Karrie sat beside her father on a little padded stool in the throne room and listened as guard after guard came in, reported on the rescue effort, and went. It seemed almost nonstop, one tale of catastrophe after another. To make matters worse Daddy had sent Damien and his sister to hunt down whoever caused the quake. As much as Karrie wanted to finish their conversation of two nights past even she recognized preventing another quake was the priority.

Off to one side the archmage and a pair of sorcerers had their heads together, deep in conversation. After two days of going nonstop, even the invincible Lidia Thorn looked worn out. How was Damien holding up? Karrie knew she shouldn’t worry. Damien was young and strong. If anyone could figure out what had happened he and Jen could.

Two of the door guards hustled in and announced, “Duke Iceborn and his heir, Sigurd.”

What in the world were Sig and his father doing here? Daddy waved the guard he was speaking to away just as the duke and Sig entered. Both men wore blue and white robes trimmed with arctic fox fur. The hilt of a sword jutted up over Sig’s shoulder.

Karrie had heard the story of his duel with Damien. How did he dare wear a sword after that? Maybe he counted on his rank and size to protect him.

The duke swept through the room with Sig at his heels. It was easy to understand where Sig inherited his size; the duke stood well over six and a half feet tall. His thick, gray-streaked beard hung down to the middle of his chest. The duke paused before the throne and bowed to the king. Sig emulated his father, but by his sour expression he begrudged the effort.

Her father stood up and he and the duke shook hands. “So good to see you again, my king.”

“Rasmus, Sigurd. Nice of you to visit, though I wish the situation was better.” Her father sat back down. “We could have offered you a proper welcome.”

The duke waved off his apology. “If there’s one thing we in the north understand, it’s that men are helpless before the wrath of nature.”

“What brings you to the capital?” the king asked.

“The weather finally cleared enough to make travel reasonable and things have calmed sufficiently that I deemed it safe to travel. We missed the ceremony honoring the young man that drove off the dragon and I wanted to thank him in person for what he did for my duchy.”

As his father spoke Sig’s face twisted into ever uglier expressions. He clearly hadn’t come to thank Damien. For just a moment Karrie was glad Damien was out of the city. If he were here she suspected things with Sig could get very nasty very quickly.

“Unfortunately Damien is out on a mission. He just left yesterday morning.” Her father shrugged. “Bad timing.”

Rasmus smiled. “I’ll be in the city for a week or two, discussing business with some southern merchants. Perhaps he’ll return before I leave.”

“Perhaps,” the king said. “Where are you staying?”

“We usually stay at the Golden Dancer, but they’re still cleaning up. The owner says it will be at least two days before we can move in.”

“Well, you’ll have to stay in the castle until then. We suffered some minor damage, but the sorcerers have repaired it already. Dale.”

The castle seneschal shuffled over. “Majesty?”

“We have guest rooms for the duke and his son, correct?”

“Yes, Majesty. The servants have been concentrating on cleaning up the occupied rooms, but we can have them ready in an hour or two.”

“Perfect. Karrie, be a dear and escort Rasmus and Sigurd up to our rooms until Dale has the guest chambers ready. You and your mother can keep them entertained for a couple hours, right?”

Karrie would have preferred to swim in a pig trough than spend two hours entertaining Sig. She smiled and hopped to her feet. “Of course. I’m sure Mom will be thrilled to have guests.”

He had the good grace to wince at that. They both knew Mom hated having nobles staying in the castle. Their presence disrupted the servants’ routines and made everything harder. It was one reason they so seldom had formal gatherings.

“Your Grace, Sig, please follow me.”

She led the two noblemen out of the throne room and up the back stairs to the royal quarters. She pushed the door open and found her mother sitting at the dinner table sipping a glass of wine. Mom had on her favorite white dress, devoid of lace or decoration. She had a small piece of embroidery with her and was studying the stitching in search of mistakes. John sprawled half-asleep on the couch.

