Can Two Hearts Bond a Galaxy Apart? "I've come for you." With those words, Rhyel of New Centallus changes Dr. Amber Donovan's life forever. Their home world destroyed, Rhyel, six Elders, and the predominately male crew of his interstellar ship, Novaria, are the only survivors of their species. Their assailants demanded the sacred artifact known as the Acqeli. Rhyel is charged with its protection. Generations of Elders have guarded the black crystal, a translation stone capable of unlocking terrible secrets etched on the temple walls of a dead planet. To protect the Acqeli, the Centallians must colonize an uninhabited world and rebuild their race. The men barter for brides from Earth's third world countries. But they cannot trade for the woman who is key to the colony's survival. Rhyel may be forced to compromise his honor to obtain her. Light years from the new colony, Amber is plagued by dreams of world devastation, of the death of a stranger she calls Mother. In the aftermath of a particularly troubling dream, she discovers a man in her room-Rhyel. Like the dark incarnation of an unrelenting primitive god, his eyes burn with an intensity of purpose that terrifies her. All she wants is to go home, but she finds herself caught up in the life and death struggles of the young colony. All he wants is her, but the circumstances that draw them together must also keep them apart. Ultimately, the bond they share cannot be denied. Bound by love, they face the challenges of a new life and a new world.