Summary
Aisha Byrd has always lived in the shadow of her celebrated mother, convinced that her unusual healing gift is hardly magic at all. When war reaches her quiet hometown and a darkfolk bride raid tears her from her family, she is rescued by an enormous gray wolf—unaware that her silent protector is Les Wolf, a renowned beastfolk major general trapped by secrets, diplomacy, and his own hopeless inability to confess his feelings. Their bond follows Aisha to Wold, the Heart of the World, where she enters the Tower of Magic and begins studying under the brilliant but difficult Eric Green. As Aisha discovers the extraordinary potential of her innate magic, Les attempts to court her in two different forms without revealing that both belong to the same man. Between magical examinations, political tensions, old regrets, and increasingly awkward encounters, a gentle healer and a very foolish wolf slowly learn to step out of other people’s shadows.