Experience a connection that defies death in this captivating novel in Christine Feehan''s No. 1 New York Times bestselling Carpathian series.

Safia Meziane has trained since birth to protect her tribe, the family she holds so dear. All along she told herself the legends she was raised with were simply that. But now, she must call upon all of her skills to fight what lies ahead. Evil has come to their small town on the coast of Algeria, evil that Safia can feel but cannot see.

She is terrified she will not be able to protect the ones she loves. As her family''s ''chosen one'', she has always believed she would face this task alone - until her family reveals she has been promised to a warrior who will join her. An outsider. A Carpathian . . .

Petru Cioban is one of the oldest Carpathians in existence, and he has spent all that time without the soothing presence of his lifemate. For two thousand years he has waited for this woman to be reborn, only to find her in the sights of a monster he has fought before, a vampire risen again to finish a battle started centuries ago.

Now, Petru must face his greatest enemy and his greatest shame. He has no hope that Safia will forgive his betrayal once the memories of her past life return to her. But he will not make the same mistake again, even if he has to sacrifice everything for the woman who has claimed his immortal soul.

Praise for Christine Feehan:

''After Bram Stoker, Anne Rice and Joss Whedon, Christine Feehan is the person most credited with popularizing the neck gripper'' Time

''Feehan has a knack for bringing vampiric Carpathians to vivid, virile life in her Dark Carpathian novels'' Publishers Weekly

''The erotic, gripping series that''s defined an entire genre! Must reading that always satisfies!'' J.R. Ward