King's Blood By: Judith Tarr (William the Conqueror Series #2)

The national bestselling author of Rite of Conquest continues the saga of a Britain torn between ancient magic and religious doctrine—and the turbulent lives of the two sons of William the Conqueror.

William the Conqueror is dead. The Norman king freed England from the stranglehold of Saxon Christianity, but in the years following his beloved queen’s death, he turned his back on the magic that sustains the land. Inheriting the throne is the Conqueror’s eldest son, Red William, who is determined to leave magic out of his rule entirely. And without a true king, the land weakens, suffers, and begins to die.

The fate of Britain lies with two people gifted in magic: Edith, princess of Scotland, and Henry, youngest son of the Conqueror. But Edith is imprisoned in a convent, forced to suppress her abilities and embrace Saxon ideology, while Henry has no lands or authority of his own. And only a great sacrifice—the blood of a king—will cleanse Britain from the evil and pestilence that infects it.

Goodreads: 3.46

Paperback, 2005