The Great-granddaughter fourteen times removed of Neptune, Selatial has only one desire...to escape this Heavenly Hell. What she has little care for, or any sustaining temperament for, is to have a man she does not know push her into it.Nine years she's suffered as the chosen of Vance, and then his demanding twin. She's tough. She's found the strength to survive. Now, she is at the mercy of another--and this one is human! Of all the wretched things to get past. A human telling her what to do? Although forced to share her darkest secrets, he is not that free with sharing his. Yet, something about him tells her to trust him with her life.Bond, a Kairos descendant, has loved the winged beast Selatial from afar. Yet, he's never come out of the woods, never shown his face at the Council House...until suddenly forced into it. Judge, new ruler of the realm, demands he be her teacher. Bond can't teach a woman who is unwilling to learn or behave. Then again, her name carved into his flesh, the wounds new and the agony unjust, reminds him who is the Master and who he must obey. If he does not do what Judge demands, it's off with his head. Can he escape that kind of destiny?One moment with fate's hand at her back, Selatial must do what Bond says. One moment of insanity pushing away his fears, Bond must now do what his soul demands. If not for her, then for his twin, the brother no one knows about...and never will.