Chosen of the changeling

Imperial princess Hezhi is in the midst of a search for her missing friend when she learns she has magic growing within her and is fated by the Changeling--river god of the city of Nhol--to turn into a hideous monster. What Hezhi really wants is a hero, and Perkar, a young man sworn to destroy the Changeling, is just the one she needs.

Having escaped her father the River, Hezhi thinks she and her champion Perkar will be safe in the hinterlands, but the River searches for his daughter. Only the Blackgod saw a way for Hezhi and Perkar to defeat the River, but he is a creature they are reluctant to trust.