My heart has followed where my soul has led. Ke vo san, Ellysetta. I love you.

As the wedding date draws closer, and the relationship between Rain and Ellie is becoming more stronger by the day. Deep within Ellie is a powerful magic that is about to burst free, and even though Rain doesn't fully understand, he knows he must show her control so that accidents don't happen. Ellie is frightened of what is happening to her, and she doesn't have any idea on what she is fully capable of. In her mind she can hardly believe the this is real, she is just a humble woodcarvers daughter. But as her nightmares become stronger and more frightening, and certain truths are revealed of secrets of Rain, she becomes even more overwhelmed. She learns that there is a reason Rain was guided to her, and that she will help save the fey race. With the Mage becoming more deadly and stronger and threatening the borders of the Celerians, Rain knows that their time is running out, especially with the nobles of Celieran desiring to open the borders to a enemy, whose only desire is to destroy them all. There is a deeper darker secret of Ellie's parentage, and who she truly is and the power that she yields but lays undiscovered, a secret that could tear their connection apart. Only having faith and trust in each other will they have hope to defeat the enemy that is on their doorstep.

After I read the first book, I could barely contain my excitement to read the next book, so I went to the library and got the rest of the books in the series. The second book was a continuation of the first book. It starts off from the point that Lord of Fading Lands left off. I had heard before I started this series that the first two books kind of go hand in hand, and I definitely agree with that assessment. It almost felt like I hadn't started a new book. I found myself easily getting lost into the story just as I was able to with the first installment. We start to see more development into the relationship between Rain and Ellie. Rain begins to help Ellie reach out to the magic within in and teach her to slowly control it. It was interesting seeing another sub plot involving the fate of Ellie's parents (or I am assuming its her parents, and not wanting to reveal too much). There is also a sense of danger and peril that is easy to sense as you progress further into the story. We see the power of prejudices the people have toward magic, and how that makes Ellie doubt herself and her powers, and that she fears herself. I liked the take this author takes, and how Rain shows Ellie the beauty of the magic within her and surrounding her.

I had such a fun time seeing the bond between Rain and Ellie get stronger, gain a deeper understanding of both characters. The author digs a little deeper in the backgrounds of both, and you start to fall in love even more so with Rain and Ellie than the first book. Rain is having a harder time controlling the beat within him, wanting to claim his mate. Rain made a promise to Ellie and her father that he would wait until they were married, but it is starting to drive him crazy. You also see his devotion toward Ellie in the ways he tries to show her who she truly is and not what other would make her think of herself. Ellie is still the woodcarvers daughter, but with her powers getting stronger and she also gets stronger emotionally and you begin to see her inner strength become more bolder and I loved seeing her transformation and the beautiful relationship that is developing between Rain and Ellie. Overall I could help but find a emotionally driven epic of a love story that is exotic and enthralling! MAGNIFICENT!!!