In the Fae realm of the Vail, Lady Dew Drop, known as Dewy, is late for a meeting at the Summer Court. Her aunt, Lady Radiant, Queen Regent of Summer, sends her to “water the marsh grasses” near the River Selden as punishment. After the deaths of her parents, Dewy acutely feels the constraints of being heir to the throne. Meanwhile, in the human kingdom of Telridge, Spense is a mage who’s struggling to get his spells right. He’s the unrecognized biological son of Lord Ferrous and half brother to the older Dirk, a noble and military commander. When Lord Ferrous learns that war with a neighboring land is imminent, he asks Spense to use a Claiming spell to protect the bridge at the River Selden. The young man succeeds at doing so, but he also accidentally catches Dewy in his thrall. She becomes infatuated with him, which leads to her banishment from the Summer Court. Spense feels terrible that his spell is making Dewy compulsively obey him, and he’s determined to reverse it. At the same ...