By all outward appearances, among a religious community, Eliana's marriage to Jabez is good and righteous. But behind closed doors, it is harsh and stripped of joy—and few know the truth. Her husband, a leader of their worship temple, upstanding to his followers, treats her like an insignificant bug; at the same time, demands her attention while isolating her from others. A trapped, desperate, and lonely woman, Eliana cries out to El Roi, the God who sees. As the circus of days has turned into years, the petition of her lips continues to pour out from the secret chambers of her crushed heart. Hailing from a family of healers, the irony of her wounds nearly destroys her. She struggles to remember who she once was, her essence buried and unreachable.
As evil arises from the underground in blows of destruction to her people by the Darkolls—a race descended from dark elves and trolls—Eliana thinks she understands the violent history of the savage species. Until she's confronted by a Darkoll with an agenda. Eliana is weary of gruff males, yet that seems to be what she attracts: the cruel and manipulative ones who want to conquer the gentlehearted. She fears for her wellbeing, what little of it she has left.
With the Darkoll's eyes fixed on Eliana, she begins to see there is something deeper to him than what lurks in his ancient gaze; his heart speaks, too. And it comes in the gentle hush of a melody, carried by ravens and a prayer stone, telling her he's more than a strong-arm with a tainted past. That maybe El Roi has a purpose beyond what either of them could fathom, and it begins with the healing nature of something so very simple. Hope.
Choices make destinies. Destinies can also change.
