Bound by Sword and Spirit

ALSO BY ANDREA ROBERTSONTHE NIGHTSHADE SERIESRiftRiseNightshadeWolfsbaneBloodroseSnakerootTHE INVENTOR’S SECRET SAGAThe Inventor’s SecretThe Conjurer’s RiddleThe Turncoat’s GambitInvisibility (with David Levithan)THE LORESMITH SERIESForged in Fire and StarsCast in Secrets and Shadow PHILOMEL BOOKSAn imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, New YorkFirst published in the United States of America by Philomel Books,an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023Copyright © 2023 by Seven Crows, Inc.Map art by Virginia AllynPenguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.Philomel Books is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.Visit us online at PenguinRandomHouse.com.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.Ebook ISBN 9780698408456Edited by Jill Santopolo and Kelsey MurphyCover art © 2023 by KATTPHATTCover design by Jessica JenkinsDesign by Ellice M. Lee, adapted for ebook by Michelle QuinteroThis book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.pid_prh_6.0_143455486_c0_r0 CONTENTSCoverAlso by Andrea RobertsonTitle PageCopyrightDedicationMap of SaetlundFifteen Years EarlierChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Fifteen Years EarlierChapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Fifteen Years EarlierChapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapter 35EpilogueAcknowledgmentsAbout the Author_143455486_ FOR JILL. THANK YOU FOR OVER A DECADE OF ADVENTURES ON THE PAGE AND THE PRICELESS GIFT OF FRIENDSHIP. FIFTEEN YEARS EARLIER The Hawk watched the Loreknights fall, one by one. Though he’d expected the war would end like this, the sight of it still speared his soul. The king’s ten chosen warriors had ridden to meet the Vokkan army without fear. Armor of silver and gold, ornamented elaborately, threw bright rays back at the sun like coins carelessly tossed from a treasure chest. By contrast, the Vokkan imperial troops were an endless sea of black-and-red tabards, highlighted by glints of silver that crested like waves when the light struck their blades.Imgar marveled at the way they charged toward the oncoming force. Somehow, the Loreknights still believed they were the invincible heroes of legend. That they were chosen by Saetlund’s gods instead of agents of a corrupt king. They had embraced the lie and rode eagerly toward death.The Hawk—as Imgar’s followers had taken to calling him—had long known otherwise, as all those who still honored the gods did. Those who pledged themselves to fight at Imgar’s side followed the old ways.And yet, though he despised King Dentroth and all who toadied to him, in his heart of hearts he’d hoped for a miracle. That the Loreknights might somehow wield the power of the gods and drive away the enemy as they had in battles long ago, and serve the very purpose for which they were created.But Imgar knew the history that made victory this day impossible. Decades of corrupt monarchies had transformed the Loreknights from legendary warriors to courtiers.Emperor Fauld had a special fate awaiting Dentroth’s favorites. Champions picked from his own forces to meet them. The gargantuan warriors—the famed giants of Morvadin, one of the empire’s earliest conquests—wielded weapons taller than the average man. The first Loreknight to reach them was swept from his saddle by a Morvadin’s halberd, then literally pounded into the dirt by another’s war hammer. The second Loreknight to fall was caught by two other Morvadins and ripped to pieces.To their credit, the eight remaining Loreknights didn’t balk. They entered the fray, a fury of shouts and steel. A third Loreknight fell. A fourth. Saetlund’s champions managed to take down one Morvadin before they finally floundered, fear overtaking any bluster or bloodlust. The fifth Loreknight went down. The sixth. The seventh.Imgar shook his head, gazing at the bodies broken like toy soldiers on a child’s play battlefield.He watched as the three survivors attempted to flee. The Morvadins let them run. Imgar could hear the Loreknights shrieking as the Vokkan infantry engulfed them. A long groan of horror spread through the lines of Saetlund’s small remaining army. Most stood their ground as the Vokkans marched on them; others broke ranks and fled.Some would call those who ran cowards, but Imgar didn’t condemn them so. They’d been led into this war with lies. Why should they be expected to throw themselves on Vokkan swords and spears?Of course, there were those who would likewise call Imgar a coward—a traitor, even—for what he was about to do.The Hawk didn’t care. History would judge him with its long gaze, but in the present he cared only for the lives and futures of his followers.Imgar had never thought of himself as a warrior, much less a leader of warriors, but he had also never let a weapon nor a piece of armor leave his shop without thoroughly testing it himself. Over the years, he’d become proficient in the use of daggers, swords, and shields, and more than proficient with war axes.His smithy sat at the center of town and had become a gathering point of friends and neighbors. Imgar had gained a reputation for shrewd and fair judgment. Disputes were brought to him. In the beginning, they were petitioners from his own village or nearby homesteads. Over time, his reputation drew visitors from across the Fjeri Highlands and even the Lowlands, too. When the call came from King Dentroth to form a militia in Fjeri, Imgar was named their commander. He accepted the position humbly, but not reluctantly, because he went to war expecting the fall of the kingdom. He trusted no one else to do what was necessary