Unspoken Name (The Serpent Gates, 1)

A. K. Larkwood'sThe Unspoken Name is a stunning debut fantasy about a young priestess sentenced to die, who at the last minute escapes her fate; only to become an assassin for the wizard who saved her.

What if you knew how and when you will die?

Csorwe does--she will climb the mountain, enter the Shrine of the Unspoken, and gain the most honored title: sacrifice.

But on the day of her foretold death, a powerful mage offers her a new fate. Leave with him, and live. Turn away from her destiny and her god to become a thief, a spy, an assassin--the wizard's loyal sword. Topple an empire, and help him reclaim his seat of power.

But Csorwe will soon learn--gods remember, and if you live long enough, all debts come due.

"In the vein of Le Guin's magnificentTombs of Atuan--if Arha the Eaten One got to grow up to be a swordswoman mercenary in thrall to her dubious wizard mentor.I love this bookso much."--Arkady Martine, author ofA Memory Called Empire

"I cannot recommend it enough." -- Tamsyn Muir, author ofGideon the Ninth