Imriel, is third in line to the throne and a troubled scion of a dangerous bloodline. In an effort to unite two lands he has been betrothed to Dorelei, an Alban princess, so he may beget future rulers of Alba. Yet he cannot escape the illicit and dark passion he feels for Sidonie, queen-in-waiting of his homeland - and this will be used against him.
When Dorelei and her unborn son are betrayed and he is badly wounded, Imriel finds himself torn between his vow to avenge his wife and child and his desire to seek solace in Sidonie's arms. This is a battle Alba's elders would see him loose, even if they must employ sinister forces to accomplish their ends. And treason and magic make murderous bedfellows.
Review
"*Starred Review* Prince Imriel de la Courcel's parents were infamous traitors, and he was stolen and tortured as a child. Rescued and raised by Terre d'Ange's champions, Phedre and Joscelin, he's now third in line for the throne. He and the dauphine, Sidonie, have always been mutually cool, and then, when Sidonie is 16 and Imriel a little older, they suddenly see one another with new eyes. Both know that neither queen nor realm would approve their marriage, so Imriel agrees to wed Dorelei, the daughter of the Cruarch, to reinforce Terre d'Ange's alliance with Alba. But Alba's elders have foreseen what Imriel portends. Using his passion for Sidonie to bind him magically, they try to force him out. His sense of duty is strong, however, and surprisingly, he falls in love with Alba and with Dorelei. Treason and magic make murderous bedfellows, and when a shape-changing magician-bear savages nearly nine-months-pregnant Dorelei, Imriel swears vengeance—a vow that could kill him as well as his quarry. Carey brings Alba vividly alive again in another stunner in the Kushiel series. A multilayered plot and Imriel's complex inner life as he struggles with pain and loss in the present while trying to make peace with the past hook the reader but good." Booklist, Paula Luedtke
Author Biography
Jacqueline Carey's writing hobby became a career, inspired by 6 months spent in London working at a bookstore. She has degrees in psychology and English literature.
