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Valeria relishes the tales of the mysterious, powerful Mountain where the gods -- powerful beings in the form of white horses -- live. And she loves hearing stories of the elite Riders who ride the stallions in the Dance -- a pattern that reflects, influences and sometimes creates the past, present or future. Though Valeria has a horse sense thought magical, she knows no woman has ever been called to the Mountain. Until she feels a strange pull and makes the decision to answer the call -- as a boy..

Only Kerrec, a senior Rider, and Euan, a barbarian prince, realize the truth as Valeria survives until the final test -- and passes with acclaim. But in her moment of triumph her secret is discovered and Valeria loses all that she's won.

Meanwhile, the barbarians plot to overthrow the Aurelian Empire. And Valeria's anger and frustration might be enough to give them a way in. Now the Empire depends on the will, the strength and the loyalty of one Rider. A Rider who has been rejected by all but the gods.

Striving to save the Aurelian Empire, Valeria reached for too much power too quickly and a darkness has rooted inside her. Unable to confess the truth, Valeria turns to Kerrec, her former mentor, one of the elite Riders from the Mountain, home of the gods. But Kerrec, too, is deeply wounded and his darkness may be even deeper than hers -- and he is refusing to face it. Until his weakness nearly destroys the Riders and their immortal white stallions...

As Kerrec is sent from the Mountain on a desperate quest for healing, Valeria is forbidden to follow. But compelled by a power she cannot understand and encouraged by her own stallion, she shadows Kerrec on a perilous mission.

The patterns of deception and secrets have been woven, the threats of war and unrest spread throughout the land, the barbarian hordes return and once more it is Valeria -- and Kerrec -- who must gather their strength and their wounded magic to protect all that they believe in....

But who will believe in them?

Once again the Aurelian Empire is in danger, and once again Valeria must risk more than her life to save it. With threats from without, including sorcerous attacks against the soon-to-be empress, and pressures from within--the need to continue the dynasty and Kerrec, the father of Valeria's child, the first choice to do so--Valeria must overcome plots and perils as she struggles to find a place in this world she's helped to heal.

But her greatest foes have not been vanquished.

And they won't be forgotten or ignored. Nor will the restless roil of magic within Valeria herself. Soon the threat of Unmaking, a danger to all the empire, begins to arise in Valeria's soul once more. It is subtle, it is powerful, and this time it might win out.