A Play For Power Princess Oria has one chance to keep her word and stop her brother's reign of terror: She must become queen. All she has to do is marry first. And marry Lonen, the barbarian king who defeated her city bare weeks ago, who can never join her in a marriage of minds, who can never even touch her--no matter how badly she wants him to. A Fragile Bond To rule is to suffer, but Lonen never thought his marriage would become a torment. Still, he's a resourceful man. He can play the brute conqueror for Oria's faceless officials and bide his time with his wife. And as he coaxes secrets from Oria, he may yet change their fate... An Impossible Demand With deception layering on deception, Lonen and Oria must claim the throne and brazen out the doubters. Failure means death-- for them and their people. But success might mean an alliance powerful beyond imagining...