Drake no longer trained young mercenaries for battle; he traveled alone with his sword for hire.  He surprised himself when he allowed Ansel, a young mercenary who sought him out, to travel with him to the battle at Foray.  Along the way, Ansel became Drake’s teacher as the two learned each other and ventured sexually and emotionally into forbidden territory.  By the time they reached Foray, Drake felt an emotion for Ansel that he has never felt for another human being.  On the battlefields at Foray, the cruelty of battle soon had him feeling an emotion he hoped to never feel again.

Two years of trying to forget his pain in a mug of ale in every tavern he passed and taking any job that holds a promise of death, Drake’s life follows a new path when he’s appointed the Master of Arms at Marden Castle. There he meets Logan, the Duke of Marden, who stirs feelings in Drake he thought were buried along with Ansel.

When a story can bring me to tears, I have to give it thumbs up.  The Mercenary’s Tale did just that. This is a terrific story, and one with many morals to it, such as beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Ansel and Logan both beautiful young men fell in love with Drake, a seasoned mercenary with facial scars who would never describe himself as handsome.  What I felt was a huge moral to this story is love comes when you least expect it.  For Drake, he was lucky to find love more than once and not just the love of a life partner, but also the love of a son.  In a turn of events that could have been absurd in the implausibility of it happening, Lynn Lorenz made it work and caused me to tear up again.  Perfectly told from Drake’s point of view, The Mercenary’s Tale is a terrific story and I very much enjoyed it.