Dark Riverbed

Emerging from the river mist, theater student Ella finds that she is no longer in the year 2019, but has slipped through time and space, landing in the year 871 AD in England during the time of Viking invasion. Dressed in a Medieval costume for a college performance of 'Hamlet', she is mistaken for a lost Saxon princess, Aethelthryth of Northumbria, and is taken hostage by a raiding party of Danes.

Their leader, Thorvid, is young and ambitious. Eager to prove his worth to his older half-brother, Ivar the leader of the Great Heathen Army, he sends the request directly to the newly crowned King Aelfred of Wessex for a rich ransom and decides to deliver her to the English king himself. Aelfred is destined to become one of the most renowned rulers in English history, known for his militaristic savvy, his scholarly pursuits, and his piety.

When they reach Uintancæstir, called Winchester in modern times, Ella is torn between the Danish warrior and English ruler as they maneuver around each other in volatile times where the risk of betrayal can not only cost your life, but your soul as well.