When desire bites, there's no patience for a slow burn. While all seems quiet in Gladium Province, the Morgon Guard--the global justice force for the dragon hybrid race--knows their enemy is rebuilding its forces in the underground. Valla Moonring, an assassin for the Order of the Morgon Guard, is ordered on a mission into the Wastelands of Aria--a formidable, icy wilderness fraught with all manner of dangers, including outlaws, deadly weather, and big-game predators. To her great distaste, she's partnered with a Nightwing Security operative, Conn Rowanflame, a Morgon with the aggravating ability to get under her skin. While she takes her mission seriously, Conn's confident charm throws her off balance, a dangerous place to be in conditions like these. Especially when cold nights require close contact. Sensual attraction binds them ever closer, igniting a passion of unexpected force--the soulfire. But when the hunters become the hunted, their bond could prove perilous. Even fatal...