Iron Tithe

In a village just outside the Arctic Circle, the People of the Wave and the Wing have found peace, hidden as they are from the ancient enemy - by the grace of the nameless gods. This peace is bought through the people's payment of the iron tithe, which dictates that the last of everything given must be returned to the gods: the final fish from a net, the dregs of a draught of ale, the end of a skein of wool.Peace abandons the people when the Jarl's son washes up on the beach, dead and drowned (in that order), and they learn - to their horror - that they are owing. The gods demand the last. At the urging of the priestess (their conduit to the gods) they obey the call to return the last of the most precious gifts that they ever received: their children. None have been born to the people in two decades, leaving Haedi, Aidan, Sylvi, and Isevelt as the last. Bonded by sacrifice and then torn apart by time, the four young women are faced with the unimaginable - returning to life after death. Stripped of all but their duty, they each must answer: What more is there to give after you pay the ultimate price? Is there a power in living that is greater than the power of dying? And, can sacrifice ever truly exist if it doesn't make you b?leed? Told through four heroines who are equal parts imperfect and inspiring, The Iron Tithe is a seamless marriage of non-linear narrative and changing perspective, which leaves readers to ponder the characters and their choices, long after their fates are decided. A tale of time travel that spans the Viking Age, the Golden Age of Piracy, and The Great War, The Iron Tithe by K. D. Kind is an epic coming-of-age story of loss and love, of friendship and of enmity, that will appeal to readers of historical fiction and fantasy alike.