Love united them. Destiny drove them apart.When Avicia, a Norman noblewoman, makes a careless but costly mistake with a prized falcon, the brutal punishment nearly claims her life. Her Saxon lover, Edric of Newington, witnesses her ordeal but cannot share her fate. Another destiny awaits him in England, and the prospect of a loveless marriage.Swept away in the arms of another, Avicia enters the treacherous court of Duke William of Normandy. Through the years, Edric and Avicia reunite in a timeless, forbidden love, but a bitter rivalry for the English throne divides them. In a world forever altered in the aftermath of Hastings, hope rises and the chance to love again.

In thirteenth-century Moorish Spain, the realm of Granada is in crisis. The union of Fatima, granddaughter of the Sultan of Granada, with the Sultan's nephew Faraj has fractured the nation. A bitter civil war escalates and endangers both Fatima and Faraj's lives.All her life, Fatima has sheltered in lavish palaces where danger has never intruded, until now. A precocious child and the unwitting pawn of her family, she soon learns how her marriage may determine her future and the fate of Granada. Her husband Faraj has his own qualms about their union. At a young age, he witnessed the deaths of his parents, and discovered how affluence and power offers little protection against indomitable enemies. Throughout the rugged frontiers of southern Spain, the burgeoning Christian kingdoms in the north and the desert states of North Africa, Fatima and Faraj survive ruthless murderers and intrigues. They unite against common enemies bent on destroying the last Moorish dynasty.

Primeiro livro da série SultanaNa Espanha moura do Século XIII, o reino de Granada está em crise. O casamento de Fátima, neta do sultão de Granada, com o neto do sultão, Faraj, dividiu a nação. Uma guerra civil implacável transforma e põe em risco as vidas de Fátima e Faraj.Durante toda vida, Fátima morou em palácios exuberantes, onde o perigo nunca entrou, pelo menos até agora. Criança precoce e peão involuntário de sua família, fica sabendo como seu casamento pode determinar seu futuro e o destino de Granada. Seu marido Faraj tem seus próprios receios sobre essa união. Em tenra idade, presenciou as mortes de seus pais e descobriu que riqueza e poder dão pouca proteção contra inimigos indomáveis.Pelas fronteiras acidentadas do sul da Espanha, reinos cristãos florescentes ao norte e países áridos do norte da África, Fátima e Faraj sobrevivem a cruéis assassinatos e intrigas. Eles se unem contra inimigos comuns, decididos a destruir a última dinastia moura

In het dertiende-eeuwse Moorse Spanje verkeert het rijk van Granada in een crisis. Het huwelijk van Fatima, kleindochter van de Sultan van Granada, met de neef van de Sultan, Faraj, heeft het volk verdeeld. Een bittere burgeroorlog volgt en hun beider levens lopen gevaar. Fatima heeft geen ander leven gekend dan de veiligheid binnen het prachtige paleis, tot nu. Een onwillige pion van haar familie, moet ze van kinds af aan toezien hoe haar huwelijk de toekomst van haarzelf en het land zal veranderen. Faraj heeft zijn eigen bedenkingen over hun huwelijk. Na op jonge leeftijd getuige te zijn geweest van de dood van zijn ouders heeft hij geleerd hoe macht en invloed weinig kunnen uithalen als de vijanden vastberaden zijn.

Libro 1 della serie: La sultanaTredicesimo Secolo. Nella Spagna dei Mori il regno di Granada è in crisi: l’unione di Fatima, nipote del Sultano, con il principe Faraj ha diviso la nazione, portando allo scoppio di un’aspra guerra civile. Bambina precoce e pedina inconsapevole dei giochi della sua famiglia, Fatima è sempre vissuta nella protezione di palazzi sontuosi, che adesso non possono più garantire la sua sicurezza. Attraverso le accidentate frontiere della Spagna meridionale, dei regni cristiani in espansione e degli stati del nord Africa, Fatima e Faraj dovranno sopravvivere a spietati omicidi e intrighi, uniti contro nemici comuni che vogliono distruggere l’ultima dinastia dei Mori.

