When the king disappeared, Amery was not immediately crowned in his place. The royal vizier and his advisors thought it best if the young prince was named regent, on the slim chance that King Adin returned. Amery thought it unlikely—his father was a warrior first, and if his shield had fallen unclaimed to the battlefield, it fell from lifeless hands. But two years had passed since the shield had been found, and there was no further word from the enemy to give hope that Adin might still be alive. The advisors were beginning to believe that a ceremony to crown the new king might be just the encouragement the people needed to continue fighting the invaders from the north.
Taking the crown meant choosing a queen. Dozens of young women haunted the castle courtyard, hoping to catch the prince’
