These are strange days...

Lirare, daughter of the river goddess, never told the barbarian prince about his child she bore. A hundred years had passed since he had last stepped foot in her forest but he returned one last time on the eve of war. Their child, sheltered Thistle, is thrown into the savage world of his nation as they win back their stolen homeland. As the last of her Clan, the ancient line of Kings called the Blackhelms, she has no desire to rule her father's people. But soon finds, she may have little choice.