Descripción del libro:         Libro 1 de la serie SultanaEn el siglo XIII en la España musulmana, el reino de Granada está en crisis. La unión entre Fátima, nieta del sultán de Granada y Faraj, sobrino del sultán, ha dividido a la nación. Una enconada guerra civil tiene lugar y pone en peligro las vidas de Fátima y Faraj.Durante toda su vida, Fátima ha vivido en palacios suntuosos en los que el peligro nunca la había importunado, hasta ahora. Como niña precoz e involuntario peón de una partida de ajedrez familiar, se da cuenta de cómo su matrimonio puede decidir su futuro y el destino de Granada. Su esposo Faraj tiene sus propios escrúpulos en relación con su unión. A temprana edad, fue testigo de la muerte de sus padres y descubrió cómo la riqueza y el poder no pueden protegerle de enemigos indomables.En las peligrosas fronteras del sur de España, los pujantes reinos cristianos del norte de la península y los áridos estados del norte de África, Fátima y Faraj, sobreviven a asesinos despiadados y a las intrigas. Se unen y hacen frente a enemigos comunes empeñados en destruir la última dinastía musulmana.

SULTANA - In 13th century Moorish Spain, the realm of Granada is in crisis. The union of Fatima, granddaughter of the Sultan of Granada, with the Sultan's nephew Faraj has fractured the nation. A bitter civil war escalates and endangers both Fatima and Faraj's lives...SULTANA'S LEGACY - In 13th century Moorish Spain, the Sultanate of Granada faces a bleak future, as a tyrant seizes control. Fatima, the daughter of a Sultan, and her devoted husband Faraj have enjoyed years of peace and prosperity. Now, a power-hungry madman claims the throne. He murders almost everyone Fatima holds dear. His reign fractures a weakened Sultanate, under siege from Christian kingdoms to the north and Moorish dynasties in the south. Fatima must preserve the legacy of her forefathers at all costs...SULTANA: TWO SISTERS - In 14th century Spain, two women vie for a man's heart and the future of his kingdom. Both women are captives sold into the harem of Sultan Yusuf I of Moorish Granada. A young girl with a hidden heritage, Esperanza Peralta, forges a new identity as Butayna and becomes the mother of Yusuf's firstborn son. The Jewess Miriam Alubel takes the name Maryam and also bears Yusuf's children, including two sons. The clash between former friends is inevitable, as each finds diverging paths in a dizzying rise to power beside their husband. Both remain aware of the struggle ahead, for only one heir may inherit Yusuf's throne and only one woman can claim the revered title, Mother of the Sultan.SULTANA: THE BRIDE PRICE - In 14th century Moorish Spain, a marriage of convenience for the sake of peace leads to disaster in the medieval kingdom of Granada. The young queen Jazirah, caught up in a dynastic struggle between warring brothers, fights for her survival. Wed to a husband who looks at her with more suspicion than lust in his eyes, she must escape reminders of a brutal past in a quest to find forgiveness, hope, and love. Her husband Muhammad faces greater peril than union with a wife he cannot trust. Surrounded by enemies within his family who seek the throne and undermined by ministers who would alter the course of his country's future, he intends to rule the land of his ancestors alone. How can he endure against his most bitter opponents, not least among them, the woman whom he has chosen for a bride?SULTANA: THE POMEGRANATE TREE - In 15th century Moorish Spain, Aisha, the descendant of the Sultans of Granada endures a life imperiled by dynastic warfare, loss, and cruel fate. Enemies descend on the kingdom from all sides and threaten to tear it apart. To preserve a fragile peace, Aisha suffers a sham marriage to a cruel tyrant, forever divided from the love that once ruled her heart. Years later, when a trusted confidante becomes a powerful rival, Aisha must fight for the future of the next generation or witness the destruction of her family and the last vestiges of Moorish rule in Spain.SULTANA: THE WHITE MOUNTAINS - In 15th century Moorish Spain, Moraima, wife of the last Sultan of Granada faces an uncertain future. Her husband's realm endures terrible odds in battles against dangerous foes. The united Catholic monarchs Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon gain ground steadily, encroaching upon Granada, while dynastic rivalries fracture the Moorish kingdom from within the palace. How can Moraima ensure the survival of her family, shattered by warfare and betrayal?

