Dark Warrior (de Russe Legacy Book 9) Read online

  DARK WARRIOR

  A Medieval Romance

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  A Dark Sons Novel

  © Copyright 2019 by Kathryn Le Veque Novels, Inc.

  Kindle Edition

  Text by Kathryn Le Veque

  Cover by Kim Killion

  Edited by Scott Moreland

  Reproduction of any kind except where it pertains to short quotes in relation to advertising or promotion is strictly prohibited.

  All Rights Reserved.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  License Notes:

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook, once purchased, may not be re-sold. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or borrow it, or it was not purchased for you and given as a gift for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. If this book was purchased on an unauthorized platform, then it is a pirated and/or unauthorized copy and violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Do not purchase or accept pirated copies. Thank you for respecting the author’s hard work.

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  Kathryn Le Veque Novels

  Medieval Romance:

  De Wolfe Pack Series:

  Warwolfe

  The Wolfe

  Nighthawk

  ShadowWolfe

  DarkWolfe

  A Joyous de Wolfe Christmas

  BlackWolfe

  Serpent

  A Wolfe Among Dragons

  Scorpion

  StormWolfe

  Dark Destroyer

  The Lion of the North

  Walls of Babylon

  The Best Is Yet To Be

  The de Russe Legacy:

  The Falls of Erith

  Lord of War: Black Angel

  The Iron Knight

  Beast

  The Dark One: Dark Knight

  The White Lord of Wellesbourne

  Dark Moon

  Dark Steel

  A de Russe Christmas Miracle

  Dark Warrior

  The de Lohr Dynasty:

  While Angels Slept

  Rise of the Defender

  Steelheart

  Shadowmoor

  Silversword

  Spectre of the Sword

  Unending Love

  Archangel

  A Blessed de Lohr Christmas

  Lords of East Anglia:

  While Angels Slept

  Godspeed

  Great Lords of le Bec:

  Great Protector

  House of de Royans:

  Lord of Winter

  To the Lady Born

  The Centurion

  Lords of Eire:

  Echoes of Ancient Dreams

  Blacksword

  The Darkland

  Ancient Kings of Anglecynn:

  The Whispering Night

  Netherworld

  Battle Lords of de Velt:

  The Dark Lord

  Devil’s Dominion

  Bay of Fear

  The Dark Lord’s First Christmas

  Reign of the House of de Winter:

  Lespada

  Swords and Shields

  De Reyne Domination:

  Guardian of Darkness

  With Dreams

  The Fallen One

  House of d’Vant:

  Tender is the Knight (House of d’Vant)

  The Red Fury (House of d’Vant)

  The Dragonblade Series:

  Fragments of Grace

  Dragonblade

  Island of Glass

  The Savage Curtain

  The Fallen One

  Great Marcher Lords of de Lara

  Lord of the Shadows

  Dragonblade

  House of St. Hever

  Fragments of Grace

  Island of Glass

  Queen of Lost Stars

  Lords of Pembury:

  The Savage Curtain

  Lords of Thunder: The de Shera Brotherhood Trilogy

  The Thunder Lord

  The Thunder Warrior

  The Thunder Knight

  The Great Knights of de Moray:

  Shield of Kronos

  The Gorgon

  The House of De Nerra:

  The Promise

  The Falls of Erith

  Vestiges of Valor

  Realm of Angels

  Highland Warriors of Munro:

  The Red Lion

  Deep Into Darkness

  The House of de Garr:

  Lord of Light

  Realm of Angels

  Saxon Lords of Hage:

  The Crusader

  Kingdom Come

  High Warriors of Rohan:

  High Warrior

  The House of Ashbourne:

  Upon a Midnight Dream

  The House of D’Aurilliac:

  Valiant Chaos

  The House of De Dere:

  Of Love and Legend

  St. John and de Gare Clans:

  The Warrior Poet

  The House of de Bretagne:

  The Questing

  The House of Summerlin:

  The Legend

  The Kingdom of Hendocia:

  Kingdom by the Sea

  The Executioner Knights:

  By the Unholy Hand

  The Promise (also Noble Knights of de Nerra)

  The Mountain Dark

  Starless

  A Time of End

  Contemporary Romance:

  Kathlyn Trent/Marcus Burton Series:

  Valley of the Shadow

  The Eden Factor

  Canyon of the Sphinx

  The American Heroes Anthology Series:

  The Lucius Robe

  Fires of Autumn

  Evenshade

  Sea of Dreams

  Purgatory

  Other non-connected Contemporary Romance:

  Lady of Heaven

  Darkling, I Listen

  In the Dreaming Hour

  River’s End

  The Fountain

  Sons of Poseidon:

  The Immortal Sea

  Pirates of Britannia Series (with Eliza Knight):

  Savage of the Sea by Eliza Knight

  Leader of Titans by Kathryn Le Veque

  The Sea Devil by Eliza Knight

  Sea Wolfe by Kathryn Le Veque

  Note: All Kathryn’s novels are designed to be read as stand-alones, although many have cross-over characters or cross-over family groups. Novels that are grouped together have related characters or family groups. You will notice that some series have the same books; that is because they are cross-overs. A hero in one book may be the secondary character in another.

