“But you’re willing to bring a girl like Cora along?”

“Don’t think I like it, but yes. Raesinia—Your Majesty—you are more valuable than she is, whether you like it or not.”

“That—”

“If Cora were to die,” Marcus ground out, over whatever Raesinia had been about to say, “it would be a tragedy. She’s a wonderful person, and I understand that she’s your friend. But if anything happens to you, the entire kingdom will suffer. Millions of people, just as wonderful as Cora. You are the last of the Orboans. Without you, at worst we’d have civil war. At best we’d have someone like Maurisk claiming the throne.”

“Or someone like Janus?” Raesinia snapped.

“Janus swore an oath,” Marcus said. “As did I. We are bound to protect and defend the kingdom and the queen. I can’t do that if I deliberately take you into danger.”

“So you’ll leave me here,” she said. “Unguarded.”

“We’ll lock the building down. I should be gone only a few hours.”

Raesinia’s face was calm, but he could see rage in the depths of her eyes. “And if I order you to let me come?”

“Then you can find someone else to lead this raid.”

“I could have you thrown in prison.” She put on a vicious smile. “Or sent to the Spike.”

“That would be Your Majesty’s prerogative.”

There was another drawn-out silence. Then, without a word, Raesinia turned away, wrenched the door open, and disappeared, slamming it so hard it bounced off the doorframe and rebounded. Marcus winced.

*   *   *

He got to sleep surprisingly easily that night, settling into the soft bed in his second-floor room more comfortably than he had done in weeks. His dreams were full of fire, and when a knock at the door dragged him out of slumber, he found himself reflexively looking around for signs of a blaze.

“What?” he managed, blinking and shaking his head. “Is something wrong?”

“Open the door,” Raesinia said.

“Raesinia? What’s happened?”

“Nothing’s happened. Just do it.”

Marcus rolled out of bed and pulled on his undershirt before crossing the room and pulling the door open. He’d extinguished all the candles before going to bed, but left the curtains open, and a square of moonlight fell on the carpet and edged the shadows with a silvery glow.

Raesinia pushed into the room before he could say anything, slamming the door behind her. Marcus hastily backed away a step as she turned to shoot the bolt, then fixed him with a stare.

“Your Majesty . . . ,” he said. “I . . . uh . . .”