Desert Sacrifice

Once a thriving, wealthy land, the desert empire Egybirael has fallen into ruin. Year after year, an aging and weary population clings to two symbols of hope -- the golden light that shines through their Faroah, and the pounding rains that fill the Nile to overflowing.

As the newest Season of the Inundation nears its peak and the Faroah's people rejoice in the promise of renewal, one man dreads the coming storm.

He is Ven al-Venu, the Sun God's voice and the Faroah's poet, a necromancer bred to work the dark magic of resurrection. When the Nile swells with rain and the Faroah succumbs to death, Ven will sacrifice one life to preserve another…except he has taken a vow of silence and refuses to speak the magic again.

When the Faroah’s priests choose half-human acolyte Sesha ne'Hephara and assign her the task of seducing Ven back to his duty, she bares herself to him, body and soul. Only by sacrificing her own life can she preserve the peace of an empire and the heart of a man she cannot help but love.

*Previously available as "His Dark Magic"*