  There is NO reading order except by chronology, but even in that case, you can still read the books as stand-alones. No novel is connected to another by a cliff hanger, and every book has an HEA.

  Series are clearly marked. All series contain the same characters or family groups except the American Heroes Series, which is an anthology with unrelated characters.

  For more information, find it in A Reader’s Guide to the Medieval Worl
d of Le Veque.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Get ready for a very different de Russe story, although given Gaston de Russe’s traitorous turn at the Battle of Bosworth, it’s really not out of the realm of possibility to have yet another de Russe rebel in the family.

  Cort’s that rebel – sort of.

  He doesn’t start out that way. As you’ll see, he’s a VERY cheeky Jack the Lad. Hilarious at times. But this story is about the growing up of Cort de Russe and sometimes when you grow up, you take a stand for things that are important to you. We see a lot of growth with Cort in this book, which is something I really like to explore with my characters.

  But it’s not just Cort who grows up, but our heroine, Dera (pronounced DARE-uh). She’s a MacRohan, and you met the premier MacRohan legacy knight (Bric) in High Warrior. But that story takes place more than 200 years before this one, so the MacRohans have been serving de Winter for a very long time. Dera thinks it’s long enough, and so does half of her family. But her brother, Brend, is in the same position that Bric was those centuries ago. Bric came over to the House of de Winter as part of a dowry, and that’s when the MacRohan legacy knights began. Brend is the latest de Winter legacy knight and takes that position seriously.

  His sister, however, does not.

  It’s weird to think that the stories from the de Russe Legacy all take place about two hundred and twenty years after de Lohr, de Wolfe, and others. There’s a BIG time span between these major houses and, in fact, we’re into the reign of Henry VIII with this book, so it’s technically the Tudor period and no longer Medieval. The span between de Lohr and de Russe is the same time span between our modern times and the Regency period – a couple of hundred years. How’s that for context!

  Now, one of the central themes in this novel is that marriage between the Irish and English was outlawed as far back as the 14th century in a set of laws called the Statute of Kilkenny. Before that, there was a good deal of intermarriage between the two countries as the Normans tried to get a foothold, but it’s much more complex than that. The relationship between England and Ireland has always been complex, but for this time period, it makes interesting reading. At the time that Bric MacRohan married Eiselle de Gael in High Warrior, that type of marriage wasn’t illegal – but it was outlawed about one hundred years later.

  Just a small note – you’ll see castles I’ve mentioned in other books in this tale, also – Narborough, Deverill, and Melesse to name a few. Chateau Melesse played a big role in Lord of War: Black Angel as the French property of Brandt de Russe, and it’s still in the de Russe family. Oh – and rotten tea makes an appearance in this book, too! If you recall, I’ve used it from time to time in my novels when someone is very ill or injured because it was literally penicillin tea. There are records of physics using such a brew during the Third Crusade – it was basically moldy bread steeped in hot water for days, but the benefits were indisputable. It was, indeed, called rotten tea. Can’t imagine having to drink that stuff. Blech.

  Lastly, Gaston does make an appearance in this book. We know he’s been ill through the latter books in his series – Dark Moon, Dark Steel, A de Russe Christmas Miracle – and now this book. I’m normally ambiguous with ages for the most part because in the de Wolfe Pack, the senior members are well into their eighties. But in this case, I thought I would spell it out. Gaston was thirty-seven years old in A Dark One: Dark Knight, so in this book (which is chronologically the latest book in the series), he is seventy-three. He’s lived a long, fruitful, and adventurous life – and he has the deep love of his family – so that’s a great legacy for any man.

  Now, without further ado, jump into the story of Cort and Dera. I think you’re going to love these two and a whole host of other characters that are particularly endearing. Should you bring tissues? By about Chapter Nineteen, you better break out that box…

  Enjoy!

