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction written and recorded by author Lynn Flewelling.