Book excerpt: Meghianna was chosen as the next Queen of Snows before she was born. Megassa, her sister, should never have been born. Mrillis watches both daughters of the Warhawk as they grow up and choose the paths of their lives. They could be part of the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Three Drops of Blood-but which one will wait, and which one will abominate? The choices the sisters and their teachers make could affect the destiny of the World for centuries to come.