  Hugs,

  CHILDREN OF GASTON AND REMINGTON DE RUSSE

  Trenton (Gaston’s first marriage to Mari-Elle de Russe) married to Lysabel Wellesbourne, has issue. Cynethryn, Brencis, Raphael (Rafe), Gaston, Brandt, Matthew, Trevor, Kristienne, Lucien

  Dane (Remington’s first marriage to Guy Stoneley) married to Grier de Lara, has issue. Rory, Etienne, Adreanna, Felicity, Sophie, Sebastien, Tristen, Gregor

  Adeliza (married to Gaspard de Ryes, has issue) Madalene, Marguerite, Remy, Cassandra, Nynette, and Rosemarie

  Arica (married to Damien Delamere, has issue) Bryant, Etienne, Henry, Elise, and Nicola

  Cort

  Matthieu (widowed, has issue) Braxton, Hugh, Gaston, and Lucien

  Boden

  Gage

  Gilliana

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Kathryn Le Veque Novels

  Author’s Note

  Children of Gaston and Remington de Russe

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  Part One: ENGLAND

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Part Two: IRELAND

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Epilogue

  About Kathryn Le Veque

  De Russe motto: Et est spes est virtus

  “In Valor there is Hope”

  PROLOGUE

  November

  Year of Our Lord 1521

  Deverill Castle, Wiltshire

  Beneath a warm blue sky, a great escort of men in crimson and gold charged into the bailey of Deverill Castle. Men with great weapons, astride expensive and powerful horses, all of them riding with determination and focus.

  But there was no man more determined or focused than the man in the lead.

  Henry Tudor, King of England, had arrived.

  A big man with long legs and a crown of auburn hair, Henry dismounted his dappled stallion easily and charged towards the keep of Deverill as if God Himself were waiting for the king within the old walls.

  But perhaps it wasn’t God, after all.

  It was the devil.

  In any case, Henry was on the move. He mounted the steps for the keep, shoving open the door and practically knocking the servant of the door on his arse. This was the home of the great and mighty Gaston de Russe, Duke of Warminster, a man known in his lifetime as The Dark One. He was the man who had helped win the throne of England for the Tudor dynasty, and there had been no one fiercer or more frightening on the field of battle, ever. Gaston was a man who could move mountains, tame wild beasts, and fight armies all single-handedly.

  At least, that had been the rumor of his youth.

  A rumor Henry had always believed.

  But he wasn’t here to praise the man, nor was this a social call. He’d been summoned by Trenton de Russe, Gaston’s eldest son and heir, the Earl of Westbury. Something was terribly amiss with the sons of Gaston de Russe, one son in particular.

  Cortland Henry Hubert de Russe.

  It didn’t matter that the man was named for Henry’s father.

  Henry was mad enough to kill him.

  “Where is he?” he demanded as he burst into Gaston’s solar, located near the entry of the keep. “Where is Cort?”

  He was met by a room richly furnished in furs and comfortable chairs. A fire snapped in the hearth. There were only two men in the chamber, however, and neither one was Cort de Russe. Henry found himself facing Cort’s oldest brother, Trenton, and a very old family friend. Matthew Wel
lesbourne, Earl of Hereford, set down his cup of wine.

  “Your Grace,” Matthew greeted calmly. “Welcome to Deverill.”

  Henry scowled at him. “Why are you here?” he said. “Do you think to ease my anger, Matthew? Because it will not work. I demand you bring Cort to me immediately.”

  Matthew had been Gaston’s friends since the days of their youth. He was an astonishingly excellent warrior, a man who was as legendary as Gaston ever was, but he was also known for his calm manner, diplomatic ways, and benevolence. Exceedingly tall and well-built, with a head of pale blond hair that had mostly gone gray, he faced Henry steadily.

  “He is not here,” he said. “And I am here for Gaston, not you. If you stop shouting, Trenton will tell you about his brother.”

  Henry’s focus shifted to Trenton. He looked exactly like his father; enormous, dark hair, dark eyes. A more formidable man had never lived.

  “Your Grace,” Trenton greeted calmly. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”

  Henry wasn’t in any mood for men who didn’t seem to appreciate his anger. He ripped off his leather gloves, tossing them onto the nearest table as he made his way to the wine pitcher on Gaston’s table.

  “Spare me your stalling tactics,” he said as he poured himself a sloppy cup of wine. “Where is your brother who has failed me so miserably?”

  Trenton’s eyebrows lifted. “He failed you miserably?” he repeated. “It seems to me that you failed him when you sent him on this mission to begin with.”

  Henry’s eyes widened. “Me? I failed him?”

  Trenton’s eyes narrowed. “You,” he said. “None of this would have happened if it had not been for you, so do not blame my brother for your actions.”

  Henry was so mad that he threw the full cup of wine into the hearth. “You dare accuse me of wrongdoing?”

  Matthew, seeing this conversation was not starting well at all, put himself between the two men. “Now that we have the shouting behind us,” he said pointedly, “let us speak calmly on this subject. We are speaking of a man’s life, after all. Your Grace, Cort is not only your vassal, he is your friend. The two of you grew up together, so he is, in fact, your brother. We can become angry with our brother, but we do not hate him and we do not punish him. Quite the contrary; we love him, so this anger is out of love and concern. We all understand that.”