Caelarion Aryndir Sylverin is an average, unimportant young elven prince who prefers sitting in the forest and taming wolves to learning the structures and rules of the elves’ governing system. Cael is happy with his peaceful life, until one day when that peace is utterly and cruelly shattered.
Cael never imagined that he would be hunted. Not for who he was, but for the quiet magic he possessed. Magic that was powerful enough to destroy if used by the wrong people.
Cael had never met a human before. He didn’t realise they were so ruthless, until the day that human scouts found him alone in the woods. They capture him, drag him back to their city, and throw him in a dungeon.
They’ve never met an elf either. But they know this much: Elves are allies with the brutal Veyari, the winged people, and won’t hesitate to help their allies by calling on their magical powers to help destroy the whole human race.
Trapped in an underground cell, away from any kind of light or life, and surrounded by iron which can be toxic to elves, Cael only wishes to get back to his people, even if that means he can never leave the safety of the elven borders again.
Rowan, the jailor’s son, quickly befriends the elf and realizes he needs to get his friend out of the prison. One night, Rowan slips into the dungeon, and unlocks Cael’s cell. He decides to do the same to a quiet Veyari named Talon, one of the other prisoners. Talon pushes Rowan against the wall, with the words “You probably just made the worst mistake of your life. You two are coming back with me to my clan. Don’t make a sound – you’ll regret it.”
Moving quickly and with brutal efficiency, Talon takes an iron collar from a hook on the wall and fastens it around Cael’s neck, knowing full well that the iron will make it impossible for the elf to use his magic, and that it will also slowly drain the life out of him.
Talon takes them into the forest, and forces them to keep going, at a pace neither Cael nor Rowan can hope to match. Finally, after many long days of exhausting travel, Cael and Rowan manage to escape Talon’s ruthless control.
Now, they’re on their own. Both the Veyari and the humans are hunting Cael, because they want to use his magic to destroy their enemies. Rowan is a stranger to the wilderness of the forest, and the iron collar is draining Cael’s strength quickly. Now the two friends are fighting for their lives in the forest – battling nature, fleeing from their pursuers, and trying desperately to figure out how to remove Cael’s collar.
If they slow down, they’ll be captured. And if Rowan can’t figure out a way to get Cael’s collar off… he’ll lose his elven friend to the cold poison of the iron.