Karrie almost sighed in relief. John’s presence would make the next two hours much more bearable. “Hi, Mom. We have guests.”

The queen looked up from her stitching, a minute frown creasing her lips. “Rasmus, Sig, this is a surprise.”

“Audra, terribly sorry to impose.” The duke swept a deep bow. “You’re looking as beautiful as ever.”

Her mother laughed. “And you’re as bad a liar as ever. Would you like some wine?”

Mom slipped into full hostess mode. She’d trade witless prattle with the duke all the while trying to pry out of him his true purpose for visiting. Mom was brilliant at that sort of thing and Karrie knew she’d have to learn how to do it herself before long.

The duke joined her mother at the dining room table and Karrie went to sit beside John on the couch. Sig sat in the chair across from them.

“I hadn’t expected to find you here, John,” Karrie said. “I figured you’d be out healing the injured.”

He groaned. “I just spent the last twelve hours fusing more broken bones than I can count. I’ve sealed cuts and plucked wood and stone from flesh. I’m so tired I can hardly see straight, much less set a bone. The queen was kind enough to offer me a place to rest while the servants finish putting my room back together.”

Karrie patted his knee. “Sounds tough.”

“I think the quake produced more wounded than the war, though thankfully fewer deaths. You know, Damien’s friend Salem has turned out to be a brilliant healer. We might have lost many more people if she hadn’t been here. Anyway I just need to catch a few hours’ rest and I’ll head back out.”

“Why don’t you go rest somewhere else so Karrie and I can talk in private,” Sig said.

Karrie didn’t like the way Sig was staring at her with his bright blue eyes. The last thing she wanted was for John to leave her alone with him. “We don’t want to chase John off. He was here first after all. Whatever you have to say I’m sure we can count on his discretion.” She looked at John and raised an eyebrow. “Right?”

John must have caught the desperation in her look because he sat up straight and nodded. “Absolutely, I’m the soul of discretion.”

Karrie offered a grateful smile. “So what’s on your mind?”

Sig shot John a venom-filled look then turned his hot gaze on Karrie. “I think we should wed. I’m the strongest of the four dukes’ heirs. It only makes sense that I be the next king. With me on the throne you’ll be free to raise our children and do whatever else it is queens do. We can make the announcement tomorrow.”

Karrie was so stunned for a moment she couldn’t speak. This arrogant prick thought he could march into her home and announce that she was going to marry him just like that. A moment later the irony that she’d done essentially the same thing to Damien last winter struck her. Was this the same anger he’d felt at her presumption? For the first time the true weight of what she’d asked of him settled over her.

How had she presumed to command his heart? Did the fact that she loved Damien and Sig only wanted to use her make her actions any better? Karrie liked to think it did. She also hoped Damien would forgive her for what she was about to do.

“I’ve already promised myself to another.”

“Who?” Sig’s face turned red and the muscle at his jaw bunched. “I’ll kill him and we can move on from there.”

“Damien. We were going to announce it when he returned from his mission.”

Beside her John turned the start of a laugh into a cough.

Sig’s face grew even redder and Karrie half hoped he’d collapse on the spot. “Damien. So he stands against me once more. When he gets back I will challenge him to a duel to the death. You’ll see which of us is the strongest and most worthy to be king.”

“Good idea,” John said. “That worked out so well for you last time.”

Sig growled like an angry dog. “This time will be different. We’ll have a true sorcerers’ duel and I will defeat him.”

John shook his head. “You and three friends together couldn’t beat Damien in a sorcerers’ duel.”

Sig leapt to his feet. “I will beat him!”

He stalked to the door and slammed it behind him.

Her mother and the duke looked over at her. Karrie shrugged as if to say she had no idea what had happened. How did they not hear Sig shouting? Must have been some sorcery trick.

“So does Damien know you two are engaged?” John asked.

“Not exactly.”

“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled when Sig tells him then challenges him to a duel.”

“I’m sure.” Karrie held her head in her hands. What had she done?