The Opal and the Onyx

Honor and dignity are paramount virtues to the Zareli People, and in one terrifying night, a sheltered young noblewoman finds herself stripped of both. After her father is convicted and executed, Rakell is alone and without guidance for the first time in her life; woefully unprepared for the world outside of the ruling class she was born into. Although innocent of any crime, Rakell bears the burden of guilt simply for being the last surviving member of her clan. To save herself from ex-communication and banishment, a fate the Zareli consider worse than death, Rakell accepts a sentence of indentured servitude. While she naively bows to what she thinks is the will of her god, the scheming priests of the theocracy smile behind their pious masks, all the while planning to use Rakell as a means to cause scandal to a bitter rival. The R'hab Mikal is the most respected teacher the Zareli have ever known. He is handsome, charming, and chaste, admired by many and envied by the ruling priesthood. Rakell is at first smitten and in awe of her new master but quickly learns that Mikal is not what he appears to be. Controlling, paranoid, and insanely jealous, the R'hab is determined to re-make Rakell into his fantasy of the perfect female companion. A chance encounter in the streets of a foreign country brings Rakell to the notice of Tyberius Antonius, a bored aristocrat living in an Empire saturated with entitlement and decadence. Why a slave from some reviled minority should intrigue him is something that he doesn't understand, and yet Rakell has captivated him completely. Tyberius patiently and persistently pursues the timid Rakell until she finally agrees to meet with him in private. Rakell knows the risk, and against her better judgment, she takes it, managing to evade Mikal's control to spend time with the easy-going and creative Tyberius. In his arms, she finds reprieve from her boring days of servitude. However, she knows in her heart that her relationship with the foreign lordling cannot last. While Rakell's fears are for her immortal soul, the consequences are more corporeal for both of them. From her invisible position servitude, Rakell slowly becomes disillusioned, discovering that the institutions and people she was taught to respect all her life are full of secret scandals and lies. As she is dragged from one perilous situation to another, Rakell is still too afraid to deny the whims of the powerful men controlling her. She finds strength by holding on to her simple dream of freedom and returning to her homeland, never realizing that she is far more important and powerful than she knows.