Parlan has been named High King of all Eire, but first he must meet with the approval of the noble goddess Eriu. By the oldest tradition, if she agrees to pass the night with him then she has found him worthy to be a High King. In the morning, Parlan insists he will make the goddess his queen and boldly states that he would rather give up his kingship than live without her. But this unthinking rejection Eriu's gift of kingship brings down the Curse of the Black Dragon. Parlan will have to destroy the dragon in order to save his land and his people. Eriu agrees to help him do this, but promises one thing: No mortal man can love a goddess and survive. NOTE: Battlefield violence. Some scenes of encounters between consenting adults over the age of 21. This book was first published by Dorchester in 2006. It has been re-edited by the author, and given a new cover, but is the same story as the original novel. No part of this work was created using artificial intelligence (AI) software of any kind. Each book in the Celtic Journeys series tells a complete story, so they may be read in any order.