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"Nooo." I wound a lock of her hair around my fingers. "Will Thierry be there?"

"It's a state dinner," Jehanne said wryly. "Yes, the Dauphin will be present. But don't worry, the brunt of his anger is directed at me." She sighed, too. "It's my own fault. I shouldn't have dressed him down in public."

"He had strong feelings for you once," I said.

"I know." She pillowed her head on one arm. "I realized it too late. I would have handled it differently if I'd known. I should have treated him as a young man, with respect. Instead, I treated him like a boy who'd lost his mother." One shoulder shrugged. "I was young; I thought it was the proper thing to do. He was insulted, and he resented me for supposing I could take her place."

"Did you?" I asked.

"Never." Jehanne traced the line of my collarbone. "Thierry never understood that his father could let himself love me because I'm nothing like his mother." She smiled sadly. "Nor that she'll always be the one woman I can never compete with. She'll always be first in Daniel's heart."

"That's why Lianne's poem made him so melancholy?" I asked.

She nodded. "And that's why he tolerates my foibles. We're unfaithful to one another in different ways."

"Sad," I murmured.

"Yes, and I'd forgotten you were spying on us that night."

"I wasn't—"

"You were." Jehanne kissed me and bit my lower lip lightly. "Come to dinner, my lovely witchling. People are starting to say I've locked you away in a dungeon."

I glanced around the room filled with sunlight and greenery. "It's a pleasant prison."

"And you're a charming prisoner, but I don't think you're meant to be kept in a cage, Moirin." She untangled her body from mine and slid out of bed. "Besides, I like to parade my conquests."

I eyed her, trying to guess if she was jesting.

I didn't think so.

Jehanne smiled sweetly at me. "Come to dinner."

So I went to dinner.

At the beginning, it was every bit as uncomfortable as I'd feared it would be. I dressed carefully with a maid's assistance. I wore the bronze gown I'd first worn at Court, though not the emerald eardrops Raphael had given me, and surely not the comb that had been Thierry's gift. Jehanne sent her Captain of the Guard to escort me. He was unfailingly polite. Still, the moment we entered the dining hall, there was a little silence, followed by covert stares and murmurs. It was much the same as my first appearance at Court—and altogether different.

Across the hall, Thierry glared daggers at me. His comrades whispered.

I breathed the Breath of Earth's Pulse, slow and deep.

"Lady Moirin." King Daniel clasped my hands and bent to give me the kiss of greeting. "I'm pleased you're feeling better."

I flushed. "Thank you, your majesty."

Jehanne gave me a wicked smile. "Ever so much better, aren't you?"

I scowled at her and she laughed, linking her arm with mine. "Come, sit. Try not to knock over any wineglasses."

And that, it seemed, was that.

I'd been Raphael's witch; now I was the Queen's witch. The speculation was confirmed and the gossip swirled elsewhere. At the far end of the banquet table, a passionate discussion about sending an embassy to Terra Nova broke out.

King Daniel's face darkened.

And I watched Jehanne turn the tide of conversation deftly, charming him, cheering him. Seated uncomfortably across the table from me, Prince Thierry looked disconsolate.

"You'd like to go, wouldn't you?" I asked him. "To Terra Nova."

He glowered at me. "What do you care?"

"I care," I said softly.

"Yes." His tone was stiff. "I'd like to go. I'd like to see Terre d'Ange reclaim its role in the world. I'd like a taste of glory and adventure. Is that so wrong?"

I shook my head. "No, of course not." I lowered my voice. "Listen, Thierry… I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

He toyed with the food on his plate. "You look well," he said at length. "Like you did when I first saw you."

"I'm wearing the same gown."

That won a brief smile from him. "I don't mean the gown,