We are having some fun over at The Coffee Pot Book Club because we are in conversation with Catrin, one of the protagonists in Linnea Tanner's fabulous series — Curse of Clansmen and Kings @linneatanner

 

Dagger's Destiny 
(Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book 2)
By Linnea Tanner 

Publication Date: September 26, 2018
Publisher: Apollo Raven Publisher, LLC
Page Length: 350 Pages
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction

A Celtic warrior princess accused of treason for aiding her enemy lover must win back her father’s love and trust.

In the rich and vibrant tale, Author Linnea Tanner continues the story of Catrin and Marcellus that began with the awarding-winning novel APOLLO’S RAVEN in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings Series. Book 2: DAGGER’S DESTINY sweeps you into an epic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia.

War looms over 24 AD Britannia where rival tribal rulers fight each other for power and the Romans threaten to invade to settle their political differences. King Amren accuses his daughter, Catrin, of treason for aiding the Roman enemy and her lover, Marcellus. The ultimate punishment is death unless she can redeem herself. She must prove loyalty to her father by forsaking Marcellus and defending their kingdom—even to the death. Forged into a warrior, she must overcome tribulations and make the right decisions on her quest to break the curse that foretells her banished half-brother and the Roman Empire will destroy their kingdom.

Yet, when Catrin again reunites with Marcellus, she is torn between her love for him and duty to King Amren. She must ultimately face her greatest challenger who could destroy her life, freedom, and humanity.

Will Catrin finally break the ancient prophecy that looms over her kingdom? Will she abandon her forbidden love for Marcellus to win back her father’s trust and love? Can King Amren balance his brutality to maintain power with the love he feels for Catrin?

Trigger warnings:

Sex, rape, violent scenes, fertility ritual

Please introduce yourself to my readers.

I am Catrin, the youngest fifteen-year-old daughter of King Amren of the Cantiaci tribal kingdom in Britannia. In my homeland, females can own property and become rulers and druids. My father arranged for me to be trained as a warrior. I can fight, hunt, ride horses, and use weapons just like the men to protect my homeland. 

Nonetheless, young women are often betrothed and married at a young age in my homeland. I refuse to wed a man I did not choose, even if my father insists my marriage to the prince from the Catuvellauni tribe will forge our kingdoms in an alliance. My heart belongs to Marcellus, a Roman hostage who had been under my charge and considered my family’s enemy. I’m torn between my strong feelings for him and duty to my people. 

I’ve learned a dark secret about myself, which can lead to my people’s success or their downfall. Rhan, the former queen and druidess, cast a curse on my father before he executed her for treason. She foretold his future queen, my mother, would beget a daughter who would rise as a raven and join her half brother, Blood Wolf. They would join with a mighty empire to overthrow his kingdom. 

I am able to connect with my spiritual guide, the Raven, which is seen as a bad omen by my parents and people. The Raven is not only a messenger from the gods, it has a darker purpose—collecting the souls of the dead from battlefields. As I’ve struggled to understand my unnatural connection to the Raven, my spiritual guide has shown me how to change the future by reweaving life threads on the Walls of Life. I have also learned how to shape-shift into a white raven but am frustrated that I can’t always control these powers.

I have a destiny to break the curse, but I must first be tested to demonstrate my duty to my father and my people. And that duty is complicated by my love for Marcellus.

What would you consider to be your greatest strength?

I consider loyalty to my family, my people, and Marcellus my greatest strength. I’ve been tested with every conceivable complication in my path as a star-crossed lover of Marcellus, from tribal warfare and supernatural druidic prophecy to filial duty. When my father charged me to defend his kingdom from both the forces of the Roman Empire and the schemes of my own banished half-brother, I promised him that I would fight bravely without hesitation. And though I have been advised to forsake Marcellus, I cannot. He is my soul mate from a previous life. 

What is your biggest regret?

