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  Table of Contents

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  About Once and Future Hearts Box One

  Praise for the Once and Future Hearts Series

  The Formation of Twelve Love Stories

  BORN OF NO MAN

  About Born of No Man

  Praise for Born of No Man

  Why here?

  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

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  DRAGON KIN

  About Dragon Kin

  Praise for Dragon Kin

  What Am I To Do With Him?

  Maps

  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

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  PENDRAGON RISES

  About Pendragon Rises

  Praise for Pendragon Rises

  Silly, Flippant Inspiration

  Part One

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Part Two

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Part Three

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Did you enjoy this book? How to make a big difference!

  The next book in the Once and Future Hearts series.

  About the Author

  Other books by Tracy Cooper-Posey

  Copyright Information

  About Once and Future Hearts Box One

  “It takes me back to the magic I felt when reading Mary Stewart's stories of Merlin.” – Amazon Review

  The first three books of the series that will “keep you hooked until the end”, featuring the myths, legends and magic of the beloved King Arthur stories, surrounding heart-rending romances of the men and women who lived and loved in these perilous times.

  Born of No Man

  Can love triumph despite duty?

  When duty thrusts them together, Lynette’s secret clashes with Cadfael’s suspicious nature and threatens to tear them and the entire kingdom asunder. But, Lynette must keep her secret at all costs to protect Princess Vivian’s unborn child. A child who would become known as…Merlin.

  Dragon Kin

  Will she become the cursed king’s fifth dead wife?

  In Lesser Britain, drought grips the land, forcing Arawn, King of Brocéliande, to take a fifth wife, hoping she will be the mother of his firstborn, whom the prophecy says will break the curse and save his people. Can Arawn find a way to save his people and the land that supports the future Pendragon? Will Ilsa break the curse?

  Pendragon Rises

  She is invisible to everyone but the blind man…

  When the new High King, Uther, meets Igraine for the first time and becomes obsessed with her, Anwen and Steffan are drawn into a web of lies and deceit that could destroy Britain’s fragile peace.

  These novels are part of the ancient historical romance series, Once and Future Hearts, set in Britain during the time of King Arthur.

  1.0 Born of No Man

  2.0 Dragon Kin

  3.0 Pendragon Rises

  4.0 War Duke of Britain

  5.0 High King of Britain

  6.0 Battle of Mount Badon

  7.0 Abduction of Guenivere

  8.0 Downfall of Cornwall

  9.0 Vengeance of Arthur

  10.0 Grace of Lancelot

  11.0 The Grail and Glory

  12.0 Camlann

  Readers have described Tracy Cooper-Posey as “a superb story teller” and her ancient historical romances as “written art”. Get the first boxed set today!

  Praise for the Once and Future Hearts Series

  You will be drawn into a world so different, so compelling. You won't want to put it down.

  Love the descriptions and settings that transport me to that world. Well told and well written.

  This book really kept me on my toes I cried so much not knowing what would happen. I'm so in love with this series.

  This series is in the right century, told in the right way, and based on sound research, plus, it's just plain old great storytelling!

  Tracy Cooper-Posey has brought the Arthurian Legend alive! I am so enjoying this series & it seems each book gets better and draws me in deeper.

  A simply fantastic series that is getting better and better with each new book.

  The more I read of this series, the more I want.

  I can't say enough good things about the series!

  The Formation of Twelve Love Stories

  My first introduction to King Arthur was indirect but buried its hooks deep.

  If you’re familiar with my writing and me, it’s quite likely you already know I grew up without a television or access to movies, which left me with only one avenue to stories: Reading.

  I read everything.

  We lived in a miniscule town and the other three children in the town were boys. So I read a lot. My mother must have put in mail orders for books every week, for there was no library and no stores that sold books except for the store my parents ran. I re-read my collection of books (Enid Blyton was a staple), until I was thirteen and moved to a bigger town on the coast to attend high school…and the school had a whole, entire library of books. Nirvana!

  The discovery of new-to-me authors and stories accelerated in that first year. Among the huge number of books I read was an award-winning children’s fantasy series, The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Coop
er.

  I gobbled up the series and swiftly acquired copies of my own, which I kept right up until I moved to Canada and was forced to sell them for the heart-breaking price of 50c each to raise cash for the move.

