*The Embroidered Book shortlisted for the Aurora Award for Best Novel*From SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author Kate Heartfield comes a glorious, lyrical retelling of one of Norse mythologyâs greatest epicsBrynhild is a Valkyrie: shieldmaiden of the Allfather, chooser of the slain. But now she too has fallen, flightless in her exile.Gudrun is a princess of Burgundy, a daughter of the Rhine, a prize for an invading king â a king whose brother Attila has other plans, and a dragon to call upon.And in the songs to be sung, there is another hero: Sigurd, a warrior with a sword sharper than the new moon.As the legends tell, these names are destined to be lovers, fated as enemies. But here on Midgard, legends can be liesâ¦For not all heroes are heroic, nor all monsters monstrous. And a shieldmaiden may yet find that love is the greatest weapon of all.