Trial by Combat

All of Winterhaven knows that Balian Lord Ibelin has wanted Willem Lord Tavistock dead for years and now he may have finally found a way to kill his rival. When Willem rallied Winterhaven to rescue more than a hundred women from the draal siege of Ravenwatch Castle, Balian agreed to lend his support only if Willem offered him what he wanted more than anything else—the chance to kill him in a judicial duel with Tavistock, itself, as the ultimate prize. But this is a duel such as the duchy has never seen before, for Willem, long known as Winterhaven’s best swordman, must face not one Ibelin champion but three—and no one can leave the trial until one side is irrevocably dead. With so many lives at stake, Willem felt he had no choice but to agree to the absurd terms, but now as the moment of judgement approaches, Willem’s many enemies are conspiring to make certain that that this duel will finally be Lord Tavistock’s last.