Where did all these rules come from that I never heard of? Raisa wondered. Just one more example of information that should have been passed to her by Queen Marianna.

Still, it seemed that Amon was straying off topic.

“But why are you telling me this now? The role of Captain of the Queen’s guard works with the role of consort. It makes a lot of sense, if we could just persuade—”

“It’s not just a legacy. There’s a magical piece,” Amon said.

“A magical piece?” Raisa shivered, her skin pebbling as if a draft had come in through the window. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you know how the High Wizard is linked to the queen of the Fells, so that he or she cannot do anything contradictory to the interests of the Gray Wolf line?”

“Of course,” Raisa said. “Though something seems to have gone amiss with our current High Wizard,” she added darkly.

“The captains are linked too,” Amon said. “There’s a ceremony, with a speaker presiding. Once the link is made, it’s permanent. It prevents treason and assures the captain’s commitment to the survival of the line.”

Raisa struggled not to gape. The Byrnes were the most unmagical people she knew. They always seemed like the plainspoken voice of reason against the drama of wizardry, the hardwired sorcery of the clans, and the seductive words of the speakers.

Being linked to Amon could only be a good thing, right? Was it possible they could be bound any tighter than they already were?

“So you’ll undergo this ‘linking’ ceremony when I become queen?” Raisa asked.

Amon shook his head. “It’s already done. Before I left the Fells. My da thought I should, since you were leaving the Fells and passing through a war zone. And because, like you said, there may be a magical threat against the sovereignty of the current queen.” He held up his left hand, showing her the ring on his middle finger. She focused on the wolves circling the heavy gold band.

“I’m already bound to you, Raisa. For good. Forever.” Something in his expression told her this was a mixed blessing.

Raisa tried to swallow down her astonishment. “Did you really need to hold the ceremony early?” she asked. “The last thing I want is for people to think I’m plotting against my own mother. And I don’t see why your father thought he had to prevent your turning traitor on me.”

“Well, there are advantages. Sometimes…I can predict what you’re going to do, and anticipate danger to you in time to prevent it. I can sense where you are, in an imperfect way.”