They shut the door, and I heard a heavy lock slide into place. I gave the door a good solid kick, mostly to ease my frustration. It didn’t work. It was maddening because I was in full possession of my gentry magic and could do nothing with it so long as they held the others hostage. I stared at my satchel. At first, I had no intention of becoming “presentable.” I had no desire to impress that bitch. After a little thought, though, I decided it was less about impressing her and more about presenting myself as more than a bedraggled prisoner. I was a queen of two lands, lands I’d earned—unlike her and her blackmail.

Not that I could do much preparation with such limited means. My recent bath had gone a long way to help, and the water in here let me clean up any smudges I’d since acquired. I combed my hair into a semi-neat ponytail and changed into my last clean sweater, which was green with snowflakes on it. Honestly, did all sweaters have to contain holiday decorations? At least I still had all my jewelry, which gave me some air of regality.

Jewelry ...

A strange, slightly crazy idea came to me. Quickly, I stripped off my rings, bracelets, and necklace and spread them out on the bed. I took an assessment of the jewels I had. Moonstone, amethyst, citrine, quartz, obsidian, and a few others. Worn as jewelry, their powers were passive, mostly offering protection and occasional clarity for focusing shamanic magic. I separated out the ones that could be manipulated into objects of power and put the remaining jewelry back on. Then began the arduous task of prying out the jewels I’d set aside. Stripped of all truly useful tools, I had to rely on the hard plastic edges of my toothbrush and comb. Amazingly, I was able to make it work, but the process wasn’t graceful.

Next, I went to the pathetic chair and attempted to break off one of the legs. The wood looked so old and rotten that I was certain I could do it with my bare hands. Nope. I couldn’t. So, I gave it a few thwacks against the wall—hoping no one outside overheard—that successfully weakened the wood, allowing me to finally pull off a leg.

Returning to my bag, I found a long knee sock (a dirty one, unfortunately) and stuffed all the jewels inside it. I then wrapped the sock around the chair leg, knotting it so that the bundle stayed affixed to the wood without any of the jewels escaping. Satisfied, I stared at my creation.

I had just made the tackiest, most pathetic wand in history.

It would in no way match my confiscated one, but a lot of the principles remained the same. The wood would allow me to focus my magic through the jewels, drawing on their inherent properties. It would’ve been better if the jewels had been properly charmed, but then, there were a lot of things about this wand that could be better.

Casting a wary glance at the door, I stood and held the wand straight out. This magic was shamanic and human. It should be undetectable to the gentry outside. I spoke Volusian’s summoning words and felt the magic falter as it went through the wand. Still, it was stronger than if I’d summoned him unaided. Remembering the effort I’d needed before, I channeled every bit of focus I could into the magic, trying to break through the land’s enchantment blocking his bond to me.

Against all reason, just when I thought I’d failed, Volusian appeared in the cell. He had that flickering appearance again but didn’t look like he was going anywhere. The bond between us had been hard to summon, but I didn’t feel it was going anywhere either. His red eyes took in the scene and then came to rest on my “wand.”

“My mistress summoned me with ... that?”

“My options were kind of limited,” I said, sitting on the mattress.

“I would feel insulted,” he said, “save that it’s a greater slight to those who cursed me that their wards could be overcome so easily.”

I smiled. “Well, don’t get too cocky because we’re still in kind of a mess. Varia’s people have us all prisoner here in her palace.”

“You are still in possession of your magic.”

“If I use it, there’s a good chance they’ll kill off my friends before I can actually accomplish anything.”

Volusian said nothing but gave me a look that clearly stated he didn’t see what the problem was.

“Is there any way you can free them?” I asked. “That would take a lot of stress off me.”

“It seems to me, mistress, it would remove a lot of stress if I freed you.”

I shrugged. “I’m sure I can free myself. Well, maybe. I mean, I’m not the one with a handicap here. The rest of them are bound and blocked off from their magic. I’m not because Varia knows I won’t risk their lives. Once they’re out of trouble, though, I can start doing some serious damage.”

“That plan is ill-conceived and ill-advised, mistress. Fortunately for you, I am unable to comply. I can’t stray vary far from you in this land.” It was kind of what Dorian and I had talked about, how Volusian needed me and our bond to overcome the magic that would normally bar him from the Yew Land.

“Can you go to Dorian?” I asked. “I think he’s down the hall.”

Volusian tilted his head as though listening to something. “Yes. I can probably reach the Oak King. Do you want me to go now?”

