Cianan ta Daneal was the Champion of the Lady of the Light, and she has been giving him dark dreams of a beautiful lady that will die a horrid death if he is not there to prevent it. The lady in danger is his promised mate. All he knows is what she looks like and that she will fall in the northern land of Shamar, so that is where he goes together with his compaion, Kikeona, an Elven Warstead with telepathic abilites He is suprised at the unease between the normadic Shamaru and the city dewelling Shamari.  It is almost outright hatred and prejudice. Maleta is Hedda's Own because of losing her family to a great evil, so now she dispenses justice by Hedda's Sword. As she cleans up the land she looks for the Black Wolf, the one she was told killed her family. When she finally finds him, the discovers he is not the murderer she thought him to be, so she does not kill him, causing Hedda to take over her body and soul. Hedda takes up the rallying cry to bring the land together to rid it over its evil queen - Sunniva. Working together can Maleta and Cianan defeat the queen? Can they get back Maleta's lands and her brother? Can Maleta keep to the light or will Hedda force her to step over the line to keep the balance? Can Maleta ever get her soul back from the Gray Goddess?

A well crafted story that pulls you into Ms. Wildes' world very quickly. Cianan and Maleta are two strong heroes with chemistry from the first time they meet, but their main conflict does not come from the physical, but from Hedda, the Gray Goddess who holds Maleta's soul. Being Hedda's Own and her judge and jury doesn't leave time for a love life in a land torn apart by war. As Ms. Wildes weaves them into her wide cast of characters peopling this land, and they all come to life and bring the tapestry of this story to vivid detail without a missing thread. This is a tale of love so deep it draws together friendships, overcomes conflict, heals a land torn apart by war and defies a goddess. I throughly enjoyed this book which took me through the full array of emotions. I look forward to the next installment in this series, although the book does stand alone quiet well. I happily rate this book 4.5 wings.