With the lives of her family and the fate of her soul on the line, Odessa Kusa must battle man and god alike in pursuit of salvation—and revenge.
The village of Kalaro is dying. Since the coming of the Gray, food is scarce, plague is everywhere, and babies enter the world choking and dying. Rot has taken over the village houses that stand dilapidated and abandoned. In a bid to save his people, Odessa Kusa's father, Omari, plans to kill one of the Low Gods—a grave sin thought to be nigh impossible for a mortal man—and Odessa is thrilled to be brought along on the hunt.
But the ancient boar god Egende is not so easily hunted. When Odessa is injured, her desperate father fills her body with cursed blood magic, damning her soul to Matara's comforting embrace. The terrified villagers cast her out of their community into a cruel, pitiless world. Banished and wild with grief and rage, Odessa sets out in search of a shaman to purge her of the tainted blood and assure her salvation.
But with every passing day, the blood seeps into her soul and makes her stronger—and angrier. When she happens upon the opportunity for revenge, she seizes it. Fleeing through godforsaken wilderness, Odessa must fight for herself and those she loves . . . even if it means her own death.
The first volume of the hit epic-fantasy series—originally released on Royal Road—now available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook!