The oath only made Nausicaa more irritable, as it reminded her of her own oath to the Crown. These days she found herself wondering more and more what her life would have been like had Uriel chosen someone else to wed. Perhaps she'd still be in the bottom ranks of their dragon-based cavalry, her lineage meaning nothing—

You wanted this, she reminded herself bitterly.

So she swallowed back the words that had been at the tip of her tongue, and nodded at Pela. The girl did not deserve being treated the way she had. None of her staff did.

"There are rumors of unrest from the north." The peace treaty brokered by Uriel's father between their kingdom and Chrysocolla had been a fragile one from the very beginning. The Galenaeans did not trust magifolk — except, strangely enough, dragons and ward-witches. It was only a matter of time before the alliance would fall apart, though Uriel did not want them to be the one to break it. "The king wishes to be assured that the wards in the palace are still in place."