Valorian

Book nine of the Free Land Chronicles begins the story of Valorian: gypsy, mercenary and one time lover of the girl who called herself Swiftsword.

His family and home destroyed and left near death he is taken in by a band of mercenaries. He slowly begins putting his life back together, but pain and suffering are not so easily forgotten and fear leads to a desire for vengeance. A desire stoked by the arrival of a fellow gypsy, dark-eyed and secretive Tamus, whose own desire for revenge will not allow Valorian’s to wane.

Encouraged by the other boy, Valorian soon finds his hands bathed in blood but is vengeance truly what he wants or is it just peace he seeks; peace and freedom from fear and nightmares? Whatever he wants is irrelevant to Tamus. The gypsy heart is unforgiving and they have a saying “hurt one of us and you hurt us all.” Valorian’s pain is his pain and it cannot be endured. Vengeance will be had. There can be no peace without it. Vengeance will be had and there can be no vengeance without death.

Ramius, leader of the mercenaries, seeks to strengthen Valorian and help him move forward with his life, but struggles against Tamus who is determined that Valorian should finish the task they started together. Wicked men should be punished. Every last one of them.

Torn between the man he now calls father and the boy he calls friend, Valorian struggles to cope with the tumult of emotions trapped within him. Will he survive and if he does what kind of man will he become: a man capable of loving a princess, a man strong enough to lose her and watch her descend into darkness, a man fearless enough to one day step in to that darkness in the hope of saving her?