The Drifting by L. Filloon

Okay, so I am so so so so glad I got to buy this book like right once it came out.  The Drifting is the sequel to The Binding, which is one of my favorite books.
The Drifting brings you further into the story of Lily and Tharin.  At the end of The Binding, Lily and Tharin are separated from each other when Tharin's less known brother kidnaps Lily.  Tharin vows that the next time he sees his brother Ziri, he will kill him.  In the beginning of The Drifting, Lily is with her captor, and when some bandits come near, Ziri injects Lily with something that knocks her out.  When she wakes up, she has no idea where she is and tries to escape.  She is stopped before she gets very far though, and realizes that she may not be in danger..from her captors.  One of them is a lady she was briefly acquainted with, and she assures Lily that no harm will come to her unless she leaves.  Ziri and the lady, Sema, try to train her in combat and her powers that she gets from her mother.  The first couple of days are hard and Lily is exhausted.  Meanwhile, Tharin is searching for Lily during his journey to the Oak Clan.  He, Tolan and Julia meet up with a mysterious old man.  His name is Ka and he claims to be an Ancient, but there is no record of him anywhere.  Julia is not talking to Tolan anymore, because Tharin had to lie to her and tell her Lily was dead.  This brilliant plan was Ka's idea and it makes Tharin really mad.  Tolan isn't happy about it either, but it's what they need to do to protect Lily for Eathos, an evil being who is trying to keep Lily from fulfilling a prophecy.  This is why Lily needs to train.  After a short battle with some of Eathos' lackeys, Tharin, Allorn, Mellis, Phoris, Tolan and Julia meet up with Kalis, Tharin's old girlfriend.  She is very happy that Lily is "dead"and hugs Tharin, and he hugs her back.  Unfortunately, Lily and Sema were watching the fight from the shadows, and so Lily sees the reunion between Tharin and Kalis.  This is not good for Tharin when he convinces Ka to help him "drift" to where Lily is being kept.  She is aware of his presence and pretty much gives him a break up speech.  Tharin is really confused, and to top it off, Ziri, who can see people in the "drift" state, witnessed the whole thing.  But all Tharin says to him is asking him to protect Lily.  Then Tharin sends his cousins, Allorn and Mellis to help Lily train.  After lots of serious training and plenty of ignored drifting visits from Tharin, one drifting visit goes wrong and Tharin is in trouble with Lily being the only one who can help him.  Lily does, and together they somehow create a magical part of the forest where everything is covered in crystal with gold flames dancing along it.  This becomes their safe haven even though for a while only Tharin is aware of it.  Lily has to go secretly to the Oak Clan to try on a dress and that is when Julia learns that Lily is alive.  So Julia is out for Tolan's blood because he lied to her and then everyone else starts taking the blame for it, but for some reason Julia still isn't talking to Tolan, the love of her life, and Lily is the only one that eventually gets the reason out of her.  There is a really unexpected fight during Lily's crowning ceremony, and Tolan has to become king of the Willow Clan and can't marry Julia like he planned, and Tharin gets framed in a bad situation with Kalis which makes Lily hate him again, and Julia has gone missing and Lily is the only one who knows where she is and why.  It's all a big jumble of activity and surprises, some good and some bad, at the end.  It's definitely a cliff hanger and I can't wait until the last book comes out next year.