To defeat monsters, one man must become something even more terrible, giving rise to a legend and a dreadful curse. The Order of the Dragon – Book One unfolds in 15th-century Europe, terrorized by brutal wars, cursed by superstition, and divided by religion during the lifetime of Prince Vlad of Wallachia. He struggles to master his destiny and govern the fate of his homeland against forces that would see Christian Europe consumed by darkness. As a younger son raised within royal courts, Vlad lingers in the shadow of others—his elder brother, his father's legacy, and greater princes who view Wallachia as merely another pawn. Until, alongside the capricious Luxembourg king of Hungary, Zsigmond, Vlad gains a knighthood and a new sobriquet: Dracul, meaning the dragon or the devil. His family, friends, lovers, and enemies know him as both. In a journey from the land of his birth to the decadent and dangerous royal court at Buda Castle, across Europe's oldest medieval cities and fields of carnage where Ottoman forces press westward with scimitar and flame, Vlad must survive the path to power. A bloody road mired in warfare and savagery, littered with more than the corpses of his Turkish enemies. Strange creatures haunt his imagination and his battlefield encounters, phantoms born of war's madness or something far more sinister that stalks the borderlands between the living and the dead. Deceit and betrayal dictate the course of old friendships and holy alliances. From throne rooms to battlefields where Crusaders and Ottomans clash, this is the story of a man who dared to challenge fate itself. Discover the sacrifices and bold choices Vlad must make in Order of the Dragon – Book One, the first in a series of novels about the real Dracula family, the House of Basarab.

Some oaths are written in blood. Some legacies are born in darkness.The Order of the Dragon – Book Two unfolds as a knight of the Order of the Dragon, Vlad Dracul, a 15th-century Wallachian prince sworn to defend Christendom navigates a treacherous world of political intrigue, family betrayal, and the ever-present Ottoman threat. Torn between loyalty to his people and devotion to his children, Vlad's ambition to reclaim his birthright leads him down a bloody path, forcing him to make impossible choices and embrace his ruthless nature. But power often requires sacrifice. When the Turks demand his young sons as hostages, Vlad faces an agonizing choice that will echo through history.As the crusader armies clash with Ottoman forces along the Danube, Vlad discovers that survival requires more than political cunning—it demands embracing the very darkness he once fought against. Vlad must choose between his honor and his throne, between saving his children and securing his dynasty. Every decision carves another scar upon his soul, and each victory demands a piece of his humanity. His choices will not only decide Wallachia's fate but forge the legend of the most feared name in history—and set his namesake son on a path to immortal infamy.Discover the stunning conclusion of Vlad Dracul in Order of the Dragon – Book Two, the second in a series of novels and novellas about the real Dracula family, the House of Basarab.

Sons of the Dragon: Blood and Iron The Dragon's bloody legacy looms large over his sons. Young Prince Mircea Dracula of Wallachia, trained for war, schooled in strategy, and marked from boyhood as his father's heir, must hold the throne against impossible odds. Will it be enough when the world he has sworn to protect collapses around him? Across the medieval world, the growing Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murād II casts its long shadow, sending eighty thousand battle-hardened troops and a commander sworn to drown Wallachia in blood against Mircea. He knows the first duty of a prince is survival for the sake of his people and his family. But nothing he ever learned could have prepared him for the moment he must become the man his country needs most. He will discover what it truly costs to be the Dragon's son. In treacherous princely courts and blood-soaked fields, and in the desperate silence of a Transylvanian night, Mircea fights for the lives of his beloved brothers. For the honor of his birthplace and the survival of a dynasty. For the one truth about himself he can never speak aloud in a world that would use it to destroy him. From the author of The Order of the Dragon novels comes a new series, the Sons of the Dragon trilogy, about the real Dracula family and the origins of the vampire legends of Eastern Europe.

Sons of the Dragon: Crescent and Cross The Dragon's bloody legacy looms large over his sons. Torn from his family at seven years old, Prince Radu Dracula of Wallachia grows to manhood inside the court of the empire that took everything from him. Trained as a warrior, schooled in two faiths, and forged by a captor's cruelty into something his people may never forgive, he must decide who he is when the world insists on choosing for him. Across the medieval Balkans, the rising Ottoman state has shaped him into one of its own, converted, trained, and marked for life, even as the throne of his birthright still calls him home. He commands the sultan's own janissaries, winning their respect and loyalty on distant battlefields, and buries his grief where no one can find it. But nothing has prepared him for the day he is ordered to bring his own brother home in chains, or in a coffin. In gilded palaces and in a fortress built from a nation's blood, and in the silence of a captive heart that refuses to stop loving, Radu fights for more than a throne. For a homeland that no longer recognizes him, calling him stranger, invader, and puppet, and for the one bond neither empire, nor faith, nor blood itself can ever fully sever. For his family and the survival of the Drăculești name. From the author of The Order of the Dragon novels comes a new series, the Sons of the Dragon trilogy, about the real Dracula family and the origins of the vampire legends of Eastern Europe.

