Shield Sworn

A captive warrior looking for escape. A conscript-slave hoping to buy his own freedom. In this slow-burn historical fantasy adventure, the only way to survive is to trust each other-or sell the other one out first.

Revni came for gold; Eavus came to conquer. But when their two armies clash in an unexpected skirmish, Revni is taken hostage-only in chasing down the girl, Eavus loses his cohort. If he doesn't report in soon, he'll be declared a deserter. If she doesn't reach her people before they declare her dead, everything she's earned will be forfeit.

She'll be sold. He'll be executed.

Can you trust a captor to protect you? Can you trust a hostage to keep her word? Because to make the journey south where they could bargain for their lives, they'll need to cross the wilds of territory their two empires have been carving up for themselves. And the capital city may be the one place that could grant them both freedom-but when they get there only of them will get it.

Inspired by Roman and Norse invasions of Celtic Britain, Cait Monroe's immersive debut novel invites readers into a grounded fantasy adventure that will pit love against honor, loyalty against freedom, and confront the cost of being on the winning side.

"Readers...will be drawn into the ever-shifting powerscapes of this alternate island history...[Monroe's] smart and thorough...worldbuilding, and her characters' deepening self-awareness...[in] their journey across a troubled and vividly realized land." -Julie Salmon Kelleher, author of The Sea-Glass Shore