A Story of Love and Loss

"You bring out the worst in me."When Eliana, a telepath, and Escher, a recently bereaved shield, are shoved together in the hope that they might find their solution in each other, the relationship quickly becomes ugly.Escher is wounded and in the depths of a destructive grief that sees him endlessly struggling to paint his lost mate, and then destroying his artwork when it fails to live up to his expectations.Eliana becomes caught up in his destructive despair, and is trapped by her dependency on his shield and her attraction to the tortured artist. As their time together spirals out of control, Escher makes the decision to leave.Two years later, they encounter each other again, on the first home world. Things have changed: a new medical procedure has freed Eliana from her dependency on a shield, and Escher has sought treatment for his wounds and his grief.Can love born in pain and ugliness be resurrected in tenderness and beauty?