Painted Lady — Stephanie Rose (1)

There is a legend that one in four royal advisor-mages will betray their monarch, overthrow them for power.Gwenore, the new of Acewood, is on a throne she didn't wish for. Especially with her mermaid half-sister after her crown, a power-hungry mage on the loose, and a rogue knave craving her death. Her sisters and Aces advise her to be patient, but she wants to stop the threats to her kingdom before they worsen. And before she's forced to marry some high-bred noble who's only interested in her for her position. But Gwenore is surrounded by fickle foes and spies she can't identify, and will soon see that her impatience has brought her to waters too deep to swim in. Those who wish for her demise are close, too close... and those she trusts are far and few between. Can Gwenore survive the menaces to her person and restore balance to her home before it's too late?