In life, some people matter more than others: A father, a mother, a brother, even a friend. Everyone else is simply… not important.

Spurned by life and burdened by fear of loss, Merlin Lynwood has one goal: to keep her brother safe. As a powerful healer and experienced herbalist, nothing should be easier. But as life has taught her, protecting those she loves is never simple. When war breaks out between the humans, her beloved brother is called off to protect the kingdom of the Sher Wood, the Land of the Myths. Unable to stop his departure, she makes a vow which binds her future to his own.

Left waiting for the opportunity to fulfill that promise, Merlin receives an incontestable “no” that calls all her plans into question. As she reels from the news, she encounters a knight whose proposition is too grand to ignore, but too absurd to convince her.

Could she really end the war?

Danger builds as she travels northward, thrown into the path of those willing to take everything she holds dear. They chase not only after her safety, but after the core of her heart as well. As she’s forced to weigh her priorities, Merlin must find what matters most in the end, before nothing but ash remains.