The Greening - Belinda Mellor

Once heard, the song of a Silvana can never be forgotten.

Yet for every man who wins such a wife

there are three destroyed in the attempt.

Fabiom of Deepvale dreams of winning the love of a Silvana, one of the mysterious and powerful tree spirits who haunt the deepest groves of the wildwood. But when he is suddenly thrown into the political arena and expected to keep the family silk business running, everything changes. Fabiom fears he will have to put aside his dream, for such a quest is perilous and Deepvale cannot afford to lose its young lord.

However, the nub of amber he finds beneath the huge ash tree could change his mind: if one of the Silvanii is upset enough to weep her precious golden tears at the thought of losing him, how can he disappoint her? 

What Fabiom does not know is that the fiercely guarded secrets of silk-making have been sold abroad, putting more than the economic stability of his holding at risk; it was the Silvanii who first gifted the human inhabitants of Morene with those secrets, and they do not take kindly to betrayal.