The firstborn children of the Fyne witches have finally come into their own, each with a special gift... Independent Ariana Kane Varden, daughter of the Sun Witch, has never let family duty keep her from reaching her dreams. She learned the practice of her gift, the power to heal others, at her mother's knee. And now she is the Palace healer, tending to her emperor... The last prophecy of magician Sian Chamblyn's late grandfather points to Ariana as the one to save Columbyana from a growing evil. Sian has hightailed it from lands afar to deliver the message. When he must prepare her for the fight of her life, Sian intends to remain undistracted by his sensuously beautiful protŽgŽe. But in the heat of battle-and passion-diligence might be his downfall...