Year of Our Lord 1013. Francia is lost. Capetians usurpers sit the throne, fattened on treachery, while the last daughter of the Carolingian dynasty rots in exile. Emma of Normandy now lives beneath false names in forgotten keeps, guarded by liars who whisper of destiny but treat her like coin to be spent.
When her enemies draw near, Emma flees across the sea to Denmark. There, she finds no peace, only more plots. King Sweyn Forkbeard sees in her a weapon to wield, a prize to marry to his young and untested son Canute. But the journey to Jelling is long, and her escort is led by Askeladd, a mercenary with veiled motives. Among them is Thorfinn, a young warrior burdened by vengeance, tasked with guarding a princess who refuses to be protected.
As old empires die and new kings rise, Emma walks a knife's edge between pawn and player. The blood she's spilled cannot be undone, and the future she once killed for slips further from her reach. In the land of the Normanni, nothing is sacred... and none shall inherit without blood.
Note: This is a work of historical fiction. While vaguely inspired by the real Emma of Normandy, the events herein are wholly reimagined through the brutal, tragic lens of Vinland Saga. It contains graphic violence, mature themes, and a stylized prose reflective of its medieval setting.