A boy who does not belong.

A wizard who would show him the world.

Aljana is the City of Heaven, an oasis in an impassible desert ruled by an emperor who despises magic and the nonhuman races.

The orphaned Callum has lived on the streets of this city for as long as he can remember, under the thumb of a woman who controls the city's urchins like a cruel master of puppets. He has always dreamed of escaping the repressive Aljana and becoming more than a child of inconvenience.

Willow is a man of secrets and plots, with a name known by few and spoken by none. He seeks the truth of this world, for knowledge that is forbidden is the key to powers untold.

These two will enter a contract that binds them together, a destiny that will unseal a legacy that traces itself back one hundred thousand years, to the bedchamber of a dying king and his Starlight Queen.