A Warlord's Bargain — Chris Thorndycroft

As war consumes Britain, the struggle for a nation continues.

South East Britain, 447 A.D. Hengest and Horsa - two Jutish exiles - have made names for themselves as raiders and pirates, plundering the coast and striking terror into the hearts of merchants and British noblemen. They take what they want and, as their power grows, they set their sights on larger prizes.

But in the Byzantine corridors of the great town of Londinium, the ruling powers are plotting war. Lord Vertigernus, head of the Council of Britannia, desires an alliance with these pagans from across the sea and will stop at nothing to get it. Soon, Hengest and Horsa are drawn into the political power plays of post-Roman Britain where little is what it seems and none are to be trusted.

Ambrosius Aurelianus - the last military master of the Britons - marches north to wage war on the Picts. Hengest and Horsa ride under his banner as mercenaries fighting for the land promised them by Lord Vertigernus. As shields are splintered and blood is shed in the dim forests of the north, events are put in motion that will have both catastrophic and defining results for the struggling island of Britain.