Cheated out of freedom and destined for lifetime servitude, gladiator and sex slave Moro Dalgleish escapes from a brutal arena. Valier Antonin, a lonely student, is tormented by sadomasochistic urges he's forbidden to indulge. When the two men meet on the skyscraper roof where Moro plans to commit suicide, Valier offers a bargain. Sex with Valier will infect Moro with the sentient symbiont endemic in Valier's part-human race, with death the likely result.

As one of the infection's rare survivors, Moro learns he is now a free Camalian citizen. He's also effectively married to Valier, crown prince of the Camalian Commonwealth. Expecting a shallow encounter with a doomed slave, Valier learns Moro is his Knife, the mate who can stabilize Valier's undisciplined mind, slake his darkest lusts, and make him fit to rule.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: BDSM theme and elements, dubious consent, male/male sexual practices, rape, violence. While primarily an m/m story, it contains scenes involving m/f sexual interaction.

Readers with a history of rape or sexual abuse may find elements of this story disturbing.