A Rose in the Desert

Prince Ethyrin is fourteen years old, and he is the last true heir to his kingdom’s throne. He is noble and brave, but naïve. When he is forced to flee from his uncle, the evil usurper King Artan, he thinks only that a grand adventure is opening up before him. But when he must leave his best friend behind, he begins to realize what exile might really mean.

Guided by a prophetic dream Ethyrin journeys across land and sea to Calimshaan, the fabled “City of Delights” in the vast deserts of the south. There he meets Nuara, a young woman who was kidnapped as a child and is now a slave in the house of one of Calimshaan’s merchant-lords. Proud and strong, but withering in her captivity, Nuara has only one dream left: to go home or to die trying.

Awestruck by her courage, and still on the run himself, Ethyrin resolves to help Nuara escape. Together they set off on a long and desperate journey. For Nuara’s homeland lies halfway across the world. To reach it they must face slave-trackers sent in pursuit, fierce nomads who wander the desert sands, and other perils even more deadly. They must also learn to learn to trust, and to love, one another. Alone they are doomed to fail. Only together can they find freedom and a new home.