  I have since re-acquired them…in ebook format, so this time, I will get to keep them forever.

  As you can tell, the series had a big impact on me. The parts of the story I liked the most were references to an ancient king, Arthur, and the power he had over Britain. Arthur was not a major character in the series, or even a primary secondary character, but his influence on the series was considerable. I can’t say too much more about the role Arthur plays in the series and not lay down massive spoilers, so I will merely say that my first exposure to the Arthurian myth was soul-branding. Arthur was treated not as a grand king in shiny armor, but a Celtic warlord with wisdom and a personal history that haunted him.

  I swiftly gobbled up every book I could find about King Arthur, which included T.H. White’s The Once and Future King—the title of which I borrowed shamelessly for this series. T.H. White borrowed his title from the myths and lore, which I had got to know very well by then.

  A single government-run TV station was accessible in my seaside town. The station played a single movie every Sunday afternoon, usually classic movies from the golden age of Hollywood. One of those movies was Camelot, with Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero. I loved it, for it was a musical rendition of The Once and Future King. But at the same time I was appalled at the campiness and the plate armor. It felt a bit like they were making fun of the Arthurian legends, which bothers me to this day.

  Then I found Mary Stewart’s Merlin series, starting with The Crystal Cave, and was struck dumb with amazement and pleasure. Not only did she retell the Arthur stories as dramatic tragedies, but she placed Merlin and Arthur in their correct century (which T.H. White failed to do)…and there was not a “sir” in sight. She even included the culture of those times; druids and Roman influence, slaves, Celtic tribes, and the very few facts we do know about the fifth century.

  I have been entranced with Arthurian myth ever since.

  It was inevitable that once I began writing seriously I would, sooner or later, tell my own version of the Arthur cycle. As it turns out, it was later, rather than sooner. I have been publishing for twenty years, now. You hold the beginning of my contribution to the myth in your hands.

  Because the bulk of my writing is in the romance genre, and Arthurian stories are at their heart grand romances (scholars call the stories “the Arthurian Romances”), I built the series around twelve love stories, to match the twelve battles Arthur fought to win freedom for Britain.

  Enjoy.

  Tracy Cooper-Posey

  March 2020

  BORN OF NO MAN

  About Born of No Man

  A LEGEND BEGINS…

  Can love triumph despite duty?

  Lynette, companion to Princess Vivian, has learned to trust the princess’ visions and so, guards the dark and powerful secret of the man in the cave.

  Cadfael the Black, battle commander to High King Vortigern, lives only to kill Saxons, to avenge the brutal murder of his family at their hands. At the court of King Gwilym, the very heart of Roman Britain, he meets the beautiful Lynette, a woman who could thaw his frozen heart.

  When duty thrusts them together, Lynette’s secret clashes with Cadfael’s suspicious nature and threatens to tear them and the entire kingdom asunder. But, Lynette must keep her secret at all costs to protect Princess Vivian’s unborn child. A child who would become known as…

  MERLIN.

  This novel is part of the ancient historical romance series, Once and Future Hearts, set in Britain during the time of King Arthur.

  1.0 Born of No Man

  2.0 Dragon Kin

  3.0 Pendragon Rises

  4.0 War Duke of Britain

  5.0 High King of Britain

  6.0 Battle of Mount Badon

  7.0 Abduction of Guenivere

  8.0 Downfall of Cornwall

  9.0 Vengeance of Arthur

  10.0 Grace of Lancelot

  11.0 The Grail and Glory

  12.0 Camlann

  Readers have described Tracy Cooper-Posey as “a superb story teller” and her ancient historical romances as “written art”.

  Praise for Born of No Man

  Wow ... this is a fantastic story. The author takes us straight into the heart of Arthurian Britannia with a tale that gives us the origins of the story of Merlin…Fantastically written and filled with tension. – Dark Ages Romance

  ___

  Reader Reviews:

  Love, love, love this book! I am amazed at how well Tracy Cooper-Posey has constructed this story to introduce us to Merlin, King Arthur's magician, through characters surrounding his beginnings.

  It takes me back to the magic I felt when reading Mary Stewart's stories of Merlin. Tracy Cooper-Posey has written another winner!

