Torina Archelda had never known life beyond the kingdom of Archeld. Though raised more by her genteel mother, Queen Dreea, it is her father's adventurous impulses that she has inherited.
Click here to see the rest of this review...
When next King Karreed returns from battle, he brings with him two gifts that will change Torina's life, and the lives of those around her. One is a crystal ball that shows her visions, visions of the past and of the future. The other gift, far greater even than the crystal, is a young prince from the plundered land of Bellandra.
Karreed had thought to break the boy's morale, giving him as a slave to the princess Torina, but she would not accept the unwilling servitude of another, and so, gives Landen freedom.
Having no home to return to, Landen is raised as a fighter for Archeld, a fact that brings him much satisfaction, since with his new-found skills he might one day retake his beloved land. Seeing Torina's adventurous nature, Landen repays the princess's kindness by crafting a bow for her, and teaching her all that he knows of archery.
Years pass, and a deep bond is formed between the two. But a plot to assassinate Karreed brings misfortune to both Landen and Torina, and Landen must flee from the wild accusations made by his former friends.
As a new King is crowned in Archeld, the princess Torina disappears, and her father's murderer stages her death, bringing great sorrow to the kingdom of Archeld, and to the man who once loved her. Far far away, Landen has formed a new identitiy for himself, as the warrior and master-thief Bellanes. With his heart torn by guilt and sorrow, Landen tries to forget Torina, lending his aid to the High-King Dahmis to help recover an item stolen from Bellandra.
But what he does not know is that Torina, too, is assisting Dahmis, all the while pleading with her crystal ball to show her an image of Landen so that she might find him.
The review of this Book prepared by Kara A. Marais
Princess Torina's father is a warrior, who wishes to extend the realm of his kingdom. He fights the neighbouring kingdom, killing the king and taking the kings son Landen captive, he gives Landen to Torina as a slave but she sets him free, and a bond is formed between them.
The review of this Book prepared by Imogene Ashton
