The Fire in the Forging

Outcast Trader Daja, along with her fellow mages-in-training, journeys
from Winding Circle to the Gold Ridge Mountains, where drought threatens
widespread famine. There, Daja creates an astonishing object — a living
metal vine — and Daja’s dealings with her former people reawaken a
longing for familiar ways. Daja must choose — should she return to the
Traders or remain with the Winding Circle folk who have become her
family?