  I was absolutely surprised by how the events unfurled, and if only for that you should read it. I just can't wait for the next one.

  As a long time, self proclaimed Arthurian Legend junkie I couldn't wait to dive into Tracy Cooper Posey's new series. Tracy once again proves to be a master story teller as she weaves the delicate threads of this beloved legend into her own.

  I love how the legends and historical factual ‘bits’ are interwoven in the story.

  Oh my goodness. Of course I was not sure what to expect with this but what I got was a wonderful story set in the time just before King Arthur. Invading Saxons, Romans, Kings, princesses, mysteries, Merlin, and romance? Wonderful beginning to a new series and I cannot wait to read more.

  Just loved the book - Tracy always manages to develop great story lines that keep you hooked until the end (thanks for the late night Tracy!).

  I also love the fact that her female characters are definitely not boring, whiny or TSTL.

  Tracy Cooper Posey is brilliant at weaving stories with individuals that are completely believable in their thoughts and dialogue.

  Why here?

  Not long after Born of No Man was published, I received an email from a perplexed reader, who was upset that nowhere in the story did Arthur appear. There was no magic or dragons and no knights, either. Wizards were conspicuously absent.

  “Why did you start here?” she asked.

  Fair question.

  The very simplest explanation is that Mary Stewart started her Merlin series around this time and place. This is my homage to her brilliant books. But that’s just the superficial reason.

  To understand Arthur, the choices he made, and the choices of the people around him, learning about the dark days which preceded his emergence as High King of Britain gives one a baseline, for they were very dark days. The pilot light of the heart of Britain was close to being snuffed out.

  Arthur’s ascendance was not typical even for those times. His heritage—the contributions of Merlin, Ambrosius and Uther, and even Vortigern’s ignorant leadership—all shaped the people and temperament of the nation he led from that awful abyss.

  To fully grasp the significance of the peace Arthur delivered, it helps to see where he started out.

  That story starts here, with Merlin’s conception and the drum-taut political tensions of Britain under Vortigern’s leadership, when two enemies, Cadfael and Lynette, meet.

  Chapter One

  Kingdom of Dyfed, Britain, 440AD.

  They came across the snared man in the hills behind Maridunum, well out of sight of the busy town. He sat on the sopping turf, his cloak pulled well over his head so the rain dripped from the edges onto the ground between his knees. One leg thrust out at an odd angle.

  The rain was a steady hiss against the ground and hid the sounds of their approach. They were beside him before he stiffened with caution. As people did at the approach of a stranger, he reached for his belt knife.

  However, the knife and a good sword rested on the grass out of his rea
ch, both wet and reflecting the gray clouds among the green growth.

  The man’s shoulders hunched over once more. He brought the cloak around him.

  Lynette stopped her pony with a soft word. She lifted her head so she could see beyond the edges of her hood to look at the woman on the other horse. Vivian’s dark eyes held the same far-seeing, glassy expression that had been there when Vivian insisted they ride among the hills this morning, rain or not.

  “See if you can help him,” Vivian instructed.

  Lynette did not argue with the princess. When she was in one of these moods, there was no point. Just as Lynette had resigned herself to being soaked to the skin from riding out on such a miserable day, she now climbed from her horse with stoic silence.

  “He won’t harm you,” Vivian added, her voice louder. Her tone was firm and distant. She spoke with complete certainty.

  Cold fingers drifted up Lynette’s back, colder than the touch of the rain.

  She loosened her knife in her belt, anyway, and moved cautiously across the slippery turf toward the man. She crouched down in front of him, putting herself between him and the knife and sword.

  Black eyes looked back at her. White, clear skin. He was young, yet had big shoulders under the heavy cloak. The cloak, Lynette noted, was of good quality stuff. The fur lining it was thick, although it was bedraggled by water, now.

  “Could you cut me free?” the man asked. “I can’t reach my knife.”

  “I don’t know him,” Lynette called to Vivian. “He’s not from here.” She looked at the man’s outstretched leg. Around the heavy boot was a strip of leather, cinched in tight above the ankle. It had tightened enough to squeeze and crumple the boot, collapsing it against his calf.