The Dawn Stag — Jules Watson

The second book in the epic Dalriada trilogy, The Dawn Stag spans three centuries and spectacularly recreates Celtic Britain at the momentous time of the Roman invasion. The year is AD 81, and Agricola, the ruthless governor of Roman Britain, is intent on capturing the last unconquered territory: Alba, Scotland. Rhiann, an Alban priestess and princess, submits to a marriage of political necessity to Eremon, an exiled Irish prince. Out of duty grows a powerful and desperate love that will bind them together through conflict and betrayal. On these lovers now rests the hope of a nation. To the people of Alba, Agricola's army is a wall of steel and fire advancing across their homeland, bringing with it desolation. Rhiann searches for guidance in the spirit world, little realizing how big a part she will play in this endgame. Eremon knows only that he must risk--and sacrifice--many lives, perhaps even his own. In this rich and vivid follow-up to The White Mare, Jules Watson enchants with a fantastical novelistic imagination that makes a claim on the hundreds of thousands of readers who enjoy fantasy and historical fiction alike.