| | The vampires who call themselves djinni protect the extended family of the House of the Rose from dangers both internal and external, and have done so since the Flood, 7,000 years ago. More importantly, the djinni search for the new incarnations of the House's ancient souls--but not every soul wants to be found and returned to a tradition-bound life. Now, the Mongols are marching across the Middle East, intent on conquering the world. Just ten years ago, Arjumand abd al-Warda was the young French knight Sir Roland D'Agincourt. Now he serves as vampire Protector of the House of the Rose in Crusader-ruled Constantinople, and is struggling to deal with a seemingly unstoppable army of conquest. None of the other Protectors is as magically powerful as he is, although, unlike him, they have had their past-life memories restored. He has refused to awaken those memories in order to protect the family he left behind in France. Unable to remember his inborn powers, he rediscovers them, and in doing so, he uncovers a mystery: why have the powers of the djinni been fading over generations? Then word comes that another reincarnated Protector has been found... among the enemy. Can Kobegun, a young Mongol warrior and son of the invading Khan, adapt to the life of a Protector of the House, or will the intrigues of the ambitious Seer Nadira lead all to ruin?
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