Then she looked over at Micah and saw the truth in his face. This was what he’d meant in the library when he’d said, Neither one of us has a choice.

“But…but that’s impossible,” Raisa whispered. “I cannot marry a wizard. It’s forbidden.”

“Forbidden by whom?” the queen said. “I am the queen of the Fells. I am sovereign over this realm.”

“Forbidden by the Nǽming for a thousand years,” Raisa said. “You know that. No wizard has married a queen of the Fells since Hanalea. And you know what happened then.”

“My dear girl, think of the lost opportunities, the richness of possibility,” Lord Bayar said. “The union of royal blood and wizardry will make us once again the most powerful kingdom in the Seven Realms. Why should the actions of one rogue wizard close that door forever?”

Kingdom, she thought. Over my dead body.

“I am not your dear girl,” Raisa said, breathing hard and fast. “I am the princess heir to the queendom of the Fells, and I’ll thank you to remember it. And it wasn’t the actions of one madman that resulted in the Nǽming. It was the abuse of power by a dynasty of wizards who invaded and conquered the Fells and enslaved its blooded rulers.”

“That’s one perspective,” Lord Bayar said, smooth as any serpent. “Others call it a golden age, when all of the Seven Realms paid tribute to the Fells. When riches flowed to us from all seven. When the fertile fields of Arden filled our granaries and supplied the funds to build this legendary city.”

“The city was built before wizards ever came here,” Raisa said.

“Who’s been feeding you this misinformation?” Lord Bayar asked. “Your father? Elena Demonai? The days of the clans are over.”

Raisa turned away from Lord Bayar and faced the queen. “Mother, you know this isn’t right. You know you can’t marry me to a wizard. The clan will go to war over it, you know they will. Do you want a civil war here as well as in Arden? How vulnerable will that make us?”

“Bows and arrows cannot protect us against the war machines of Arden,” Marianna said. “We need sorcery on our side.”

“We already have it, or we should have,” Raisa said, glaring at Lord Bayar. “The High Wizard is supposed to be bound to you, and subject to your will. What’s happened? Is the link damaged, or broken, or…?”

“Micah,” Lord Bayar said pointedly, “please calm your bride so we can get on with this. It’s growing late, wedding jitters or not, and we need to ride back to Gray Lady before morning.”

Micah moved toward Raisa, hands extended, as one might approach a cornered fellscat. “Come on, Raisa,” he coaxed, almost pleading. “Let’s just get this over with.”