A rash act of defiance will thrust Shan into a high stakes competition with Onja, his lover, his queen.His compassion for a mere human starts his descent into a dangerous test that he is not prepared for. Then, his desire to be his own master drives him to continue. Shan feels his magic growing inside him. He sees the good that can be accomplished if only he can stop the vicious queen who has ruled over the rys and her human worshippers for centuries.Step into the epic world of the rys with this short story from the Rys World that inspired eight other fantasy novels by Tracy Falbe.