The eldest daughter of the chieftain of their village, Elvara Sweengard was brought up to do one thing: marry someone of equal rank to further her family's rule. But when the ships in their village go quiet and magic vanishes, the unthinkable is confirmed: her father and brother have been slaughtered on their way to the Hird-the king's elite war academy-where her brother was to claim his mantle as the next chieftain.Elvara is now the only thing standing between her people and extinction. She must take her brother's empty seat at the academy and earn a rune from the gods to restore the magic they lost-but first, she must survive both the ruthless trials of the Hird and the other initiates vying for her place, all without her family's tragedy being revealed.As the trials begin, she soon learns that they are not the only dangers she faces. Enemies lurk both inside and outside the realm. She needs to decide who is friend and who is foe before it's too late-something that becomes far more complicated when the battle bond meant to tie her to her childhood guard is compromised and she instead finds herself tethered to a six-foot-five Viking warrior who would sooner put an axe through her heart than see a crown on her head.
