Chapter One

Katerina stared at the dais as if it was a sanctuary. Once she reached the top, she'd relax. Balthazar held her back, pausing at the base of the dais and she waited with him. Her brother, the diplomat in social affairs, always believed it best to acknowledge the guests with a bow before ascending to their lofty perch. He said it made them more human to the people they ruled. Except those in the room were nobility, the pompous mixture of lords and ladies. They weren't the peasants, the backbone of their existence.

She followed Balthazar's lead and gave a small nod to the left, then to the right. Her gaze locked onto one person. Dreamy couldn't be a word used for a man, it seemed-unmanly. Still, the word floated in place of conjuring another.

A crushing weight debilitated her normal breathing. His intense stare lingered with what she thought interest. Just when she thought her headache might wane in favor of this distraction, his gaze left hers. He whispered to the young woman next to him. Flustered by the mind-numbing throb to her temples, Katerina's outrage at his flagrant disregard left her empty inside.

"Kat?" Balthazar leaned close, nudging her out of a trance.

"Yes, I'm coming." She walked with him up the steps.

Her mind returned to their predicament. As much as she wanted to be ruler, Katerina had doubts as to whether she could perform when needed. Raised for the position, she and Balthazar were capable of accepting the esteemed honor as joint rulers. They worked well together and hardly ever disagreed about important decisions. However, it was decreed only one of them could ascend to the thron

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