Raffin was a half breed: half Raffulan and half human, living on Earth.. He had to hide himself from the outside world because he looked nothing like a human. He had charcoal colored skin, dark hair, blood red eyes, and clawed fingers. Although his father was Raffulan, they did not share the same traits. The red eyes and the claws that extended, holding an infection within them, had only ever belonged to one other and that was Salcon. He had turned evil and craved power. But he had been destroyed long ago. Unfortunately, Raffin had to struggle every day with wanting the life force of others. That energy called to him and he could easily take it, killing the person he took it from. Raffin also had to deal with nightmares every single night. They were dreams of war, torture, and murder. Dreams seen through the eyes of Salcon himself. When Raffin started his last year of high school, he was also starting a new school. Because of what he and his dad were, their family moved around a lot. His mother wanted him to have more of a normal life and make friends. It wasn't about the actual learning process. Raffin was far ahead of everyone at school, including the teachers. Most humans had no idea how many other worlds there were out there and that some of their inhabitants lived on Earth.
And then there was Ari. They both tumbled into each other on the running track at school and she had stuck to him like glue. He just couldn't shake this girl. And the more time they spent together, the less he really wanted to. Turns out that Ari isn't really human either. She is a half breed as well, but has never shown any signs of being anything other than human. But one fateful day just the two of them hit the beach and end up marking each other as mates. They were meant to be together. The bad news? Ari's less human side finally shows and she is a Nave, basically enemies of the Raffulan. And not just any Nave, she is an heir to the throne on Navea. As if it isn't bad enough that he wants her life force because she is the perfect source of energy to Raffin, he also finds out that his father is Salcon.
Raffin, Ari, and their families take a necessary journey to Navea where circumstances force Raffin and Ari to complete their bond. Their life forces now combined, Raffin can contain his want of Ari's energy. But he has much bigger problems. His biggest enemy is himself. Raffin is battling within himself to not become his father. With the help of Ari and her family, he is slowly beginning to realize that there is good within himself. If he is going to be the man that Ari needs him to be, he must tame the black beast within.
The hardest struggle most of us have is within ourselves. The world around us could be burning down and it would still pale in comparison to the war within ourselves. This was the world of Raffin Tys. His actual father had been a mad man and he had been raised with the lie that the man who lived with him was his real father. This man had loved him like a father, but even he never knew that Raffin was Salcon's son. In fact, hardly anyone knew that Salcon even had a son. With the nightly torture of watching Salcon killing and laying waste in his dreams, it made Raffin wonder just how bad he was going to become. He never wanted to be like that. But during the book Raffin is forced into a series of very uncomfortable circumstances that makes everyone around him confident that he will be a great (and good) man, but Raffin is still not very convinced. If nothing else, he must become the man he needs to be for Ari and their future children. Excellent book! Can't wait to see what challenges are ahead for Raffin and Ari!
*image via Nicole Camp
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