The Curses of Arianrhod (A Bard Without a Star Book 4)

There is no magic strong enough to break a mother’s curse.

On the day Gwydion ap Don discovered he had a son, the boy’s mother Arianrhod cursed him to never have a name unless she gave him one herself. Now he wanders Bangreen, exiled from his home, and trying everything he can think of to break the curse.

Left with no other option, he takes the boy to Caer Sidi, where Arianrhod lives in her own exile. But even when confronted, she refuses to name the boy, or even acknowledge him. She wants to punish Gwydion for the rest of his life, despite the fact that he still loves her.

Gwydion almost loses hope, but a tiny sparrow leads him to the wise Ousel of Penwyth, who tells him not to break the curse, but fulfill it. So Gwydion and his son return to Caer Sidi, disguised as shoemakers, to trick Arianrhod into giving the boy a name. She calls him “the fair one with the sure hand”--Llews Llaw Gyffes--and the curse ends. But in her fury at being tricked she curses him again, this time that he will never bear arms until she gives them to him herself. Gwydion swears that he will trick her again, but can he come up with a plan that both fulfills the new curse and keeps his son safe from his mother’s wrath at the same time?