Amon shook his head. “I don’t think we can look for help from them. They’re not even responding to our messages.”

“Why won’t they come?” Raisa wrapped her arms around herself. “Why wouldn’t they come now, before the Ardenine Army arrives?”

Amon tightened his jaw. “I’m guessing they’re worried that if they leave Gray Lady undefended, Montaigne may detour and take advantage. If Montaigne’s wizards are still poorly equipped, he might hope to recover flashcraft from the Council House. With better weapons, he could win control of all of the Seven Realms.”

“We could use better weapons ourselves right now.” Raisa paused, swallowing hard before she continued. “What about the High Wizard? Lord Alister? Is there any news of him?”

Amon shook his head. “Nothing at all. Perhaps he’s on Gray Lady with the others.”

“Maybe the Wizard Council will act once the flatlanders have committed themselves,” Lord Hakkam said.

“Once they’ve surrounded us, you mean?” Raisa snapped. She couldn’t help herself.

“Or…” Hakkam spread his fingers. “Perhaps we can still negotiate with King Gerard.”

“Negotiate?” Nightwalker said. “Let him take his army back to the flatlands and dismiss his mercenaries, and then we will talk.”

“Perhaps he felt that he had no choice but to invade, given the cost of the civil war in Arden and his need for capital,” Hakkam said. “Desperate men do desperate things. Arden, Tamron, and the Fells were joined once before—to everyone’s advantage. As long as the nobility retain their holdings and titles, it may be that life wouldn’t—”

“We were joined under the rule of the Gray Wolf queens of the Fells,” Raisa said. “Not under the heel of Arden.”

“We could propose a loose confederation,” Hakkam persisted. “Where each realm is independent, save for international affairs. King Gerard remains unmarried. A marriage between Queen Raisa and Gerard would raise our profile among the—”

“The Fells is not yours to give away, Lord Hakkam,” Nightwalker said. “It is sacred ground.”

“I’m not saying give it away,” Lord Hakkam blustered. “Just…lend it a while until we can regain our footing.”

“You would give our queen away, too? Or is she a loan also?” Nightwalker snorted in disgust.

Bless you, Nightwalker, Raisa thought.

“No one likes this situation, but we have to be realistic,” Hakkam said. He counted off on his jeweled fingers. “We have no army. The Wizard Council is in disarray. Montaigne has two armies, including mercenaries who know this queendom and its strongholds as well as we do. They also have gifted support, though we don’t know how much.”

“Based on what we know about King Gerard, we can’t assume that the queen would survive a surrender for very long,” Amon said. “And if we negotiate from a position of weakness, we are unlikely to get anything we want.”