Chained (Chained Trilogy) (37 page)

All her hopes were dashed in the instant the door closed behind him. He had betrayed her, earned her trust and used it against her. It had been so easy, and Gwen felt like the worst sort of fool for falling prey to his malicious schemes.

The captor was now the captive … but then, Gwen realized with startling clarity, that he’d always had the upper hand. Though she’d bound him in chains, she was the one who had been captured.

To be continued…

Dear Reader,

Wow, what an incredible journey it was, writing this book! I hope you enjoyed your visit to Alemere and the realms of Dinasdale, Daleraia, and the Isle of Camritte. The journey is far from over! Book two in the Chained Trilogy, Bound, will pick up right where this story left off. Prepare yourself for more action, more intrigue, and even more delicious tension between Gwen and Caden.

Did you enjoy Chained? If so, I would be
honored to know your thoughts in a review. I check all websites where my books are sold to read reviews, as I learn a lot from them and appreciate all feedback. The time my readers take to share their thoughts is very much appreciated.

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Fin
d Chained Trilogy extras at my website, including exclusive, behind-the-scenes photos from the book cover photo shoot, wallpapers for your PC’s desktop, my medieval Pinterest board, an epic playlist, and more:
www.elisemarion.com/extras

Read on for the extras located at the end of this book, including a complete history and timeline of the events leading up t
o and encompassing the War of Four Kings, as well as a complete family tree on all of Alemere’s prominent houses.

Happy Reading,

Elise

Elise Marion is a lover books and has a special place in her heart for sweet and sensual romance. Writing about love across all walks of life is her passion, as is reaching people through the written word. The Army wife and stay-at-home mother of three spends most of her time taking care of her children. Her second job includes writing stories about characters that people can fall in love with. When the Texas native isn’t caring for her family or writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book, singing loudly, or cooking up something new in the kitchen.

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1250-
The widowed King Terrowin Maignart I of Daleraia is rejected by Princess Farah Toustain when he approaches her father with an offer of marriage. It was said that King Terrowin I, in need of a second wife, was bewitched by Princess Farah’s beauty. King Terrowin I, angry over the rejection and known for his temper, retaliates by kidnapping Princess Farah, forcing her to become his concubine, and imprisoning her in the Wraith’s Tower, under heavy guard and far out of her father’s reach. Later that year, Princess Farah’s father, King Jorin Toustain of Dinasdale, would lead a siege against the Wraith’s Tower to rescue Princess Farah. The siege would end after three months, culminating with the public execution of Princess Farah, her body hung from the tower’s battlements in plain view of King Jorin and his men. They retaliated by storming the tower, setting it aflame and taking many Daleraians prisoner. The Siege of the Wraith’s Tower is said to have been the beginning of the feud between House Maignart and House Toustain. In honor of the slain Princess Farah, King Jorin rebuilt the Wraith’s Tower of stone, crowning it with a sculpture in her image. The Wraith’s Tower remains empty, a tribute to the slain princess.

In the winter of 1250 Lord Sigan Durville of
Quaos would ride to Seahaven to negotiate for the imprisoned Daleraians. King Jorin accepted Lord Sigan and his men into the great hall, before slaughtering Lord Sigan and his men. He then executed the prisoners and mounted their heads on the castle walls as a warning to other Daleraians.

1251-1260
In a flurry of raids, a party of knights known as The Fist of King Terrowin struck the north with sword and fire. The cities of Heywick and Vor’shy withstood the worst of it—enduring the burning of their shops and homes, the rape and kidnapping of their women, and slaughter of their men. King Jorin retaliated by setting his brother, Prince Amadeus, against the south. Leading a contingent of knights known as King Jorin’s Arrows, Prince Amadeus laid siege to Minas Bothe in 1255, nearly starving those inside by raiding every supply wagon that dared to approach and pilfering the goods for themselves. The Siege of Minas Bothe was ended when Prince Amadeus was slain in single combat by Prince Terrowin Maignart II, who was at the time only sixteen years of age and already a seasoned and knighted fighter.

In retaliation for Prince Amadeus’ death, King Jorin led his men in battle against King Terrowin I and Daleraia. They met on the battlefield between Vor’shy and
Quaos in a bloody fight that became known as the Battle of the Kings. King Terrowin Maignart I was slain in that battle in the year 1256. King Terrowin Maignart II rose to power and continued to wage war on Dinasdale in his father’s name. In a string of battles, young King Terrowin II engaged King Jorin, until he killed King Jorin in battle in the valley of the Radaughorm Mountains in the year 1260. This battle became known as The Fall of King Jorin.

1261-
Percyvelle Toustain of Dinasdale succeeds his father to the throne. In an effort at putting the feud to rest, King Percyvelle met with King Terrowin II to negotiate a peace treaty. Both kings signed the treaty, bringing harmony to Dinasdale and Daleraia for ten years.

1271-
In celebration of ten years of reconciliation between Dinasdale and Daleraia, a great feast and tournament was held at Adari, an event that became known as The Tourney of the Kings. It was at this tourney that Prince Favian Toustain, second son of King Jorin and brother to King Percyvelle, offended King Terrowin II by bestowing a favor—a red rose—upon his wife, Queen Krea Maignart. It is said that this day was the beginning of Prince Favian’s obsession with Krea Maignart. In anger, King Terrowin II challenged Prince Favian to a joust, unseating him and driving a lance through his shoulder. Prince Favian answered this insult by driving a spear through King Terrowin’s thigh during the melee. King Terrowin approached King Percyvelle, demanding that Prince Favian be punished for his insubordination. King Percyvelle refused, taking the side of his brother and insisting that no lasting harm had been done.

