My Dearest Reader, When you hear my story, perhaps you will think me a man unable to control his own hungers...his own temptations. But I warn you that I am no such thing. I am simply a man who knows what he wants, and what he can't live without. It is only fair to tell you that my clan is one descended from magic. I have learned these powers are both a blessing and a curse-for the magic that flows through my blood controls my fate utterly and completely. When I first saw the beautiful Loris, I knew she was my unoliaeth, my oneness, the woman I am destined to unite with for all eternity. At that moment, I allowed my passion to lead me to do the unthinkable: I employed a forbidden magic to win Loris's heart. How did I know that my error would lead to a black curse that still haunts me today? How could I have known that the curse would irrevocably cast Loris' affection for me to another man? Now I am left to ponder how I might win Loris back-black curse be damned. I believe there must be a way. For while it is the darkest realms of magic that keeps Loris from becoming mine, there is another power at play: the undying, unending love of one man for one woman. And I pray that in the end, that will be enough... Your obedient servant, Kian Seymour , Castle Tylluan, London

SUSAN SPENCER PAUL, who also writes under the name Mary Spencer, lives in Southern California with her husband, three daughters, and an assortment of over-domesticated pets. She is the author of eighteen historical novels set in a variety of time periods, from medieval to Regency to turn-of-the-century America.