Description

Tithe of Decay

by Calla Black
Edited by Hazel E. Baumgartner
Format: Paperback
ISBN-13: 9798996338702

Some lessons are written in blood.

Sam Gardner learned that truth the night she helped kill her father.

A decade later, the violence of that moment still lingers beneath the surface of her life. Shaped by trauma, loss, and the ruthless survival instincts she inherited from the man she despised, Sam has spent years drifting through the same small town, avoiding the past while struggling to build a future.

The people who once made life bearable are long gone.

Her twin brother Shane left for the military shortly after high school, seeking distance from the scars they shared. Nickels, Sam’s best friend and the person she secretly loved, left for college, leaving behind a silence Sam never managed to fill.

Now Nickels is coming home.

For the first time in years, Sam sees an opportunity to finally confront the feelings she’s carried for so long. But returning faces have a way of awakening old memories, and the past refuses to remain buried. As unresolved trauma, family secrets, and lingering grief begin resurfacing, Sam must decide whether she can risk vulnerability after spending so many years protecting herself with emotional armor.

Raw, emotional, and deeply character-driven, Tithe of Decay explores the lasting effects of violence, the complexities of family, and the possibility of healing through love, connection, and honesty.

A powerful story of survival, longing, and second chances, this novel asks whether some wounds can ever truly heal and what it takes to finally let someone in.