AustLit

'Who is friend and who is enemy?

'When Kira’s Shargh captors are attacked, she finds herself a prisoner of those who might prove even deadlier. But then, in a heart-rending twist of fate, their leader is revealed to be the bearer of everything Kira most loved in the world and everything Kasheron most despised.

'Kira hides her identity but her subterfuge is discovered and the dangers multiply. Her quest is to gain aid from her northern kin, but the forests that hid the Tremen from enemies, also hid them from friends, and there is no help for a people without alliance or treaty. To make matters worse, the northern histories tell a very different story of the great Healer Kasheron.

'To aid the Tremen, Kira must turn south again, to where Caledon will bring the Tremen fighters but she and the northern leader share a powerful attraction and he’s determined to keep her safely in the north, far from the Shargh.

'Desperate to learn of Kira’s fate, Caledon journeys north too and they are reunited, but his arrival generates antagonisms that threaten alliances and treaties alike. As Caledon strives to decipher the stars’ intent, the stakes escalate, and he fears following his heart could cause the deaths of countless others.

'Kira is no slave to the stars and, driven by her duties as leader, sets out for the south. Besieged by squalling winds and icy storms, her escort comes under Shargh attack and she finds herself in a desperate flight through the night in a terrifying attempt to outrun them. But Shargh hunters lie in wait, and in a deadly rain of spears, her mare goes down.

'Can Kira survive to finally deliver aid to her people? Or will her quest end in the wind-swept darkness?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.