Fate's Ransom

Ransom Barton has spent his career as a knight loyal to three successive kings of the Argentine line, and now the crown passes to Jon-Landon, a ruthless heir who is far from reliable as a military strategist. After a defeat at the hands of the Occitanian armies, the new king lays the blame on Ransom and strips him of his place on the council. Jon-Landon is not finished humbling the honorable knight of Ceredigion, though. When a counterattack wins the day, he brings Ransom back into his inner circle.

Ransom's Fountain magic grows stronger through his sworn fealty, but he is once again pushed toward a grim choice, and this time the cost could fall on his wife, Claire, and their sons. As old rivalries between Ceredigion and Occitania flare up and loyalties at court begin to fray, the desperate Jon-Landon finds that the one ally he can count on is the knight he wronged. With the fate of Kingfountain uncertain, Ransom agrees to help, but hidden enemies are working toward their own goals. He may be asked to pay the highest price of all to keep the Argentine dynasty alive.

This betrayal-filled, war-torn story closes the First Argentines series. It comes from Jeff Wheeler, a Wall Street Journal bestselling author who also wrote Lady's Ransom.