1307, Carlisle, England

Young Allyson is the first to hear of the death of King Edward II during a battle with the Scots?but cannot reveal her knowledge lest she be exposed as a witch.

When the man she loves, a Templar, returns from France with news of the disbanding of his order and the arrest of its leaders, she realizes that the heir to England might well betray the Templars to his own advantage. She must turn for aid to the one man she dare not trust: her own husband.

Each of them holds a secret that will change the lives of the others as they work to prevent the war with Scotland from becoming the ruin of them all.

If you've read the Dark Apostle novels, you'll find characters you thought you knew, with a history you'd never suspect. If you haven't, this novella will introduce a gritty world of medieval Britain, with a touch of magic--and it includes an excerpt from Elisha Barber, the first volume in the Dark Apostle series.

Autorentext

E. C. Ambrose is the author of "The Dark Apostle" series of historical fantasy novels, beginning with Elisha Barber from DAW Books. Published works include "Spoiler Alert" and "The Romance of Ruins" in Clarkesworld Magazine and "Custom of the Sea," winner of the Tenebris Press Flash Fiction Contest 2012. Additional stories are available in Fireside and through the Penguin Specials e-book program. The author is both a graduate of and an instructor for the Odyssey Writing workshop, and a participant in the Codex on-line neo-pro writers' workshop.

In addition to writing, E. C. works as an adventure guide. Past occupations include founding a wholesale business, selecting stamps for a philatelic company, selling equestrian equipment, and portraying the Easter Bunny on weekends. The author spends too much time in a tiny office in New Hampshire with a mournful black lab lurking under the desk.