A Curse for the Homesick

On Stenland, there comes a time known as skeld season: one day, any woman on the island can wake with three black lines on her forehead, the mark of a skeld. Skeld season comes around without warning, and while each lasts only three months, anyone a skeld turns to stone is very much dead.

That’s how Tess’s mother killed Soren’s parents. Maybe for this reason alone, Tess and Soren should not have fallen in love. Since the time her mother was a skeld, Tess has wanted to leave Stenland, to run from the windswept island, from her family and friends. She is unwilling to bear the responsibility of one day killing anyone, let alone someone she loves. Soren, though, has always been determined to stay, to live out his life in the only place he’s ever known as home, even if that life could be cut short. They cannot see eye to eye—and yet, they cannot stay apart. She tries to come back for him. He tries to leave for her. But can your love for one person outweigh everything else? And how do you decide how much you’re willing to risk, if it might mean destroying someone else in the process?

Laura Robson has crafted a fascinating story about the choices we make, the responsibilities we carry, and the ambiguities of regret.