Do you ever wonder if your life has purpose and value? The Opal is the second book in the Child of the King series. In the first book, The Sapphire, Anya, the Child of the King, is sent away in secret to the West to protect her life from Drocha and his followers who mounted a coup against the Royal Family. When her Royal secret is accidentally revealed, she makes her way back home to The Island of the King with help from her personal protector, Eamon, her canine companion, Maor, and a host of the King's Guardians. In the second book, Anya must balance the need for safety with the need to visit the four nations of the world that she will one day rule. The Opal begins with the wreck of one of the King's ships carrying Anya, Eamon, and Maor, on a secret mission to the South. The trio survive the wreck and journey to a small island where they find a lone castaway, Hern, a poor cripple who has a mysterious connection to both Anya and Eamon. Anya uses her special powers of communication with her mother, the Queen, to orchestrate their escape from the island, and they travel to Port Douglas to reunite Hern with his daughter, Abbey, who captures Eamon's affections. After learning of an underground slave trade in Muir, they then go on an adventure to rescue Eamon's long-lost sister, Nora, free the South from the clutches of Drocha's ruthless captain, Doran, and ultimately reveal Hern's true purpose.