All Aren wanted was a cottage on a lake. Instead, she was taken by the throne, forced into being the figurehead of palace lands. She is not content being a puppet to those who would attempt to manipulate her.Few people, if any, know how far its influence truly stretches. Their people's history is long and this dark era has stretched back so far that no one recalls how it started, or how to deal with a queen strong enough to force the court to her bidding. Summoned by events that count not possibly have been forged by mortal hands, Aren's parents arrive at court. A few days later not one, but all four barons arrive.Between Aren's parents plotting, and the secrets kept by the barons, Av is pressured into behaving in the name of forging political alliances.All neglect to ask a simple question. What does Aren want? And how many hints will the throne give before it purges the whole court?

In the wake of their mating, Aren and Av are immediately thrust into planning for war. The barons have plans to bring the men together necessary to fill an army. The North, recently rejoined with palace lands, is filled with warriors wanting to prove their prowess, but Aren has conditions that the barons aren't certain just any warrior will help uphold her conditions.They ask her to do a calling, like the queens of old once did when they had to go to war. Aren reluctantly agrees, heading to the North to visit her newly acquired land.Not everyone wishes to rejoin palace lands. There is a small, but vocal, minority at Castle Grey determined to do anything they can to retain their control.As their visit begins, Ervam tasks Jer with visiting Bilgern Vineyard. On the surface, the tour is simply to take stock of the land and to create a plan to protect it for the heir. Jer, however, is also there to collect one of Aren's brothers and to investigate the vineyard that had been Aren's...

Aren has fled the palace, terrified that Av will one day take her life. She tells no one where she is going, no one sees her leave. Too far from the throne for it to be felt by others, Aren find herself in a small village that the rest of the world has forgotten about.Back at the palace, Av is at his wit's end. With court winding down, he has the perfect excuse to explain Aren's absence. When Para brings Anue to court to winter with Aren, Av takes the opportunity to leave the palace before his frustration gets the best of him.Winter is a time of little travel, but how long can Av wait?And why, in the long, dark nights, does he hear queens crying in the darkness, begging for help?

There has been unrest among the people for over six hundred years. No one recalls what started the fighting, few recall the proper order of events. Everyone feels the effects of the unrest. Short lived queens and weak magic mean that any newcomer is viewed as a rival, that warriors must defend queens they can barely stand in order to protect the common people.Aren knew when she begged to go that being finished at the palace was dangerous. Every lady is finished at court, no matter her rank or the worth of her title, and it was the opportunity to escape that Aren had been waiting for. Her plan was simple, keep her head down until her eighteenth birthday and then quietly slip away.Av had spent almost a decade protecting Em, who he knows isn't good for his family or the people. But she's the only one who can hold the throne, a landscape magic which has become absolutely necessary for life to continue. Without a queen sitting the throne the land would fail and the common folk would...

The new court session begins, with Para and Cerlot Bilgern all but blacklisted. Many whisper about the change in name, not daring to voice their questions to the ranks at court. For Aren is much changed, and the ranks are changing along with her.The high lords are coming to court to witness Aren's mating ceremony. The barons return—to see if the baron of the North will keep his word. One, however, is missing. He sends no word, no well wishes. His absence is noted.There's a mating ceremony being planned and everyone's talking about the woman. They talk about how she changed over the winter, how she simply feels different to everyone's senses.No one stops to think about Av. To their eyes, the man is all but invisible as he wanders the halls of the palace with nothing to keep him busy but the spirits who haunt him.They probably should have asked what would happen, once Av and Aren mate.