The Last Oath

The truth is ready to be released. The danger lies in who controls it, how it travels-and what people do before the full account arrives.

The islands have lived for years with stories hardened into political fact. Now Einar, Sigurd and the surviving members of the House of Tides possess evidence capable of reopening every question: Astrid's disappearance, Haldor's certainty, the purpose of the Custodians and the authority of the Ninth Oath.

But disclosure is not a single act. A careful record can become a shortened report, a rumour or a weapon before anyone has time to correct it. Einar refuses to hide the truth. Sigurd refuses to pretend that truth carries no consequences. Aila demands a process that no one person can own. Runa measures every decision by the lives exposed to it. Yrsa and Arnald confront rival forms of memory, while a young copyist forces the old generation to face the cost of waiting.

As unrest spreads across Orkney and the fragile northern settlement begins to fracture, the friends must decide whether power can limit itself and whether custody can survive without possession.

The Last Oath brings The Nine Oaths to its conclusion: an epic historical-fantasy novel of civil conflict, contested memory and the difficult work of making truth answerable to everyone who must live with it.