Discovered as a baby, Orchid has lived her entire life in the service of the royal family. She has risen to the controversial rank of Second Attendant for the Crown Prince?which is as high as a woman with no pedigree can expect to climb. Having grown up together, she is closer to the Prince than many consider appropriate, but Orchid is ever aware of the insurmountable distance between them. Though they were allowed a friendship in their childhood, the love she has developed for the Crown Prince of Seyraka must stay locked in her heart.

Crown Prince Keion has struggled with his love for Orchid for as long as he can remember. His father has always maintained he must marry a woman of nobility, if not a neighboring princess. So he's kept what distance he could manage?a task made harder when Orchid became his personal attendant. Still, for her sake, he cannot cross the line propriety has put between them.

Then Orchid is selected to become a vessel for the Great Spirits, in hopes to bring relief from the kingdom's long drought. It's a death sentence, and one Keion cannot abide. No matter the cost.

But fleeing the palace is only a temporary solution, and a new problem arises when the spirits begin speaking to Orchid. They're no longer simply on the run, and somehow, Seyraka's fate hinges on Orchid and Keion's blossoming romance.