Karrie stalked towards the royal quarters. Servants hastened to move out of her way. Damien had been gone for almost two months and she’d considered and rejected half a dozen plans to convince him to agree to marry her. The problem she kept running into was none of them would work if he didn’t fall in love with her and Damien had made it clear that while he did like her that was as far as it went.

Daddy should be done with court by now and back in their rooms for his noon meal. Her only hope was to convince him to force Damien to marry her. She knew he thought Damien would be a good match for her so it shouldn’t be too hard to convince him.

Karrie pushed the door open and found her father seated at the dining room table, a plate of pasta in white sauce in front of him. He smiled when she entered.

“Hello, sweetheart. Will you join me?”

She’d get fat if she ate like her father, but she did sit beside him. “I need to talk to you.”

“Of course. What’s on your mind?”

She couldn’t think of any way to say it other than to just say it. “I want you to order Damien to marry me.”

He sucked in a breath along with his sip of wine. When the coughing subsided he asked, “What?”

“I know you think he’d be a good match for me. I spoke to him about it before he left on his mission, but he didn’t seem interested. You could order him to do it, for the good of the kingdom.”

“I don’t think you’ve thought this through, Karrie. I have considerable power, but I can’t command men’s hearts. I think too much of Damien to force him into something like this, not to mention commanding someone to marry against their will is the sort of thing that could lead to a conclave.”

Karrie shook her head. “I hardly think the generals and high sorcerers care enough about the fate of one man to consider removing you from the throne.”

“No.” Her father ran his hand through his hair. “But it is the sort of capricious use of power that they watch for. If I do it once I might do it again, for something bigger. Since our ancestors went from being imperial governors of a colony to kings of an independent country we’ve had a responsibility to rule for the good of all the people and not use the powers we’ve been given irresponsibly. The conclave system was set up to prevent any king from becoming a tyrant.”

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Karrie sighed. She’d learned all that from her tutors. “What’s the point of being king if you can’t do what you want?”

He smiled. “The point is to be a good steward and see that you leave the kingdom stronger, safer, and happier than your predecessor. Maybe you should forget about Damien and find another boy.”

Karrie ground her teeth. She didn’t want another boy, she wanted Damien. If her father couldn’t help her maybe her mother could. She kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Daddy. Do you know where Mom is?”

“In her sewing room, I think. Oh, I forgot to tell you. I spoke to the archmage this morning. Damien should be home today, any time now in fact.”

She brightened. If Damien was home she could start working on him again. She forgot about talking to her mother and jogged out to watch the front gate.

Karrie found an unused guest bedroom overlooking the courtyard, dragged a chair beside the window and settled in to watch. She had a bit of good luck. Less than an hour after she sat down a black horse flew over the wall and landed in the courtyard. Damien sat in the front saddle and Lane sat behind him, her arms around his chest in a way Karrie didn’t like at all.

Damien swung down and reached back to help Lane dismount. They walked toward the castle together. Damien put his hand on her back in a far-too-familiar way. Daddy never should have sent him on a mission with Lane. The woman was too pretty and even if she didn’t like sorcerers in general she seemed to like Damien well enough.

Karrie’s lip curled into a snarl and she slammed her fist on the arm of her chair. If Lane had her hooks in him, how could Karrie dig them out? Mom would know. She rushed back to their quarters. Daddy had finished his meal and returned to his duties. Karrie hurried to the back of the suite and into her mother’s sewing room.

Her mother sat in the sun, a delicate bit of needlework in her lap. “Karrie?”

“Damien’s back. I think he’s fallen for Lane Thorn. They looked way too friendly walking together.”

“Hmm. That’s a surprise. Everyone knows Lane hates sorcerers. Well, Damien is a handsome boy, so I can see where she might make an exception.”

“Mom!”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I suppose you’re planning to go to war with her?”

“I’m not going to let Lane have Damien. He’s mine. What do we do?”

“You need to make him think he’s going to lose you. Jealousy can be a powerful motivator for men. It’s how I convinced your father.”

“I’m not sure Damien would feel jealous if I went with someone else.”

“It would have to be the right person. I made some quiet inquiries at The Tower. There are two people that might have the desired effect on Damien. His best friend John Kord and Sigurd Iceborn whom he fought a duel with his first day.”

“Sig’s an ass, but John is handsome enough. It might not be so bad spending time with him.”

“Good choice. Nothing like seeing your best friend getting the attention of a girl you thought was interested in you. John is stationed with his father in the north. Perhaps we could arrange for him to come south. We could say you need a personal healer. That would give you a perfect excuse to spend time with him.”

Karrie rubbed her hands together. She’d make Damien so jealous his head would spin. “How soon can he arrive?”