Strangely, when she was being truly truthful with herself, it was not her father, King Xander, whom she resented most for her predicament. She knew what to expect from him: very little. She saw him for what he was, a sullen and solitary man who rarely addressed her directly. No, it was her mother, Queen Nor, who caused Allegra consternation and confusion.

She had once believed Nor to be her only ally.

In her childhood, Allegra could remember her mother lavishing her with love and kindness, endeavoring daily to fill her world with every desire Allegra could devise. Only now did it occur to Allegra that the abundance of Nor’s affections might have been motivated by guilt, knowing that Allegra’s world was destined to be finite. However, Allegra never imagined that her mother’s love might be finite as well.

To make matters worse, with the impending appearance of this accursed constellation, Nor’s attentions were increasingly diverted to Xander’s needs and concerns, as if he had become her child and Allegra had been demoted to a mere palace pet.

Her introspection was interrupted when Geneva gently touched her shoulder. Allegra seemed to notice her surroundings for the first time, surprised to find herself on her balcony without a clue as to how she had arrived there.

A sumptuous supper had been set on a portable table while an assemblage of musicians played a melancholy melody, undoubtedly at Allegra’s request, though she couldn’t remember giving them instruction. Pastel ribbons streaked the horizon nearest her as an indigo sky encroached from above. Apropos of Allegra’s ability to find a dark cloud in almost everything, she couldn’t help but notice thunderheads gathering in the distance above the Ocean of Manorain, lightning emanating intermittently from their blackened bottoms.

“Princess, your dinner grows cold,” Geneva said.

“As does my heart.”

Geneva nimbly replied, “Shall I run a hot bath, then?”

Allegra bubbled up in laughter in spite of herself. “No, thank you.” She smiled as she pulled her friend into a warm embrace. Together, they turned and watched the ever-changing weather. A rising wind ruffled their hair. The rapidly approaching storm front pushed the warm air before it and whipped the water of the ocean’s surface into wispy whitecaps.

“This prophecy defies reasonable thinking,” Allegra said. “I’m only seventeen. How could anyone in their right mind assume that I would want to marry when I’ve seen so little of the world? This expectation that I would not only undo myself but the entire monarchy with a frivolous marriage is infuriating. Not only that, it’s insulting.”

Geneva remained quiet and listened.

“I’ve never even seen a soldier,” Allegra continued after a moment. “How could my parents suppose that I would fall in love at first glance? Is that how love works, Geneva?”

The towering blue clouds now dominated the sky. Lightning flashed more frequently, accompanied by the requisite rumble of thunder.

“I don’t know, Allegra. I’ve never been in love, either,” Geneva answered after a time, taking a cue from the crackling sky. “But I’ve heard that it can strike as quickly and as violently as a storm over the Ocean of Manorain.”