A Throne at Stake — D.A. Boulter

Pledging herself to Prince Parsigul's quest to gain his rightful place on the throne of his deposed father, the beautiful Lady Galinia risks violating one â€" or both â€" of the two commandments that every sorcerer learns in the Halls. First: With sorcery, aid no man in a fight against another man; and, second: Never cast a weave against another sorcerer. Violate the first, and a caster risks the trust slowly and painfully built up between sorcerers and the world of men over the generations; violate the second, one opens the possibility of a wizard's war â€" the original cause of the loss of trust â€" unleashing untold violence and destruction. Tasked by Parsigul with preparing the way through non-aligned territory, Lady Galinia runs afoul of her opposite number, Hadryl, a sorceress attempting to stir the population against her prince and his army. With a throne â€" and her future position as queen â€" at stake, Galinia prepares a trap, setting the stage for a confrontation that she and her prince can ill afford. Hadryl, having suffered at Lady Galinia's hand, takes refuge on a farm, taken in by a rough farmer, Grath. She waits there for her moment to revenge herself upon the Lady Galinia, no matter the cost to herself. Grath, with a war at hand, decides to use Hadryl's presence to further his own ends.