Recap of books 1-2

Silla
Fleeing from the queen’s warriors, Silla hides in the Bloodaxe Crew’s wagon, and, upon her discovery, convinces them to take her to Kopa. The Bloodaxe Crew, meanwhile, are assigned the biggest job of their careers—to travel to the village of Istré where a deadly mist terrorizes its citizens.

Jonas “The Wolf ” Svik begins a secret romantic affair with Silla, but when his younger brother Ilías is killed in battle, Jonas turns against her. Jonas drugs and kidnaps Silla, before handing her in for a reward.

Meanwhile, the leader of the crew, Reynir “Axe Eyes” Bjarg, has come after them and helps Silla escape Kopa. Together they flee to a shield-home in Kalasgarde. In the process, they learn the truth about each other—Silla is Eisa Volsik, the princess long thought dead, while Rey is Galdra, and the murderer who’d been burning people along the Road of Bones.

Silla begins magic training with Rey’s grandmother, Harpa, while Rey helps hunt down a monstrous serpent terrorizing the town. In the confines of the small-shield home, Silla and Rey are unable to ignore their attraction to each other.

After discovering Saga has almost taken her life, Silla and Rey leave Kalasgarde to find help for her, but they are ambushed by Jonas and a warband. They battle, and Silla and Jonas are trapped under an avalanche.

As Saga’s magic matures, a dormant curse awakens in the sisters’ blood—a shard of Myrkur, the god of chaos, is activated. In order to survive the avalanche, Silla gives Myrkur access to the heart of her Ashbringer magic. Silla emerges black-eyed and ruthlessly kills all remaining Klaernar before turning on Rey. He pricks her with a galdur-quelling needle (hindrium), then strangles her until she’s unconscious.

She awakes in Kopa to discover that Rey has been dosing Silla with hindrium to keep Myrkur from accessing her Ashbringer source. The story closes with the revelation that Saga is missing.

Saga
Saga lives in Askaborg Castle with the king and queen who killed her parents. She’s betrothed to their thirteen-year old son, and struggles with anxiety, particularly when trying to set foot outdoors. After learning that her younger sister Eisa is alive, Saga vows to stop Queen Signe from capturing her.

Saga has a panic attack after struggling to set foot outdoors, and a mysterious man comes to her rescue. She soon learns he’s Kassandr Rurik, a lord from Zagadka in Íseldur to negotiate a trade treaty. Saga also meets Ana, a woman who works for the Uppreisna (a rebel group seeking to push King Ivar from the throne) and begins working with her.

Queen Signe, having discovered Saga’s satchel in a room where she’s been performing experiments on the Galdra, has Ana executed. Frightened, Saga makes plans with Rurik to escape the castle.

But before they can enact their plans, they’re caught kissing. When the Zagadkians flee without Saga, her engagement is changed from Bjorn to Magnus, and she almost jumps from her balcony. A mind-to-mind conversation with Eisa (Silla) changes her mind.

At her engagement feast to Magnus, Signe slips the catalyst in Saga’s wine, making her lose control of her Sense. She retreats into her mind, where she meets Silla/Eisa (unconscious due to the avalanche).

Saga goes through her Cohesion Rite and comes into her full power, which awakens a bargain made by her mother with the god of chaos. Saga grants Myrkur access to her magic and the god causes an explosion of black flame in the hall.

Saga wakes on a boat, Rurik sitting by her bed. After explaining what had happened, he takes her to the ship’s hull, where Magnus is tied up. Magnus provokes Rurik, making him lose control and reveal himself as the Beast of Zagadka. Terrified, Saga flees.

The book closes with Rurik’s revelation—he will take her to Zagadka, and not to the city in Íseldur as they’d agreed.

Recap of Roots of Darkness

Hekla and the Bloodaxe Crew are in Istré, trying to solve the mystery of the mist with a heartbeat. Frustrated that Istré’s chieftain continues blocking her attempts to investigate, Hekla has a passion-fueled night with a stranger who’s recently arrived to town, only to discover the next day that the man is Eyvind Hakonsson, Rey’s childhood friend who’s been sent to help with the job.

While investigating the forest, Hekla is trapped in the mist, then saved by a squirrel-turned grimwolf. The squirrel takes to following her around, pestering her to free his mistress. After disobeying Eyvind’s orders, Hekla discovers that the chieftain has kept the human victims of the mist chained up in a barn, and that they’ve been Turned into draugur, undead creatures who do the mist’s bidding.

After discovering her betrayal, Eyvind is forced to throw Hekla off the job. She sneaks back in and partners with the Bloodaxe Crew, and, reluctantly, Eyvind and his retinue, in order to evacuate the town. Hekla risks her life to distract the mist so the citizens of Istré can escape, but when an explosion rocks the village square, Eyvind shields them both with his fireproof cloak.

They abandon the city, and Hekla considers resuming her romantic partnership with Eyvind, only to overhear that he’s been betrothed to a woman named Liv all this time. Upset, Hekla prepares to flee back to Kopa, only to encounter the squirrel, who begs her to return to the woods and free his mistress. Hekla vows that she will return with more men.