On the road home to Freyvale, Prince Favian and his men were attacked by bandits and the prince barely escaped with his life. King Percyvelle’s son
, Geoffrey Toustain, who journeyed with him, was killed in the fight. The incident became known as the Adari Conflict. Convinced that the attack was instigated by King Terrowin, Prince Favian struck back by sacking the city of Haleah to avenge his nephew, putting many of its men to the sword and taking the women for slaves. King Terrowin declared an end to the peace and once again resumed war against Dinasdale, insisting that Prince Favian had been the one to end the truce by attacking Haleah.

1272-
After another string of battles with loss on either side, Prince Favian sent knights disguised as minstrels into Minas Bothe to abscond with Queen Krea. Prince Favian took Krea away to Freyvale, where he held her captive. King Terrowin accused Prince Favian of kidnap and rape, while Prince Favian maintained that Queen Krea loved him, not her king, and had run away with him and come to his bed willingly. King Terrowin challenged Prince Favian to single combat, but Favian refused, vowing that he would only engage Terrowin on the battlefield or not at all. That winter, King Terrowin II marched on Freyvale, holding it under siege for a year and demanding the return of his queen before he would lift the siege. During the siege, Queen Krea died birthing the son of Prince Favian, who followed her in death. King Terrowin put the city of Freyvale to the sword in retaliation and swore that there would never again be peace between Dinasdale and Daleraia.

1274-
King Merek Arundel II of the Isle of Camritte beseeches both Percyvelle and Terrowin for peace. The war had taken a toll on trade between the Isle and both kingdoms. He argued that the three realms needed each other to survive. King Percyvelle was willing to work for another treaty, but King Terrowin refused, the death of Queen Krea having hardened him against the Dinasdalians. The war between the two kingdoms continued, until King Percyvelle and Prince Theodric—firstborn son of King Terrowin II—agreed to meet with King Merek in secret to draft a new treaty. Prince Theodric wished for peace, while his father did not, and was willing to beseech Daleraia’s council and ask them to name him Regent in his father’s stead, naming King Terrowin unfit to rule.

1275-
As King Percyvelle, Prince Theodric, and King Merek I meet with an assembled council made up of lords from all three kingdoms to form the new treaty, one last battle raged. The Battle of the Athils—taking place on the battlefield near Daleraia’s twin inlets known as The Athils—took the lives of many, including King Terrowin II. By the time the battle had ended, the two kings and prince had signed a treaty combining the three realms into one under the leadership of King Merek Arundel II, with Percyvelle taking the title of High Lord of Dinasdale and Warden of the North, and Theodric being named High Lord of Daleraia and Warden of the South. Thenceforth, the three realms—now the kingdom of Alemere—were one and at peace.

Houses and Histories of the Great Families of Alemere

House Arundel

In the year 1275, when the realms of Daleraia, Dinasdale, and the Isle of Camritte were amassed into one—the kingdom of Alemere—King Merek I of House Arundel was chosen to rule. Thus the Arundels became the royal house of Alemere, and have been ruling for thirty years. A family of mixed heritage—both Daler
aian and Dinasdalian—the Arundels were chosen to rule for this reason, to bridge the gap between the two realms.

The symbol of House Arundel is a five-
pointed star (gold on a field of black, the colors of the royal house).

• Rowan Arundel I, deceased. King of the Isle of Camritte
  
• Emery Arundel, deceased, wife to King Rowan Arundel I. Queen of the aisle of Camritte.
  
• Merek Arundel II, First king of Dinasdale, Daleraia, and the Isle of Camritte—the combined kingdoms of the realm of Alemere. Because of his parentage, the crowned prince of Camritte was chosen by an assembled council of Daleraians and Dinasdalians to rule the joined realms in a peace agreement at the end of the War of Four Kings. His father, a distant relation of the Maignarts, had married into the Arundel family before his first wife perished; he then took a Dinasdalian lady (Merek’s mother) to wife. It was believed that a man with the blood of both realms in his veins could rule them both more justly than could a man from either kingdom.
  
• Helewys Arundel, wife of King Merek Arund
  el II. Queen of Dinasdale, Daleraia, and the Isle of Camritte—the combined kingdoms of the realm of Alemere.
  
• Rowan Arundel, Prince of
  Alemere and firstborn son of King Merek and Queen Helewys Arundel. Heir to the throne of Alemere.
  
• Helena Arundel, Princess of
  Alemere and daughter of King Merek and Queen Helewys.
  
• Sir Hadrian Arund
  el, second born son of King Rowan I and Queen Emery Arundel. Knighted warrior and Lord of Ir’os. The seat of Ir’os was gifted to him in the year 1260 by Lord Terrowin Maignart II, who was then the King of Daleraia.
  
• Lady Esme Arundel, wife of Hadrian Arundel. The daughter of a wealthy, Dinasdalian merchant, Lady Esme is not of noble blood. Her marriage to Sir Hadrian was a love match, the union entered into before Sir Hadrian was made Lord of Ir’os.
  
• Sir Fendrel Arundel, firstborn son of Sir Hadrian and Lady Esme Arundel, heir to Ir’os. Knighted by King Merek I after defeating his every opponent in the annual Kings Tourney.
  
• Sir Wendell Arundel, second born son of Sir Hadrian and Lady Esme Arundel. Twin brother to Sir Fendrel. Knighted for rescuing his cousin, Princess Helena, from a band of raiders thinking to ransom her for gold.
  
• Sir Olivar Arundel, brother of King Merek Arundel I and uncle to King Merek Arundel II. Castellan of Garrothe, he rules the castle and lands in the king’s stead. Knighted for his bravery during the War of Four Kings.
  
• Lady Winifred Arundel, deceased. Wife of Sir Olivar Arundel.
  
• Arthur Arundel, firstborn son of Sir Olivar and Lady Winifred Arundel.