Love united them. Destiny drove them apart.When Avicia, a Norman noblewoman, makes a careless but costly mistake with a prized falcon, the brutal punishment nearly claims her life. Her Saxon lover, Edric of Newington, witnesses her ordeal but cannot share her fate. Another destiny awaits him in England, and the prospect of a loveless marriage.Swept away in the arms of another, Avicia enters the treacherous court of Duke William of Normandy. Through the years, Edric and Avicia reunite in a timeless, forbidden love, but a bitter rivalry for the English throne divides them. In a world forever altered in the aftermath of Hastings, hope rises and the chance to love again.

In thirteenth-century Moorish Spain, the realm of Granada is in crisis. The union of Fatima, granddaughter of the Sultan of Granada, with the Sultan's nephew Faraj has fractured the nation. A bitter civil war escalates and endangers both Fatima and Faraj's lives.All her life, Fatima has sheltered in lavish palaces where danger has never intruded, until now. A precocious child and the unwitting pawn of her family, she soon learns how her marriage may determine her future and the fate of Granada. Her husband Faraj has his own qualms about their union. At a young age, he witnessed the deaths of his parents, and discovered how affluence and power offers little protection against indomitable enemies. Throughout the rugged frontiers of southern Spain, the burgeoning Christian kingdoms in the north and the desert states of North Africa, Fatima and Faraj survive ruthless murderers and intrigues. They unite against common enemies bent on destroying the last Moorish dynasty.

Primeiro livro da série SultanaNa Espanha moura do Século XIII, o reino de Granada está em crise. O casamento de Fátima, neta do sultão de Granada, com o neto do sultão, Faraj, dividiu a nação. Uma guerra civil implacável transforma e põe em risco as vidas de Fátima e Faraj.Durante toda vida, Fátima morou em palácios exuberantes, onde o perigo nunca entrou, pelo menos até agora. Criança precoce e peão involuntário de sua família, fica sabendo como seu casamento pode determinar seu futuro e o destino de Granada. Seu marido Faraj tem seus próprios receios sobre essa união. Em tenra idade, presenciou as mortes de seus pais e descobriu que riqueza e poder dão pouca proteção contra inimigos indomáveis.Pelas fronteiras acidentadas do sul da Espanha, reinos cristãos florescentes ao norte e países áridos do norte da África, Fátima e Faraj sobrevivem a cruéis assassinatos e intrigas. Eles se unem contra inimigos comuns, decididos a destruir a última dinastia moura

In het dertiende-eeuwse Moorse Spanje verkeert het rijk van Granada in een crisis. Het huwelijk van Fatima, kleindochter van de Sultan van Granada, met de neef van de Sultan, Faraj, heeft het volk verdeeld. Een bittere burgeroorlog volgt en hun beider levens lopen gevaar. Fatima heeft geen ander leven gekend dan de veiligheid binnen het prachtige paleis, tot nu. Een onwillige pion van haar familie, moet ze van kinds af aan toezien hoe haar huwelijk de toekomst van haarzelf en het land zal veranderen. Faraj heeft zijn eigen bedenkingen over hun huwelijk. Na op jonge leeftijd getuige te zijn geweest van de dood van zijn ouders heeft hij geleerd hoe macht en invloed weinig kunnen uithalen als de vijanden vastberaden zijn.

Libro 1 della serie: La sultanaTredicesimo Secolo. Nella Spagna dei Mori il regno di Granada è in crisi: l’unione di Fatima, nipote del Sultano, con il principe Faraj ha diviso la nazione, portando allo scoppio di un’aspra guerra civile. Bambina precoce e pedina inconsapevole dei giochi della sua famiglia, Fatima è sempre vissuta nella protezione di palazzi sontuosi, che adesso non possono più garantire la sua sicurezza. Attraverso le accidentate frontiere della Spagna meridionale, dei regni cristiani in espansione e degli stati del nord Africa, Fatima e Faraj dovranno sopravvivere a spietati omicidi e intrighi, uniti contro nemici comuni che vogliono distruggere l’ultima dinastia dei Mori.