“No, not until I have a plan to—”

There was a click outside my door as the lock was undone. I hissed for Volusian to disappear as I shoved my half-ass wand into my satchel. I’d placed the broken chair as far as it would go into a corner earlier and hoped no guards would notice it.

They didn’t. Their concern was getting my chains back on. Maybe Varia didn’t think I’d do anything drastic with my friends’ lives on the line, but that didn’t mean I could walk around her palace free and unencumbered. My guards escorted me back to the main floor and then into what could only be called a throne room.

I didn’t have a throne room. My predecessors might have, but I’d ordered my people to strip down the rooms in my castles and make them utilitarian. When I had official visits, it was usually in cozy sitting rooms with little pretension. Dorian didn’t technically have a throne room either, though he did have a raised throne sitting high in his dining hall, which he would sometimes sit in when he wanted to look impressive.

But this ... this was another story. The room was huge and could have doubled as a ballroom. Larger-than-life portraits of past monarchs lined the walls. The wide, smooth floor was made of more damarian jade, and pillars lined the room in a way that drew the eye toward the front. There Varia’s throne sat, even higher than Dorian’s dining room throne. The chair itself was fantastically huge, its back made of elaborate gold filigree and bedecked with gems. Despite the room’s enormity, that throne was the only furniture in the entire place. It again made sure all attention went to the front—and that those who came to see the queen were uncomfortable.

I had a feeling this room probably filled up regularly with petitioners and courtiers. Today, it was just me and my guards. Our footsteps echoed around the room as we approached the stairs leading up to the throne. I refused to be awed by the throne and instead studied the paintings on the walls. The names were meaningless until I saw Ganene again. Only, she wasn’t alone in her portrait. An inscription read Queen Onya and Her Daughters, Ganene and Nissa. Queen Onya was a stern-looking figure with a giant crown, providing a contrast to the woman on her left. That one was young and delicate-looking, very beautiful with a nervous expression. The woman on Onya’s right had a hard look to her and a very strong resemblance to the woman sitting before me.

That would be Varia. She was seated grandly on her throne, wearing a dress of ruby red velvet with a skirt far too big for practical movement. I suspected servants had spread it out and draped it over the throne in an artful way. She had brown eyes and brown hair arranged in another of those high hairstyles I kept seeing among Yew women. Her age was difficult to guess, but she was certainly older than me. Jewels adorned almost every free spot: fingers, wrists, neck, ears, and hair. It was a dazzling display that walked a very, very fine line between regal and gaudy. On her lap were two tiny, furry little dogs that looked suspiciously like the annoying yappy kind I despised.

“Kneel,” one of the guards said. He started to shove me down, but Varia made a small, delicate motion with her hand, and he immediately stopped.

“No need for that,” said Varia, stroking one of the dogs. She pitched her voice in a way that was well received by the room’s acoustics, something she’d probably practiced quite a bit. “Queen Eugenie here is a fellow sovereign. We don’t kneel to each other.”

“Do we often take each other prisoner?” I demanded.

She smiled sweetly. “Well, now, that depends on whether or not we are staging coups into each other’s lands. You can hardly expect me to take no action when you and your cohorts come with plans to assassinate me in some feeble attempt to end the Winter Enchantment.”

“We call it the blight,” I said. “‘Winter Enchantment’ sounds like some kind of ice-skating show.” I didn’t really expect her to catch the reference. What had seized my attention was her accusation that we’d been coming to take her out personally. She didn’t know about our actual plans. She didn’t know about Volusian’s help and the deductions we’d made about the gifts she was holding.

“It makes no difference what you call it,” she declared. “And don’t flatter yourself by thinking you’re the first monarch who has tried to take matters into her own hands. The watchers I keep in my lands have descriptions of most of the kingdoms’ royalty. That’s the charming thing, you see. Monarchs who plan to surrender send emissaries. Monarchs with grand plans of rebellion come in person. Some delusion of personal greatness, I suppose.”

“Or,” I said bitterly, “maybe it’s because those monarchs care about their people and are willing to risk themselves.” I was guessing Varia and her dogs rarely dirtied their hands.

Varia shrugged. “Perhaps. Whatever the reason, it’s foolish. Far smarter to join my united kingdoms. I was quite disappointed when I heard reports that you and King Dorian had entered my lands with your nefarious plots. You’re both quite conspicuous, you know. I’d hoped you two—particularly you—would come to your senses and join me. Especially after the kind offer my ambassador made you.”