The Last Fire-Eater

As England prepares for a royal wedding, old rivalries ignite in the heart of York.

The northern counties still echo with the scars of past rebellions, and tensions simmer beneath the surface as Princess Margaret Tudor travels north for a grand celebration: her marriage to King James IV of Scotland, sealing the alliance brokered by her father-in-law, Henry VII, to secure peace between the rival kingdoms.

But peace is fragile.

In the ancient city of York, where loyalty to the old Plantagenet cause dies hard, Davina, a gifted fire-eater with a knack for landing in trouble, arrives on the eve of the festivities. She finds the city bristling with unrest. Armed men loyal to the feuding powers of the North (the Archbishop of York and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland) fill the streets alongside peasants gathered to honor the Tudor princess.

As old grudges resurface, violence threatens to engulf the city. Lambert Simnel, the king’s falconer and former Pretender to the throne, gets caught up in the chaos and becomes Davina’s unlikely companion as the city teeters on the edge of open conflict. But Davina didn’t come to York by chance. As flames of rebellion and revenge rise, so does the interest of Sir Thomas Lovell, Henry VII’s ruthless enforcer, who sees through facades—and hides secrets of his own.

Secrets, spies, and simmering rebellion weave together in this gripping tale of danger, loyalty, and survival at the twilight of the 15th century, perfect for fans of Tudor-era historical fiction, courtly intrigue, and fearless heroines with something to hide who