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The novel (I believe the first in a trilogy) had multiple story lines including a young woman who has been handed from the chieftain (who dies) to the chieftain's son who is abusive. She has visions of the future and when she is pregnant, she runs away and leads a group of people across a mountain? There are also evil hounds loose and the veil between the worlds is thinning. The male protagonist is a shapeshifter (bird and wolf) who is at an island magic school. There is an attack on the island school and a major battle toward the end of the first book.

I read it about three years ago (2017). I think it was part of a trilogy. It was a hardback book, I think. The male protagonist was a shapeshifter (bird and wolf in this book) as well as other magic. The hell from which the hounds came from was not Christian hell, but more like evil or death.

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  • Since you mention a "first book", does that mean this is a series? Do you remember how many books there were when you read it? Hardback? Paperback? What sort of magic is present other than precognition? Was this a Christian Hell or some other underworld? Was "Hell" evil or just different?
    – FuzzyBoots
    Commented Apr 1, 2020 at 13:11
  • Thank you for your response. It was about three years ago. I think it was a trilogy. It was a hard back, I think. The male protagonist was a shapeshifter (bird and wolf in this book) as well as other magic. It was not Christian hell, but more like evil or death.
    – Patti
    Commented Apr 1, 2020 at 13:17
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    @Patti You should edit these new details into the main question so that people just scanning your question will be more likely to see them.
    – Harabeck
    Commented Apr 1, 2020 at 13:44
  • Could it be Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper. This has the shapeshifting protagonist, island school of magic and hell hound, but I don't remember the woman being passed to the chieftain's son. I have the book so if you think it might be this I'll write a proper answer.
    – John Rennie
    Commented Apr 1, 2020 at 15:21
  • I think that might be it! I always wondered if I was getting several stories mixed up. I read a lot!!! I will check this out. Thank you very much!
    – Patti
    Commented Apr 1, 2020 at 15:36

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Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper.

Songs of the Earth

The protagonist is Gair. When we meet him he has just discovered he has magic powers, which is a death sentence since witches are burned at the stake. He is caught, tried and condemned, but his sentence is commuted to banishment. He is found by Alderan and taken to the school of magic in the town Pencruik on the Western Isles, where amongst other things he learns so shapeshift. Gair can shift into many different animals and these include a fire-eagle and a wolf as you mention.

The veil is the boundary between two worlds, and the first evidence it is thinning is when a stag being hunted tears through the veil between the worlds. I'm afraid I have forgotten what the other world is called and cannot find it by skimming the book - I think it's just referred to as The Hidden Kingdom.

The hellhound comes from the other world through a tear in the veil. It's referred to as Maegern's Hound in the book.

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