Before I can gape at him-or laugh, my first impulse-Piers drapes his arm around my shoulders with casual nonchalance. Caine glares up at him, his pack rumbling growls my sorcerer friend ignores.

"Your Majesty," Piers goes on in his bright, brittle tone, "imagine my dismay when I discovered you had unwelcome guests from abroad in your house." He must have been watching the palace to discover the arrival of Caine and his pack. Either that, or ...