Merit: Book II Pendyffryn: The Inheritors

Fleeing the Saxon invaders, Jac travelled westward. His mother had been killed at dawn the day a Celt woman ran into the woods and hid in the underbrush. As the Saxons drew closer to the village he had hoped to reach before nightfall, Jac kept his vigil over the injured woman. Alone, old enough to begin training, the Saxon invasion had dashed his hopes of finding employment.
Hours passed. The chill of the night tore at his flimsy rags. His mother's body lay miles behind him, buried beneath ...