A boy of the night-time streets. A girl of libraries and learning.
Druisius, the son of a merchant, is sixteen when a cruel order from his father drives him from home and into the danger and intrigue of the military.
Eudekia, a scholar’s daughter, educated and dutiful, is not meant to be a prince’s bride. In an empire at war, and in a city beset by famine and unrest, she must prove herself worthy of its throne.
A decade after a first, brief meeting, their lives intersect again. When a delegation arrives from the lost West, Druisius is assigned to guard them. In the span of a few weeks, a young captain will capture the hearts of both empress and soldier in very different ways, offering a future neither could have foreseen.
Welcome to the serialization of my seventh novel, Empress & Soldier.1 Set in a world that almost parallels ours, in a period that looks somewhat like Europe prior to the 10th century, E&S, as I almost always refer to it as, was written to be both a standalone novel and/or an entry point into my fictional world. The serialization will start on Friday, September 27th with (I hope) 3 chapters a week published.
© 2022 Marian L Thorpe, Arboretum Press



Intriguing. OK, I'll give it a go. I'm off to read Chapter 1!