Descripción del libro:         Libro 1 de la serie SultanaEn el siglo XIII en la España musulmana, el reino de Granada está en crisis. La unión entre Fátima, nieta del sultán de Granada y Faraj, sobrino del sultán, ha dividido a la nación. Una enconada guerra civil tiene lugar y pone en peligro las vidas de Fátima y Faraj.Durante toda su vida, Fátima ha vivido en palacios suntuosos en los que el peligro nunca la había importunado, hasta ahora. Como niña precoz e involuntario peón de una partida de ajedrez familiar, se da cuenta de cómo su matrimonio puede decidir su futuro y el destino de Granada. Su esposo Faraj tiene sus propios escrúpulos en relación con su unión. A temprana edad, fue testigo de la muerte de sus padres y descubrió cómo la riqueza y el poder no pueden protegerle de enemigos indomables.En las peligrosas fronteras del sur de España, los pujantes reinos cristianos del norte de la península y los áridos estados del norte de África, Fátima y Faraj, sobreviven a asesinos despiadados y a las intrigas. Se unen y hacen frente a enemigos comunes empeñados en destruir la última dinastía musulmana.

SULTANA - In 13th century Moorish Spain, the realm of Granada is in crisis. The union of Fatima, granddaughter of the Sultan of Granada, with the Sultan's nephew Faraj has fractured the nation. A bitter civil war escalates and endangers both Fatima and Faraj's lives...SULTANA'S LEGACY - In 13th century Moorish Spain, the Sultanate of Granada faces a bleak future, as a tyrant seizes control. Fatima, the daughter of a Sultan, and her devoted husband Faraj have enjoyed years of peace and prosperity. Now, a power-hungry madman claims the throne. He murders almost everyone Fatima holds dear. His reign fractures a weakened Sultanate, under siege from Christian kingdoms to the north and Moorish dynasties in the south. Fatima must preserve the legacy of her forefathers at all costs...SULTANA: TWO SISTERS - In 14th century Spain, two women vie for a man's heart and the future of his kingdom. Both women are captives sold into the harem of Sultan Yusuf I of Moorish Granada. A young girl with a hidden heritage, Esperanza Peralta, forges a new identity as Butayna and becomes the mother of Yusuf's firstborn son. The Jewess Miriam Alubel takes the name Maryam and also bears Yusuf's children, including two sons. The clash between former friends is inevitable, as each finds diverging paths in a dizzying rise to power beside their husband. Both remain aware of the struggle ahead, for only one heir may inherit Yusuf's throne and only one woman can claim the revered title, Mother of the Sultan.SULTANA: THE BRIDE PRICE - In 14th century Moorish Spain, a marriage of convenience for the sake of peace leads to disaster in the medieval kingdom of Granada. The young queen Jazirah, caught up in a dynastic struggle between warring brothers, fights for her survival. Wed to a husband who looks at her with more suspicion than lust in his eyes, she must escape reminders of a brutal past in a quest to find forgiveness, hope, and love. Her husband Muhammad faces greater peril than union with a wife he cannot trust. Surrounded by enemies within his family who seek the throne and undermined by ministers who would alter the course of his country's future, he intends to rule the land of his ancestors alone. How can he endure against his most bitter opponents, not least among them, the woman whom he has chosen for a bride?SULTANA: THE POMEGRANATE TREE - In 15th century Moorish Spain, Aisha, the descendant of the Sultans of Granada endures a life imperiled by dynastic warfare, loss, and cruel fate. Enemies descend on the kingdom from all sides and threaten to tear it apart. To preserve a fragile peace, Aisha suffers a sham marriage to a cruel tyrant, forever divided from the love that once ruled her heart. Years later, when a trusted confidante becomes a powerful rival, Aisha must fight for the future of the next generation or witness the destruction of her family and the last vestiges of Moorish rule in Spain.SULTANA: THE WHITE MOUNTAINS - In 15th century Moorish Spain, Moraima, wife of the last Sultan of Granada faces an uncertain future. Her husband's realm endures terrible odds in battles against dangerous foes. The united Catholic monarchs Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon gain ground steadily, encroaching upon Granada, while dynastic rivalries fracture the Moorish kingdom from within the palace. How can Moraima ensure the survival of her family, shattered by warfare and betrayal?

