"I—" Den went pale around the mouth. "But ... Your Majesty, I—”

"Take your seat, Goodman. There is another who would address this court." The king gestured and the massive doors at the back of the room swung open again.

In deep, ringing tones, the tempo slowed so that each word sounded clear as a bell, the king's man called out, "His Esteemed Majesty, Rainier vel'En Daris Feyreisen, the Tairen Soul, King of the Fading Lands, Defender of the Fey.”

Ellie's heart, which had been in her stomach, leapt up into her throat. She jumped to her feet and turned, like every other person in the room, to watch the Fey king make his entrance.

"Dear gods," she heard one woman whisper. "He is magnificent.”

Tall, lean, and searingly handsome, Rainier vel'En Dari exuded the dark, dangerous beauty and mystery of the Fey race as he strode down the blue carpet. His black leather tunic and snug leggings seemed to absorb light, while his bristling collection of Fey blades were so highly polished that they reflected light back with almost blinding intensity. Black boots, tooled with scarlet and purple tairen, crossed the length of the throne room in smooth, ground-eating strides. A scarlet sash embroidered with tairen worked in gold thread draped from his left shoulder to his right hip, just below one of the two crossed bands of Fey'cha daggers, while a chain made of fist-sized squares of gold, each set with large Tairen's Eye crystals, hung from one shoulder to the other. A golden crown circled his head, each of its six points topped with a small globe of priceless Tairen's Eye crystal. Even without the crown, no one who saw him could fail to recognize he was a king. He carried power as effortlessly as his broad shoulders carried the purple-lined black cape that billowed out behind him.

He reached the end of the carpet and condescended to bend his spine in the almost bow made by one king to another. He didn't look at Ellie, but his emotions reached out to her and his voice whispered in her mind, «Shei'tani.» She shivered at the liquid caress of the Fey word that meant true- mate, wife, and beloved all wrapped up in one. Every nerve in her body was aware of him as he stood only feet away, and when a warm breeze of Air brushed across the back of her neck and swirled around her ear, she almost cried out at the pleasure of it.

The crack of the bailiff's gavel brought silence to the court. "The king of the Fading Lands has approached us with a petition of his own," King Dorian announced. "One that has made us reconsider the validation and license granted to Goodman Brodson yesterday. We have invited the Feyreisen to give testimony." King Dorian gestured to the platform beside him. "If you would step into the testimony box, My Lord Feyreisen.”

The Fey king strode to the platform on the right and stepped behind the railing, facing the court. Marissya came to stand close, but she did not touch him.

The steward stepped forward. "Rainier vel'En Daris, you have stated that you have a claim to Ellysetta Baristani that supersedes our laws and you have petitioned this court to dissolve the betrothal contract between Den Brodson and Ellysetta Baristani. Is this correct?”

"It is." His voice was deep and sure, his face proud and uncompromising.

"What is the nature of this claim that supersedes our laws?”

"Ellysetta Baristani is my shei'tani." His eyes found hers. "My truemate." A murmur of voices rippled through the crowd.

"Please tell the court what a truemate is.”

"A truemate is the person who holds the other half of a Fey's soul." His gaze never left hers, and Ellie felt the magic of his voice wrapping her in imperceptible weaves of longing. "It is the most sacred bond known to any Fey, more sacred than that between a king and his subjects, more sacred even than that between a mother and a child.”

"Ellysetta Baristani is a Celierian, not subject to your laws or customs but rather to ours," the king interjected. "Though she may indeed be your shei'tani, she is also legally betrothed to Den Brodson according to our laws. He has a prior claim, which he is obviously unwilling to renounce.”

Rainier met the king's gaze impassively. "I am the Feyreisen, she is my shei'tani. The betrothal to the Celierian must be dissolved. I understand your ways. I will pay Den Brodson and his family restitution for their loss. I do not ask that you break your laws, only that you understand and recognize that there is a higher law at work here. The gods created one woman whose soul could call mine. She sits there. Her betrothal to the Celierian must be dissolved.”

"And if it is not dissolved?”

The sudden biting coldness of the Fey's expression chilled the room. "I am the only living Tairen Soul. Any harm to me is harm to the Fey. I have recognized her as my shei'tani, and the bond must be fulfilled. If you deny her to me, you do me irreparable harm. The Fey will consider it an act of war.”

An audible gasp rose from the gallery.

The Tairen Soul's face smoothed. "But let us hope it does not come to that. As I have said, I will pay the young man's family restitution for their loss.”

He gestured and the doors at the back of the throne room opened. Two Fey entered, bearing a huge chest between them. They brought it to the front of the room and at Rain's signal placed it before the Brodsons and opened the lid to reveal a dazzling display of gold and jewels, wealth enough to dower a princess several times over. Gothar Brodson's eyes nearly popped out of his head, while his wife fell back in her seat in a half swoon.