Forest Mage: Robin Hobb

Book II of The Soldier Son trilogy. The King's Cavella has been ravaged by the Speck plague. The disease has decimated the ranks of both cadets and instructors. Even the survivors are sickly. Many have had to lay aside their military ambitions and return to their families to face lives of disappointment and dependency. Cadet Nevare Burvelle also prepares to return home, to attend his brother's wedding. He is hale and hearty after his convalescence, He has defeated Tree Woman and freed himself of the Speck magic that attempted to turn him against his own people. A bright future awaits him as a commissioned officer betrothed to a beautiful noblewoman. Yet his nights are still haunted by dreams of Tree Woman. He fears an infection far more mysterious than the merely physical. He will travel in high spirits - but is life is about to take a shocking turn. Cover art by John Howe.