To save her sister’s life, Faris must smuggle magic into a plague-ridden neighboring kingdom in this exciting and dangerous start to a brand-new fantasy duology. Faris grew up fighting to survive in the slums of Brindaigel while caring for her sister, Cadence. But when Cadence is caught trying to flee the kingdom and is sold into slavery, Faris reluctantly agrees to a lucrative scheme to buy her back, inadvertently binding herself to the power-hungry Princess Bryn, who wants to steal her father’s throne. Now Faris must smuggle stolen magic into neighboring Avinea to incite its prince to alliance—magic that addicts in the war-torn country can sense in her blood and can steal with a touch. She and Bryn turn to a handsome traveling magician, North, who offers protection from Avinea’s many dangers, but he cannot save Faris from Bryn’s cruelty as she leverages Cadence’s freedom to force Faris to do anything—or kill anyone—she asks. Yet Faris is as fierce as Bryn, and even as she finds herself falling for North, she develops schemes of her own. With the fate of kingdoms at stake, Faris, Bryn, and North maneuver through a dangerous game of magical and political machinations, where lives can be destroyed—or saved—with only a touch.

In this exciting follow-up to Shimmer and Burn, Faris has given up love to save her sister’s life and the dying kingdom of Avinea, but will her sacrifices be enough to overcome the poisoned magic and villains surrounding her on all sides? The fight is just beginning. Faris has been forced to give up the man she loves for a dangerous but necessary alliance. Her loyalty is bound by magic to his future bride, the villainous Bryn. And her mother’s powerful spell that could be the key to saving Avinea fights with poisoned magic for control of her heart. None of that matters though because everything Faris has done has been for Cadence, the little sister she’s been trying to rescue from the king’s slavery. Now they’re finally reunited, but Cadence has a gut-wrenching confession: she remembers everything from while she was under the king’s enchantment. She wants nothing to do with Faris. Heartbroken, Faris focuses on tracking Merlock, the king who must be killed to stop The Burn, by manipulating her mother’s spell through her dreams. Before long though, Faris realizes these aren’t normal dreams, they might just be real, and they may show her a way to kill Merlock herself. But there are things darker than poison that lie in The Burn, and not even the spell deep in Faris’s chest can stop them. Faris will again be faced with impossible choices. Does she risk everything to save Avinea, even if she might lose North and further betray her sister’s trust? Or does she succumb to the poison inside that begs her to think this time, finally, of herself?

There will be no peace, not even for the people of Espar. The people have suffered long enough under the reign of squabbling princes. Prince Tohmas of Galanth has the perfect solution: supersede the Princes with a King. With the blessing of his Goddess Inac and the strength of the enchanted sword SoulBurner, he will be that King. While half of Espar pledges allegiance, the other half declares war. Tohmas’ eyes turn to his greatest opposition, the Princedom of Trulin, where Prince Kelland is readying his majestic warhorses for battle. Victory in Trulin will only come with persistence and faith, but Inac’s favor is becoming fickle. Without Inac, SoulBurner is nothing, and Tohmas’ claim to Espar cannot be upheld. As magic powers collide and dragons take to the skies, Tohmas faces a threat his training and years of experience in war are useless against: Prince Kelland’s daughter Arnika Trulin.

The river was in high tide and the footprints of the Yadavas were more or less washed away. Big waves came rushing to the shore and wiped away some more footprints Suddenly Rukmini discovered a familiar footprint and sat beside it . Her eyes brimmed over with tears . These were the footprints her hair locks drooped over when she knelt at her Lord's feet every morning . These were the footprints she worshipped with chandan . the footprints of her Lord of Sri Krishna ! They were deeply immersed in the sand. the impression engraved in the sand was filled with water. Rukmini's streaming tears were making an offering in the water-filled footprints. Daruk arrived and stood beside her . He looked startled. He could not believe how the footprints filled to the brim with water could contain Rukmini's tears without spilling over. What was further surprising was that not a single tear had dropped out of the carved footprint .

In his third book of poetry, Vijay presents a collection of poems that draw on his childhood and life experiences. Vijay's writings often focus on finding and meditating on beauty in the present moments, while simultaneously taking comfort in the eternity of being. Although his poems cover the deeper topics of life, death, love, and human existence, you will fi nd them to be uplifting and idealistic, with meaningful spiritual undertones. His writings are profoundly influenced by his strong connections to family, friends, nature, and God.