Blood of Kings – serie

An uneasy peace reigns in Wales. It’s 1109 and the truce with England hangs by the thinnest of threads. While King Gruffydd ap Cynan’s rule of law holds in the north, a spirit of rebellion is rising in the south, as tearaway princes and rebels grow to resent England’s oppression of their homeland. And when Nesta, married off in a political move by England’s King Henry, leaves the safety of her husband’s castle to attend a celebration, the rebels seize their opportunity.The truce broken, England’s rulers look to turn the ensuing chaos to their advantage, and to crush Wales under their boot once and for all. Gruffydd is left with a stark choice: enforce the peace he so desires for his land, and betray his countrymen, or risk everything he has built by going to war with the English once again. But the decision is soon taken out of his hands by those who ride for liberty from the depths of Rebellion’s Forge.Rebellion’s Forge is the third book in the Blood of Kings trilogy.

1081. William’s bloody conquest is over and Britain is under Norman rule. But one bastion of resistance remains: Wales. A divided land where brother fights brother and kings battle for power. The English use this to further their own ends, and while one king is tempted by an offer he cannot resist, the others wage war over long-forgotten feuds.Gruffydd ap Cynan, true heir to the kingdom of Gwynedd, is in exile across the sea. When he hears of the betrayal of the Welsh people by the imposter in his throne, Gruffydd unites with Tewdwr, a monarch deposed by the traitors, and they forge an army from the ashes of their kingdoms. But Tewdwr’s wife and daughter—the source of much of the allies’ strength—are a weakness their enemies will exploit.Betrayal, treachery and war await, but both men know they must fight to the bitter end, when the sundered lands of Wales are drenched...in the blood of kings.

Gruffydd ap Cynan is missing, his army scattered. Twelve long years have passed since the king was taken prisoner and his people think him long dead. In the dirty shadows of Chester Castle, a beaten prisoner looks up from the squalor of the street. Dressed in rags, mocked and pelted with filth, he seems a broken man. Yet deep inside, the desire for freedom burns like the hottest furnace. Nesta is a princess in fetters of a different kind. After the death of her father, Tewdwr, she is taken against her will to London to attend the court of King William, son of the Conqueror. There she will find that court politics, and the attentions of princes and lords, are just as dangerous as the arrows and swords of the battlefield.The royal blood of Wales is scattered and weakened, but while it flows in the bloodline of Rhodri Mawr, hope remains—Hope that a broken kingdom can be reborn.