She was thrown at my feet as an offering, but what I got was much more than I bargained for. Cian While brutality runs through my veins, my enemies flee from the mere whisper of my name. I have a reputation on these streets, and I have no problem accepting the fact I'm a monster in their eyes. I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to break necks and keep everyone in their lane. At the end of the day, everyone will pay their price, whether it's in cash or flesh. Most would see reasons for concern because she's a ferocious beast, constantly fighting me, though it only entices me. I'm a monster . . . and she's something, though I've yet to figure out what type of beast she is. There's no doubt the woman excites me, but sometimes the most exciting things can be dangerous. Everyone knows in the game of chess that the queen is the second most powerful piece on the board, and I see this spitfire of a woman becoming my queen, whether she wants to or not.

Thomas B. Costain's four-volume history of the Plantagenets begins with THE CONQUERING FAMILY and the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066, closing with the reign of John in 1216. The troubled period after the Norman Conquest, when the foundations of government were hammered out between monarch and people, comes to life through Costain's storytelling skill and historical imagination.