Templar Loyalty

by K. M. Ashman Book 7 in the The Brotherhood series.

First published 2024

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4.6(649)

After Crusaders sack Constantinople, the new Latin Empire struggles to control territory claimed by Venetians, Greek leaders and neighbouring powers. Cronin has retired to England but is drawn back east when betrayal at King John's court places a companion in danger.

In Thrace he faces the army of Kaloyan of Bulgaria and a political landscape in which former enemies form temporary alliances. The campaign leads towards Adrianople, where Latin cavalry meets an opponent prepared to exploit its aggression.

The aftermath of the Fourth Crusade creates a fragmented political landscape in which Latin rulers, Venetians and Byzantine successor states compete over the same territories. Cronin’s return east places personal loyalty inside that unstable settlement, where yesterday’s crusading allies may now be commercial or dynastic rivals. The mission tests whether old vows still have meaning after the political world that created them has changed.