Aloud he added, "She's no Celierian. On this I would stake every blade I own."

Queen Annoura strolled down the stone walkways that wound through the palace's vast, manicured gardens. She'd woken early to greet the Tairen Soul and attend to the most pressing of her day's correspondence while breaking her fast. Duty would call her to service again soon, but she refused to forgo the pleasure of her regular morning walk.

The members of her Queen's Court followed a few paces behind, noble young Sers and Seras chosen as much for their beauty as for their family connections. Annoura was no insecure queen forced to fill her court with Drabs in order to look beautiful by comparison. She was herself a Brilliant, and she insisted on surrounding herself with nothing less than Dazzles to set off her own beauty to its best advantage.

Of course, she also had her inner circle of Favorites, the small knot of courtiers selected as her confidants for their wit, shrewdness, political connections, and loyalty. Chief among her current circle was the delicious, sultry-eyed Ser Vale, a breathtakingly handsome nobleman whose palpable aura of sensuality made Annoura envy ladies for whom infidelity was not an act of treason. He'd joined her court as a Dazzle late last fall, but his entertaining wit and keen intelligence had raised him swiftly to her inner circle.

He walked beside her now, elegant as always, his hair powdered the same pale blue as his form-fitting silk breeches and matching gold-and-silk-embroidered velvet doublet. He wore an alluring scent today, something deep and mysterious, teasing Annoura with hints of wicked, forbidden pleasure.

He was not at all impressed with the news of the Tairen Soul's truemate. "A woodcarver's daughter, My Queen? A commoner?”

"The Fey do not share our appreciation for the purity of noble bloodlines, Ser Vale, you know that. The Tairen Soul claims she is his truemate, and he will not give her up." She kept her voice low, her words private between them. "The girl is betrothed to another and bound by a claiming mark, yet he insists we set aside her lawful marriage contract.”

"It is an outrage against Celierian sovereignty. The king will, of course, refuse." There was earnest surety in his voice and in his thickly lashed blue-green eyes.

"No," she said. "I doubt that he will.”

"You cannot mean it!" Vale stopped in his tracks, drawing the attention of the surrounding courtiers. "Surely His Majesty would not truly allow this … this Fey sorcerer to install a peasant—one of your own subjects, no less—as his queen? To raise up a common woodcarver's daughter as the equal of you, Queen Annoura of Celieria, in whose veins flows the world's most noble royal blood?”

"You go too far, lordling," Annoura snapped. "It seems I erred in raising you from Dazzle to Favorite so quickly if you think she could ever be my equal." Her skirts snapped as she resumed her walk at a brisk pace.

"My Queen!" Vale hurried to catch up with her. "Your Majesty, forgive me.”

She glared at him. "He may call her his queen and seat her on the Tairen Throne, but there is much more to being my equal than the mere possession of a crown and a title.”

"Of course, Your Majesty. I did not mean to suggest that I would ever believe otherwise. You are the Moon of Celieria, a Brilliant who outshines the Mother herself. And I hear this Celierian girl isn't even a Gem. Little more than a Drab.”

Annoura arched a haughty brow. "Now you imply I am threatened by her looks?”

"Never, My Queen. You know my devotion belongs to you alone.”

His hand brushed hers. An onlooker might believe it was an accidental touch, but Annoura knew otherwise. Her eyes narrowed.

"I am pleased to hear that at least." She brought the hand he had touched to her waist, out of further reach. "I am not benevolent to Favorites who betray my trust in them, nor am I a queen who shares the devotions due her.”

"Your Majesty, it is not I who would claim her to be your equal. I but think how others outside of Celieria might view these unprecedented events.”

Annoura kept her expression blank, but she was troubled by the suggestion that anyone might consider this upstart soon-to-be queen of the Fey equal in power and stature to Annoura of Celieria. She had spent the last two and a half decades building renown for the elegance of her court and the power of her husband's kingdom. She would not lightly share or lessen her position in the world. Especially not for some Drab of a woodcarver's daughter." The girl's fate is out of my hands. The king will not deny Rain Tairen Soul his truemate." There was more. The girl's betrothed had petitioned the King's clerk for a special license to wed her immediately. The Feyreisen had been in a rage when he'd found out. He'd actually threatened war if Dorian did not revoke the license and dissolve the betrothal. The arrogance of Rain Tairen Soul's demands still infuriated Annoura. Celieria was a sovereign nation, its laws inviolable. But Dorian—ever the coward when dealing with his magical kin—would not stand firm.

Another time, Annoura might have confessed some of the details to Vale, but he had irritated her with his insinuations, so she said merely, "The House of Torreval has long supported the traditions of both Celierians and Fey." She turned back to the palace. "I believe I have walked long enough this morning. I shall return to the palace." When he made to follow her, she stopped and leveled a hard, cold glance upon his handsome face. "Your attendance is not required today, Ser Vale." She lifted a hand and gestured to one of her newest young Dazzles, an exquisite blond lordling who'd been vying for her attention these last few months. "Ser Nilas. You may escort me back to the palace”