S. K. Moonie

Betrayed when he should be honoured, Mardonius takes a guard job to vanish from his past.
But the road to Swansbane is soaked in blood and every ally might be an enemy.
To survive, he must choose between staying a ghost or becoming the soldier he swore he would never be again.

Forsaken Road (Battle for Swansbane, Book 1)

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Ten years of bloodshed have hollowed Mardonius out. He craves quiet, not combat. When betrayal strip away his promised retirement, he is forced to flee to the edge of civilisation. Soon he’s tracking a vanished messenger and a brass case that’s already claimed one life. What should be routine guard work delivers him to Swansbane, a frontier settlement where farmers fight like veterans and nothing is as it seems. In this wilderness, potential friends conceal hidden motives, seemingly honest deals mask deadly snares, and each decision narrows his path until there’s nowhere left to turn.

Alongside Akantha, a spear-wielding tribal woman who won’t talk to him, let alone trust him, Mardonius faces ambush from corrupted creatures in their underground lair, and a powerful enemy who will not rest until his blood soaks the road. To live, he must decide whether to stay a ghost or fight like the soldier he swore he would never be again.

Fans of Joe Abercrombie and Glen Cook will find brutal battles, razor-wire tension, and a hero who must fight for every step towards safety.

The forsaken road takes its toll. The question is whether Mardonius can afford to pay the blood price.