Marrula Tamara, once Empress of Worlds, has been exiled for treachery to a planet called Strand. She has one great treasure: the engineered horse Raj’azul. In his blood lies the secret of her immortality…and the seed of her downfall.

As her fellow exiles form a primitive society, centuries pass while Marrula schemes revenge. She needs three things: Raj’azul’s blood, the time-twisting mind of her own great-granddaughter, and the utter ruthlessness to use them both. But when her rebellious slave Warrek realizes Marrula is about to destroy a world to save herself, he steals the horse and vanishes into the wild mountain territories. He must remain free long enough to kill the innocent girl and thwart Marrula’s plan.

But in remote Tarlannat Hold he finds a woman even more beautiful and ruthless than Marrula…the doomed girl’s mother, Kael. And Kael knows what is at stake.

If these three women’s rogue Talents meld, time itself will be unwound and the universe destroyed. Warrek must join forces with the one man who truly despises him and battle his way to the center of the coming time storm. Together, these two pawns might succeed in toppling a Queen….

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