“What do you mean?” Raisa asked, pausing with a sweet bun halfway to her mouth. She’d never heard her mother say two words together about politics.

“Well, you won’t know how things will turn out. Depending on how the war goes, you may be marrying a king or a fugitive.”

Raisa shrugged. “I’ll be queen on my own account. I don’t need to marry a king.”

“Precisely!” Marianna said, smiling and taking her first bite.

“I don’t understand,” Raisa said. “Precisely what?”

“We should avoid a southern alliance,” Marianna said. “Things are just too unsettled. There’s little to gain and much to lose. We could be drawn into their wars.”

“Well,” Raisa said, thinking of what Amon had said, “the southern wars won’t last forever. Maybe we should wait and see who wins. Then decide what alliance would be most advantageous. A southern marriage may be just what we want. We may need friends when they turn their attention to us.”

Marianna blinked at her as if she’d begun speaking Tamric. “But we don’t know when that will be,” she said. “We cannot afford to sit on our hands in the meantime.”

“We could be preparing for it now,” Raisa said. “A lot of our people have gone as mercenaries in the south, since the money’s good. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to try to bring them home and use them to build up our own army?”

The queen wrapped her shawl more firmly about her, as if it were armor. “We have no money for that, Raisa,” she said.

“We could get rid of the foreign mercenaries we have now,” Raisa said. “That should free up some money.”

“That’s easier said than done,” the queen said. “They hold positions of command. General Klemath relies on them to—”

“I didn’t say it would be easy,” Raisa said. “I just think it’s something to consider. It costs more to buy foreign soldiers, and people fight better when they’re defending their own homes and families. And having all these foreigners here might be risky.”

“Where did this come from?” Marianna asked, frowning. “Is this something you heard at Demonai Camp?”

That was royal code for Is this something you heard from your father? From your grandmother Elena?

Just between us, Amon had said. And she didn’t want to get him or Captain Byrne into trouble. “No, it’s just something I’ve been thinking for a while.”

“Right now you should be focusing on your studies,” Marianna said. “I’ll be considering who might be the best match for you and the Fells. We can’t delay your marriage until the southerners stop fighting. That may never happen.”