The Burning Stone returns us to the war-torn kingdoms of Wendar & Varre at a crucial moment in this complex tale of war, love, & magic. Liath & Sanglant, made outcasts by their love, must choose among the pathways of politics, forbidden knowledge, & family. Liath is torn between her longing for Sanglant & the child which can open the way into the land of the Aoi, the lost Ones. And even as Liath struggles with magic's seductive lure, Sanglant's Aoi mother returns to the mortal world in search of the one she abandoned as a babe. With the fates of kingdoms shifting due to civil war & increasing encroachments by the non-human Eika & by Quman invaders, time is running out for King Henry & his people. For the moment is fast approaching when the lands of Aoi & human will once again be joined in time & space - & none can foretell who will survive - or rule - after this cataclysmic event.