The Sons of Constance: The Swithen Book 2

The first king is a tyrant.
The second king hasn’t long to live.
The third king is out of his depth.
…And Merlin rules them all.

The second installment of the series faithful to the real Arthurian legend picks up where the last left off, taking us to the reign of King Arthur’s future father in a tale packed with magic, dragons, battles and intrigue.

King Vortigern lives in terror, fearing the return of the sons of Constance, who fled the country as boys when he had their brother killed. In his quest to build a tower to protect himself, he enlists the young wizard Merlin, who tells the king he must first dig up two sleeping dragons—one of which is the red dragon that is still the symbol of Wales. After the dragons clash in an unprecedented battle, the king can build his tower, but is a tower enough to protect a tyrant?

When the sons of Constance return, older brother Pendragon assumes the throne while his brother, Uther, leads the battles. With the strength of Merlin’s foresight, they quickly secure the country, but none of them are sure whether the wizard is ensuring their success—or whether they are simply pawns in his plan to bend the country to his will.

"If you weren’t fascinated by how Telek depicted Merlin in the first novel, I guarantee you will be here... Merlin is the star of the novel, although the depiction of the three kings who precede Arthur are Telek’s triumph... Telek has created the most real and sympathetic version of Vortigern to date."
—Tyler Tichelaar, Author of "Children of Arthur"

Along the way, a conspirator in the court learns the danger of deceiving Merlin, for which the consequences are devastating—and deadly. Rival seers who try to have Merlin killed discover his foresight far exceeds theirs. The Round Table is constructed and the first Knights of the Round Table are selected. It all culminates in a massive battle—presaged by a dragon of fire in the sky—that will decide the fate of the fledgling country. And all the while, Merlin is setting the pieces in place that will result in the conception of King Arthur.