"4.5 Stars...A wonderful, encompassing fantasy. Michelle Levigne has done a wonderful job of showing us the land of Bainevah and its surrounding neighbors. This land is very complex with all the magic and religious beliefs, but the story never bogs down in details. The characters are all richly portrayed and we feel right along with them, from Challen’s time in the Sanctum, to the complex emotions between Elzan and his mother and father...Pulled me in from the very first page and kept reading right up until the satisfying conclusion. I can’t wait for the next story in this series. I just hope it’s Asha’s story!"—Chere, The Romance Studio

"5 Unicorns...This is one of those rare epic books whose author’s skill is enough to recreate his/her vision for the reader. Its appeal is more mainstream than most romance novels, while the story of Challen and Elzan is an important part of the plot, the storyline Ms. Levigne has for the Bainevah books very much plays through....Truly is a masterpiece!"—Raven, Enchanted in Romance

The wounded man had no shadow.

Challen paused in the tower doorway and stared out into the sun-hot daylight, positive she had been mistaken. Mackal, her father's apprentice, knelt on the hot stones of the courtyard, tending to the wounded stranger. He dusted healing powder into the bronze basin, dipped up hot water from the kettle always steaming over the coals in the courtyard firepit, and carried the basin to the man. He had come in only five, maybe ten minutes ago, saying his horse threw him as he rode into the trading village at the Oasis of Benetheer.

The stranger's desert robes were dusty, clinging to him with sweat, worn from travel-and who traveled the desert in the middle of the day, in the hottest part of summer, just after solstice? He was alone, and only fools and madmen traveled alone.