Lady of the Light

"Gillespie (The Light Bearer) continues the adventures of her larger-than-life Germanic heroine, Auriane. In the first installment, Auriane, the daughter of a great 'hero-chief' of her native Chattian tribe, was captured by the Romans and trained as a gladiator before being rescued by Marcus Arrius Julianus. Now, seven years later, Auriane and Marcus live in the frontier province of Germania Superior on a sprawling estate with their daughters, Avenahar and Arria Juliana. The idyllic interlude is interrupted when the Chattians, who are being threatened by another Germanic tribe, the Cheruscans, look to Auriane for their salvation. Torn between her people and her family, Auriane rejects pleas to return to personally lead the Chattian resistance, and instead steals from her husband to secretly fund the Chattians' defense efforts. When her activities are discovered, Auriane is tried for treason and sentenced to death. Compounding her troubles, Avenahar runs away and joins the Chattian resistance, an unknown assassin stalks Marcus and a political rival kidnaps Arria Juliana. This is historical fiction for adrenaline junkies: the pace is furious, the action ferocious and the suspense unrelenting." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

The warrior-maiden from "The Light Bearer" returns. Plundering her husband's coffers, Auriane has provided her people with enough wealth to arm themselves. Now, Auriane's betrayal has been discovered, and if her duplicity reaches the Roman authorities, her life--and the lives of her family--will be forfeit.

Donna Gillespie is at work on the third book in this series.