**The lives of two women--one desperate only to save her missing sister,
the other a witch destined to become queen of Norway--intertwine in this
spellbinding, powerful novel of Viking Age history and myth from the
acclaimed author of The Witch's Heart.
**
Oddny and Gunnhild meet as children in tenth century Norway, and they
could not be more different: Oddny hopes for a quiet life, while
Gunnhild burns for power and longs to escape her cruel mother. But after
a visiting wisewoman makes an ominous prophecy that involves Oddny, her
sister Signy, and Gunnhild, the three girls take a blood oath to help
one another always.
When Oddny's farm is destroyed and Signy is kidnapped by Viking raiders,
Oddny is set adrift from the life she imagined--but she's determined to
save her sister no matter the cost, even as she finds herself
irresistibly drawn to one of the raiders who participated in the attack.
And in the far north, Gunnhild, who fled her home years ago to learn the
ways of a witch, is surprised to find her destiny seems to be linked
with that of the formidable King Eirik, heir apparent to the ruler of
all Norway.
But the bonds--both enchanted and emotional--that hold the two women
together are strong, and when they find their way back to each other,
these bonds will be tested in ways they never could have foreseen in
this deeply moving novel of magic, history, and sworn sisterhood.
