A King Ensnared

A prince hunted by his own blood. A prisoner forged into a king.

Scotland, 1406. Twelve-year-old Prince James flees a kingdom splintering under treachery as his father, King Robert III, lies dying and the ruthless Duke of Albany tightens his grip. With his elder brother already murdered, James is the next target in a deadly bid for the crown. His escape across a storm-lashed sea ends in capture by the English, trading one peril for another as he is thrust into the glittering, lethal world of a foreign court. In the shadow of the Tower and the throne of Henry V, James is forced to become both blade and quill—tempered on the training field, sharpened in the schoolroom, and schooled in the art of survival where a slip of the tongue can cost a country.

As years in captivity harden boyhood into resolve, James discovers a perilous solace in his secret love for Joan Beaufort, an English noblewoman whose courage kindles his own. Yet courtly dances veil iron chains, and promises of freedom demand impossible oaths. With Scotland bleeding under his uncle's misrule and England's warrior-king demanding fealty, James must balance the poet's heart against the knight's duty. To reclaim his birthright, he will risk everything—defy a usurper, outwit a conqueror, and stake his soul on a love that might save him and his kingdom.

Bold, immersive, and steeped in the peril and pageantry of the Middle Ages, A King Ensnared launches The Stewart Chronicle with a tale of captivity and courage, of a dreamer who must learn to fight, and a fighter who refuses to stop dreaming—until a crown is won and a country redeemed.

For readers of Bernard Cornwell, Philippa Gregory, and Conn Iggulden.