In the ruins of a once-grand noble estate, Lord Vethe Scarvian awakens with no recollection of how he survived mage fever. As he prepares to travel to Mayhaven to present an unwanted betrothal contract to a noblewoman he's never met, Vethe wonders what price he must eventually pay for the dark magic that saved his life. And he wonders if a certain lady guard would wish to see him again. Back in her family's guild, Lyria Guardia is haunted...