The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip

Ms. McKillip weaves a tale of wizardry, love and revenge with magical creatures, wizards and a witch.

A wizard establishes his home on the mountain of Eld.  He has a son.  His son has a daughter.  She has a talent for calling special beasts.  Beasts she can talk to with her mind; a Boar who likes to ask riddles, a Lyon who is fierce, a black Swan, a Cat, and a falcon who protects her.  She is tasked with raising a boy, the sone of a king, brought to her by the king’s enemy.  She comes to love the boy, and the man who brought him.  The king, wants her, or rather her power.  To try to entrap her, he makes the mistake of using a wizard.  This enrages her, and she calls another creature to crush the wizard.  Then she calls the man who brought the boy to her and marries him.  To plot with his older brother to overthrow the king.