**New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop returns to the world
of her Black Jewels Trilogy with a prequel that follows a man who is
determined to rebel against the course set before him...
**
Jared is a Red-Jeweled Warlord bound as a pleasure slave by the Ring of
Obedience. After suffering nine years of torment as a slave, he murdered
his owner and escaped--only to be caught and sold into slavery once
again.
Purchased by a notorious queen, Jared fears he will share the mysterious
fate of her other slaves--never to be seen again--and so prepares
himself for death. But the Gray Lady may not be what she seems and Jared
soon faces a difficult decision: his freedom, or his honor...