Still devoted to Bertrade, Norman becomes increasingly involved in Simon de Montfort’s struggle against the royalists, fighting beside the barons while remaining haunted by the fact that he does not know why he was raised to hate the crown or how a notorious outlaw could ever hope to claim the woman he loves. As war and betrayal intensify, the truth that Roger de Conde and Norman of Torn are the same man is exposed, and the long-hidden scheme of the old swordsman finally reveals an even greater secret: Norman is Richard, the lost English prince who was stolen away in childhood and deliberately raised as an instrument of revenge. After the final conflicts bring his past into the open, Norman is restored to his true family and identity and is able to claim Bertrade’s love, completing his transformation from a man shaped by hatred into one who consciously chooses honor, loyalty, and love.
