The Promised Heart (Hearts of the Conquest Book 3) by Paula Quinn

Author:Paula Quinn [Quinn, Paula]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2023-12-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

“I want my war.” Cedric, son of King Rhys’ brother, Owain, stared out over the timber palisade encompassing one of the twin towers of Prince Dafydd ap Gruffudd’s fortress. His dark gaze spread over the steep mountain slopes and wooded hillsides in the distance. Gwynedd. He enjoyed a deep inhalation of cool, pine-scented air. So much of the north was still unsullied by Norman invasion. The land here was as wild and as brutal as his dreams. His jaw, lightly dusted with chestnut stubble, tightened. This was where he would make his home after the war. Indeed, he decided he would live in this very fortress once its current owner was removed.

“Rhydderch of Powys and that dolt, Prince Amren of Gwent do naught while the Normans slowly advance deeper into Cymru. I understand some of Lord Benevere’s men on the central marches have taken Cymry wives. Our enemy is seeping into our lives and our land like a disease.”

Standing beside him, Prince Dafydd nodded. “Your brother follows their example by marrying a Norman.”

“Aye, and after all the Normans have done.” Cedric returned his cool gaze to the landscape. “They attacked Ystrad Towi and left Llandovery in ruins before my uncle handed it all over to Gareth. They killed many, and my brother repays them by taking one as a wife.”

“Have you forgotten what your man, Bleddyn, told us?” Dafydd asked him. “Prince Gareth is Wyfyrn. If he spoke the truth, then your brother has killed many Normans.”

Cedric’s mouth twisted into a smirk. “Wyfyrn, the people’s hero who hides behind a helm.” He laughed, but the sound was void of any mirth. “He’s afraid of the Normans. From the day we first met the king my brother has preached peace. King William frightened him with his vast armies. That’s why Wyfyrn hides. He killed a few Normans because they raped a peasant or burned a few huts down. He doesn’t possess the passion for war, the pride of the Cymry.”

Beneath Dafydd’s bushy brown beard, his jaw twitched and his lips tightened. “Afraid or not, he snatches life from his victims like a wraith. Are we wise to underestimate a man who held Lord Hamilton of Chepstow captive on his own land, in his own castle, after he decimated the warlord’s garrison?”

“Of course not, Dafydd,” Cedric assured him, softening his voice. “That’s why we haven’t attacked Gareth’s village outright, but we’ve meticulously planned his death, along with my uncle’s. That is, unless King William kills Gareth before we do.”

“Do you think the Norman king will believe the attack on Winchester was ordered by Prince Gareth?”

“Aye. My men carry Gareth’s banner. But then, I don’t really care whose order he thinks it was. One way or another, I’ll force the Normans onto the battlefield, where I’ll rid Cymru of them for good.”

“Can Bleddyn be trusted?”

“He’s been in my service for three years.”

“And the other?”

Cedric’s lips curled into a grisly smile. “He wants Gareth dead as badly as we do. He’ll lead Gareth straight to us.

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