Caelum Valen, the youngest Commander in Valedrin’s history, returns home victorious and is celebrated like a prince. But the arrival of Princess Nyara Elandor—fresh from her studies in Kael’rath, the southern realm—reawakens feelings he believed long buried. Bound by duty, Caelum is assigned as her escort to Cravharn, the northern realm, on official business. Their journey uncovers an old grudge and a hidden betrayal that places not only their lives in danger, but the stability of Valedrin itself.