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A common childhood fantasy is to dream about one day finding out that you are royalty in disguise. Perhaps you were accidentally switched at birth with a commoner, or maybe your parents have been hiding you all of these years from enemies until just the right moment to restore you to your rightful throne. The details vary with the dreamer, but at the core of the fantasy is the desire to rise above the humdrum of daily existence and to be someone the world will see as special. But discovering you are of royal lineage does not necessarily guarantee an easy life, a point that O'Connor repeatedly makes clear in her new novel.
At the beginning of this second book in the series, the reader finds Darrak, heir to the throne of his ancestors, in rusty shackles, weak, starving, and almost wishing for the painful yet hopefully swift death he imagines the wolf he hears in the distance will bring him. Yet his destiny is not to be a lupine late night snack as he is soon rescued by friends he had feared were dead. After some welcome rest, good food, and magical healing he is ready to continue his quest to stop The Organization and save both Earth and Dragonath from their destruction by Halla magic. However, the rise of an ancient, more powerful enemy and the withdrawal of two trusted companions may make that goal impossible to reach, despite the addition of a dragon on his side.
Like other fantasy writers such as Robert Jordan and George R.R. Martin, O'Connor fills her tale with a healthy dose of interpersonal conflicts as well as warfare. The result is an interesting blend of romance, despair, and fantasy that should please her fans and gain her new ones.