Daughter of Time: A Time Travel Romance (35 page)

The tent held one other man, this one still
in full armor, and he gestured them closer. They walked to the
wounded man and knelt by his side. He gave them a long look, set
down his cup, and then pointed to himself.

“Llywelyn ap Gruffydd,” he said.

Anna knew she looked blank, but she simply
couldn’t accept his words.  He tried again, thinking they
hadn’t understood. “Llywelyn—ap—Gruffydd.”

“Llywelyn ap Gruffydd,” David and Anna said
together, the words passing Anna’s lips as if they belonged to
someone else. 

Llywelyn nodded.  “You understand who I
am?” he asked, again in Welsh. Anna’s neck was having a hard time
bending forward and she barely got her chin to bob in
acknowledgement. She was frozen in a nightmare that wouldn’t let
her go.

David recovered more quickly. “You are the
Prince of Wales,” he said. “Thank you, my lord, for bringing us
with you. We would be lost without your assistance.”

“It is I who should be thanking you,” he
said.

Anna had allowed them to continue speaking,
growing colder and colder with every sentence. Llywelyn eyes
flicked to her face and she could read the concern in them.
Finally, she took in a deep breath, accepting for now what she
couldn’t deny.

“My lord,” she said, “Could you please tell
us the date?”

“Certainly,” he said. “It is the day of
Damasus the Pope, Friday, the 11
^th
of December.”

David’s face paled as he realized the
importance of the question, but Anna was determined to get the
whole truth out and wasn’t going to stop pressing because he was
finally having the same heart attack she was. “And the year?” Anna
asked.

“The year of our Lord twelve hundred and
eighty-two,” Llywelyn said.

Anna nodded. “You remember the story now,
don’t you, David?” she said in English, her voice a whisper because
to speak her thoughts more loudly would give them greater credence.
David couldn’t have forgotten it any more readily than she could.
Their mother had told them stories about medieval Wales since
before they could walk—and tales of this man in particular.
“Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was lured into a trap by some English lords
and killed on December 11, 1282 near a place called Cilmeri. 
Except . . .” Anna kept her eyes fixed on Llywelyn’s.

“Except we just saved his life,” David
said.

Other books by Sarah Woodbury:

The Last Pendragon: A Story of Dark Age
Wales

He is a king, a warrior, the last hope of
his people–and the chosen one of the sidhe . . .

Set in 7th century Wales, the Last Pendragon
is the story of Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (Cade), heir to the throne
of Arthur, and his love, Rhiann, the daughter of the man who killed
Cade’s father and usurped his throne.

Born to rule, yet without a kingdom, Cade
must grasp the reins of his own destiny to become both Christian
king and pagan hero. And Rhiann must decide how much she is willing
to risk to follow her heart.

The Pendragon’s Quest
(Book Two in the
After Cilmeri
series)

___________

Cold My Heart: A Novel of King Arthur

A tale of timeless love, heroic courage .
. . and a race to change the course of destiny itself. I couldn’t
put it down. This is King Arthur as you’ve never seen him
before
. –Anna Elliott, author of the
Twilight of Avalon
trilogy.

By the autumn of 537 AD, all who are loyal to
King Arthur have retreated to a small parcel of land in north
Wales. They are surrounded on all sides, heavily outnumbered, and
facing near certain defeat.

But Myrddin and Nell, two of the King’s
companions, have a secret that neither has ever been able to face:
each has
seen
that on a cold and snowy day in December,
Saxon soldiers sent by Modred will ambush and kill King Arthur.

And together, they must decide what they are
willing to do, and to sacrifice, to avert that fate.