Darkest Before Dawn

Autumn, 655 A.D. Princess Alchflaed of Northumbria is a spirited young woman who wishes to choose her own path. Unfortunately, highborn women in Anglo-Saxon England have no say in their choice of husband, and her father promises his daughter to the son of his bitterest enemy. This attempt at 'peace weaving' is not what is seems. Alchflaed's father orders her to murder her new husband. Charged with this treacherous task, she journeys south to her new home in Mercia. Maric - a seasoned warrior with a dark past - leads her escort. Princess and warrior find themselves strongly drawn to each other, but they must deny their feelings. Both bound by loyalty, neither can choose their own fates. Alchflaed's father has given her a terrible choice: to earn her freedom, she must kill a king.