"Marcus is tired of losing those he loves. The last shred of his childhood has been uprooted, and he feels alone... again. When the ruler's new policies take effect, the anger of the Rusalkan mountain king is unleashed upon the borderlands. With refugees streaming into Elira by the hundreds, the stories from the wall are horrific. Marcus joins a convoy to lend his medical skills to those in need at the Eliran border. What he finds there is about to change his life forever. Dilara's life as a slave in Rusalka was anything but idealistic. Consumed by a system designed to use, abuse, and discard the likes of her, she has been taken through the very depths. Carrying a traumatic secret and wounded in her frenzied escape, she finds herself with an unlikely protector and an even more confusing relationship. Can she traverse the waters of this new life of hers and make it her own? And can Marcus overcome his own deformities to find the one missing piece? Or will his life forever be marked by suffering and sacrifice?"--Back cover.