Kodorian Dragonsblood; In the wake of a reemerging, generations-old bloodline curse called the Nightshade, Rimalla Burgonestti and her friends work to understand all the events unfolding and moving all around them like pieces on a chessboard. A dark shadow moves across Burgonestti Hill, as the Burgonestti Estate and the nearby Village of Greenfield rebuild after a devastating hurricane. Attacks on the caravan of Prince Kerrish, Rimalla's young cousin, force them all into hiding as a determined military commander comes searching for answers of his own.Rimalla must learn to master her newfound abilities in time to keep a young centaur safe and hidden from the outside world. Her closest friends, Tavistan and Taren, are forced to rescue a young prince and keep him from being kidnapped by those who would see the crown prince harmed; and have Rimalla and her friends blamed for it. Now the King's Mounted Cavalry has come to Greenfield to recover the missing prince only to discover a mysterious Gypsy circus and a band of traveling centaurs on a mission of their own.Can General Woodbridge discover who is working against the crown and killing indiscriminatingly at the home of his oldest and dearest friend, Lord Burgonestti, and his granddaughter, who also happens to be close friends with all of his prime suspects?