Publisher's Synopsis
Prince Coren is heir to a meager fortune with a potential he cannot see. His father died a young man and Coren fears he, too, will not live to know old age. Though he is content to finish his short life utterly unnoticed in the cold, isolated, and desolate Stanovoy Mountains, strangers have come to invade his lands and their sole purpose?conquest. The Neferkermet, the Sakai, and the Cherneshev, mysterious and powerful families, discover that there is much to gain from the death of the sickly Prince Coren and scheme to obtain his riches. Russia is on the verge of civil unrest, her citizens whisper revolution, yet a private war has already begun between the plotters and interlopers with Prince Coren trapped at the center. Still, within the storm of greed and intrigue an unexpected, heretical romance trickles to the surface. Lines are drawn, deceptions ensue, alliances are made, and Prince Coren says: Let the battles begin! Life is a gamble, love is a risk, and the world will not wait for idle bystanders. Prince Coren fears he will die a young man but he will make his life an adventure unlike any adventure man has ever lived! the flame that burns shortest, burns brightest, burns fiercest.? ?Theon.
