Somewhere far from Kattegat, the sun shines cold upon Mason Ironside, who’s crossing a lake of ice. And somewhere far from Kattegat, the men of Frankia plot with the women of Frankia against the other men of Frankia. And somewhere far from Kattegat, a prince of Wessex endeavors to save a captured Queen of Mercia. But perhaps none of that matters. Here, in Kattegat, a man has escaped. Herbert is gone, gone, gone: The old friend, the traitor, now on the run from his own people. “Well?” says Jordan Korg, his breakfast disrupted. “Go find him.”
While Herbert runs away — up the mountains, through the rapids, over the river and through the woods — the lord of Wessex receives troubling news from Mercia. The nobles have risen in revolt against Queen Kwenthrith. The kin-killing queen is a captive
