Laela Redguard was born with the black hair of the Northern kingdom and the blue eyes of the Southern people, forever marking her as a hated half-breed child of both. When her only family tie is severed, the fierce and strong-willed Laela decides to leave her adoptive father's home in the hopes of finding acceptance in the North, where the ruthless King Arenadd and the dark griffin Skandar rule. While Laela's Northern features allow her to blend into the crowds of the King's seat at Malvern, she cannot avoid falling victim to a pair of common thugs. When a stranger saves her life and gives her a place to stay, Laela is shocked to learn he is Arenadd himself-a man said to be a murderer who sold his soul to the Night God-the King without a heart. Arenadd is unsure what compels him to help this girl, but there is something about her that seems familiar, something he cannot remember-something that may rise up to banish the darkness forever…