Born into a world of ice, slave to her evil father, Lara Calladine knew paralysing fear as a child. Only by escaping with her mysterious gifts unbroken did she survive to claim her great Carpathian heritage as a Dragonseeker. She walked her chosen path alone, trusting no one. For beyond the frozen hall of her youth was a world of even greater mystery and danger. Now the world's leading expert in the field of ice-cave study, Lara is on a search for healing microorganisms, but also for the source of her nightmares - the cold, dark corners of her childhood. Only one man has the will and the power to help her: Nicolas De La Cruz. Dangerous and arrogant, centuries of hunting and killing have taken their toll on him but he still longs to feel sensual love without the hunger for blood. A tenuous trust emerges between Lara and Nicholas, and a passion neither of them has ever experienced but, as much as they long for a future as lifemates, they are also haunted by the unknown dangers of the dark curse.