To defeat monsters, one man must become something even more terrible, giving rise to a legend and a dreadful curse. The Order of the Dragon – Book One unfolds in 15th-century Europe, terrorized by brutal wars, cursed by superstition, and divided by religion during the lifetime of Prince Vlad of Wallachia. He struggles to master his destiny and govern the fate of his homeland against forces that would see Christian Europe consumed by darkness. As a younger son raised within royal courts, Vlad lingers in the shadow of others—his elder brother, his father's legacy, and greater princes who view Wallachia as merely another pawn. Until, alongside the capricious Luxembourg king of Hungary, Zsigmond, Vlad gains a knighthood and a new sobriquet: Dracul, meaning the dragon or the devil. His family, friends, lovers, and enemies know him as both. In a journey from the land of his birth to the decadent and dangerous royal court at Buda Castle, across Europe's oldest medieval cities and fields of carnage where Ottoman forces press westward with scimitar and flame, Vlad must survive the path to power. A bloody road mired in warfare and savagery, littered with more than the corpses of his Turkish enemies. Strange creatures haunt his imagination and his battlefield encounters, phantoms born of war's madness or something far more sinister that stalks the borderlands between the living and the dead. Deceit and betrayal dictate the course of old friendships and holy alliances. From throne rooms to battlefields where Crusaders and Ottomans clash, this is the story of a man who dared to challenge fate itself. Discover the sacrifices and bold choices Vlad must make in Order of the Dragon – Book One, the first in a series of novels about the real Dracula family, the House of Basarab.

Some oaths are written in blood. Some legacies are born in darkness.The Order of the Dragon – Book Two unfolds as a knight of the Order of the Dragon, Vlad Dracul, a 15th-century Wallachian prince sworn to defend Christendom navigates a treacherous world of political intrigue, family betrayal, and the ever-present Ottoman threat. Torn between loyalty to his people and devotion to his children, Vlad's ambition to reclaim his birthright leads him down a bloody path, forcing him to make impossible choices and embrace his ruthless nature. But power often requires sacrifice. When the Turks demand his young sons as hostages, Vlad faces an agonizing choice that will echo through history.As the crusader armies clash with Ottoman forces along the Danube, Vlad discovers that survival requires more than political cunning—it demands embracing the very darkness he once fought against. Vlad must choose between his honor and his throne, between saving his children and securing his dynasty. Every decision carves another scar upon his soul, and each victory demands a piece of his humanity. His choices will not only decide Wallachia's fate but forge the legend of the most feared name in history—and set his namesake son on a path to immortal infamy.Discover the stunning conclusion of Vlad Dracul in Order of the Dragon – Book Two, the second in a series of novels and novellas about the real Dracula family, the House of Basarab.

Sons of the Dragon: Blood and Iron The Dragon's bloody legacy looms large over his sons. Young Prince Mircea Dracula of Wallachia, trained for war, schooled in strategy, and marked from boyhood as his father's heir, must hold the throne against impossible odds. Will it be enough when the world he has sworn to protect collapses around him? Across the medieval world, the growing Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murād II casts its long shadow, sending eighty thousand battle-hardened troops and a commander sworn to drown Wallachia in blood against Mircea. He knows the first duty of a prince is survival for the sake of his people and his family. But nothing he ever learned could have prepared him for the moment he must become the man his country needs most. He will discover what it truly costs to be the Dragon's son. In treacherous princely courts and blood-soaked fields, and in the desperate silence of a Transylvanian night, Mircea fights for the lives of his beloved brothers. For the honor of his birthplace and the survival of a dynasty. For the one truth about himself he can never speak aloud in a world that would use it to destroy him. From the author of The Order of the Dragon novels comes a new series, the Sons of the Dragon trilogy, about the real Dracula family and the origins of the vampire legends of Eastern Europe.

Sons of the Dragon: Crescent and Cross The Dragon's bloody legacy looms large over his sons. Torn from his family at seven years old, Prince Radu Dracula of Wallachia grows to manhood inside the court of the empire that took everything from him. Trained as a warrior, schooled in two faiths, and forged by a captor's cruelty into something his people may never forgive, he must decide who he is when the world insists on choosing for him. Across the medieval Balkans, the rising Ottoman state has shaped him into one of its own, converted, trained, and marked for life, even as the throne of his birthright still calls him home. He commands the sultan's own janissaries, winning their respect and loyalty on distant battlefields, and buries his grief where no one can find it. But nothing has prepared him for the day he is ordered to bring his own brother home in chains, or in a coffin. In gilded palaces and in a fortress built from a nation's blood, and in the silence of a captive heart that refuses to stop loving, Radu fights for more than a throne. For a homeland that no longer recognizes him, calling him stranger, invader, and puppet, and for the one bond neither empire, nor faith, nor blood itself can ever fully sever. For his family and the survival of the Drăculești name. From the author of The Order of the Dragon novels comes a new series, the Sons of the Dragon trilogy, about the real Dracula family and the origins of the vampire legends of Eastern Europe.