Lucivar stormed into Saetan's study at the Hall and slammed the door behind him, snarling something incoherent. Karla, alone in the study, just raised an eyebrow at him and set aside the papers she'd been reading, leaning back in Uncle Saetan's comfortable chair. "Yes?" she drawled ( Read more... )

The sun had set by the time Karla was washing the blood off her hands and leaving Marian resting in a deep and dreamless sleep that would help her Heal and provide her with at least one night's rest without being plagued by nightmares. Karla had tried to cushion the memories of what had happened to her, push them away to relieve them of the ( Read more... )

Jaenelle was not back in the Keep by the time Karla's portal returned, but Saetan was. "You got a letter, too?" she asked, giving her adopted uncle an exasperated smile ( Read more... )

An assassination attempt. There was no way around it, that's exactly what she'd faced today. Someone or someones had wanted her dead and had fabricated an elaborate scheme to get her isolated and vulnerable. With most of her First Circle and the most powerful Healers in Sidra en route to the mountains in the north, she would have been easy pickings ( Read more... )

One of the most difficult skills one needed to cultivate as Queen was the ability to look interested and focused on anything, even while your brain was elsewhere--in Karla's case, hundreds of leagues away, fretting over several small villages that had been covered in an avalanche. While all she wanted to do was remain at the estate, continuing to ( Read more... )

After another night of difficulty falling asleep and rest troubled by vague and disquieting dreams (all thanks to one errant Consort who was now several days past due and not answering his damn phone!), Karla had opted for a late breakfast in bed this morning. There was nothing wrong with enjoying some of the perks of being Queen of an entire ( Read more... )

Karla stood on the rocky bits of the beach, watching the expensive rug sink slowly into the ocean. She was glad she'd gone with the extra rocks; it had been tough to maneuver them into the carpet along with the other bit of trash occupying the middle, but it was always better to be safe than sorry ( Read more... )

It was fitting that they were here on tonight of all nights. Unlike the rest of the Realms who were drinking the blooded rum and dancing in honor of Witch (or, at least giving lip service to the idea), tonight those closest to Witch were gathered in the Keep to honor her a little more concretely ( Read more... )

It had been a long and miserable two weeks. Just ask anyone who had had the misfortune of dealing with their Queen. Karla was a terrible patient; somehow managing to be a tyrant even when she was coughing so hard she could barely speak. It was a good thing her nasty chest cold had also kept her asleep a great deal, or it was possible she would have ( Read more... )

"How can I settle the territory granted to me when my men are being slaughtered before they even set up camp?" the Queen petitioner demanded. She was the eighth Queen to stand in the petitioner's circle before the Council today and there were easily twenty more waiting for her to finish. So far, their demands had been identical, save for the amount ( Read more... )