Ela has come to accept the role life has dealt her as the true Xylem—a descendant of an ancient race of women whose legend says only one progeny every hundred years or more will have the powers needed to face nature's magical enemies.
This second book in the Heartwood series continues to weave legend and magic into reality as the world's ecosystem is threatened by supernatural demons. Elathea already destroyed one demon, but now Heartwood is needed in Pennsylvania where another battle is about to begin. The demon she must face cracks the earth and is building up his power with each fracture he creates. Ela must find out what and where his final, total annihilation will be.
However, the battle is not just with a demon. She must also fight the one building within herself. She grapples with the ancient race who has claimed her as their true Xylem. They need her. They need her power. After all, when Mother Nature needs help there is nothing more dangerous than a girl with a weapon. But they question her and her abilities, and because of it, she begins to doubt herself and question the decisions she makes.
For Ela, everything is changing, and the fractures are growing.
Will she be able to find the power to defeat the demon? Are the demands being placed upon her wearing her down? Only Tavon, the Amaranth Ranger whose birth right is to protect the true Xylem believes in her. But he worries too. Will the power within her and the need to protect the natural world consume her fracturing her very essence?