Eleanor, a hybrid elf, wishes she didn't want Erick. If only he didn't feel so good. But he's broken and can't see her as his fated one. She knows he'll hurt her and she hates him for it. She'd escape to Gildon if she had the spells to survive the bitter cold mountain pass. King Frederick (Erick) of Biston can see only what he lost in the war, not what's left. But when Eleanor Borona sways her hips back into his life, all grown up and emitting her come-kiss-me perfume, everything really goes to hell. Erick can't stop himself from touching her electrifying body. He shouldn't feel this way. She shouldn't be the one who can lift his curse. If the seemingly fickle hybrid doesn't end him with her magic, her father, Henry, will run him through -- or worse, abandon him. Henry had won Erick the throne and keeps the cursed crown on his head. And then a night at the masquerade threatens to turn their whole world upside down.