When I changed the future on the Wall of Lives to save Marcellus from his fate of death at a conflict that broke out during a prisoner exchange, I unknowingly changed my father’s fate. In the chaos of battle, Marcellus stabbed my father with his sword and inflicted a life-threatening injury. Though my father survived, he accuses me of treason for aiding Marcellus. The punishment could be death or banishment. I must live with the fear that I cannot ultimately save my family from the curse cast by my father’s former queen. 

Describe your perfect day.

My perfect day would be with Marcellus near a waterfall, in a lush forest. There, we could dream of overcoming obstacles which stand in out the way of our forbidden love. I fear, though, that perfect day will never happen. Both families are against our relationship, causing family and political turmoil. 

If you could choose a magic power, what would it be?

I would choose the magic of the ancient druids to break the curse. It is the power to control the forces of nature. I’ve had a taste of what this magic entails when my half brother, Marrock, assaulted attempted to transform me, as a nine-year girl, into one of his wolves. I somehow garnered powerful forces from the Raven to help me escape his assault. Ravens descended from the sky and viciously attacked my half brother. 

But I must learn how to control this magic and seek wisdom from my raven guide on how to be a strong but a just and merciful leader.  

Chapter 8: Traitor’s Walk

Catrin hadn’t adequately prepared herself to hear the gut-wrenching accusations. The mob appeared to wave back and forth as she climbed the first step to the thrones. Her legs felt weighed down as she cautiously as¬cended the second step, firmly planting the sole of her shoe before lifting herself onto the third step. 

On the dais, Catrin noticed the raven-inlaid wooden case that her father held. She recalled seeing the hand-crafted container when the king first re¬vealed the inscription of Rhan’s curse on the blade. At the time, he revealed the curse had changed shortly after she fought off Marrock’s attempts to transform her into a wolf to join his pack. He also told her that the original curse had foretold she would join Marrock in his quest to overthrow him. The altered curse prophesied she would rise out of Apollo’s flames as a raven with the powers of the Ancient Druids. The original dark prophecy foretell¬ing she would join forces with Marrock had been obliterated. The king had previously told her that this change had given him hope that Catrin could break Rhan’s curse by conjuring powers of the Ancient Druids. 

Catrin pulled out of her thoughts when her father again addressed the assemblage of villagers. 

“Before I bring forth the witnesses to testify, I order Catrin to kneel before me and kiss the dagger I present to her.” 

As commanded, Catrin dropped to her knees and humbly lowered her head. She almost crumbled under the weight of the cold metallic blade on her head. Deeply ashamed, she wanted to disappear into the depths of her anguish. Lifting her gaze to the king, she could tell by the deep crease on his pallid forehead that he was in significant pain. She wondered if the pain was due to the wound Marcellus had inflicted or if she was the cause. 

Amren leaned forward and spoke to Catrin in a softer voice that no¬body could hear. “I want you to kiss the blade and silently read the inscrip-tion. Only you and I will know how Rhan’s curse has altered. No matter how harsh my sentence is today, the judgment you place on yourself will be far worse.”

Catrin’s eyes filled with tears. “Please, Father.”

As Amren extended the dagger for her to kiss, his face remained expressionless as stone. The blade felt hard and cold on Catrin’s lips.

“Take the dagger from my hand and make the curse your own,” Amren said.

Catrin clasped the dagger by the blade and pressed its razor-sharp edge into the palms of her hands until it cut into the skin. Overcome with shame, she pressed the blade’s tip against her throat as a gesture she would take her own life if the king so commanded.

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Award-winning author, Linnea Tanner, weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology. Of particular interest are the enigmatic Celts, who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.

 

Linnea has extensively researched ancient and medieval history, mythology, and archaeology and has traveled to sites described within each of her books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series. Books released in her series include Apollo’s Raven (Book 1), Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2), and Amulet’s Rapture (Book 3). Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4) is anticipated to be released in October, 2022. She has also released the historical fiction short story, Two Faces of Janus. 

 

A Colorado native, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.

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