"And he fixed that with magic. Changed my scent, so I could stand in his court without being spat on." She looked away, her voice dropping lower. "But no matter what he changes, he can't change the truth of what I was born."

Mariabeth tilted her head, studying Lisa with those too-perceptive eyes that always seemed to strip away titles and crowns.

"Then why," she asked softly, "do you still try to make him proud if he hates what you were?"

The question struck Lisa like a thrown blade-quick, ...