Raised a warrior in the harsh winter country, Ryo inGara has always been willing to die for his family and his tribe. When war erupts against the summer country, the prospect of death in battle seems imminent. But when his warleader leaves Ryo as a sacrifice — a tuyo — to die at the hands of their enemies, he faces a fate he never imagined.
Ryo’s captor, a lord of the summer lands, may be an enemy . . . but far worse enemies are moving, with the current war nothing but the opening moves in a hidden game Ryo barely glimpses, a game in which all his people may be merely pawns. Suddenly Ryo finds all his convictions overturned and his loyalties uncertain. Should he support the man who holds him prisoner, the only man who may be able to defeat their greater enemy? And even if he does, can he persuade his people to do the same?
Rachel Neumeier earned a master's degree in ecology before deciding she preferred writing fiction to doing research. She now lives in southern Missouri, dividing her time between writing, reading, and gardening, always assisted in all three activities by a lot of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. She has been writing young adult and adult fantasy for twelve years. This is her sixteenth book.
The original artwork is also available as a wall print through my Imagekind gallery, sample below.