Princess Elara Brightmind had until sundown to win a single ally, or the nobles would crown her cousin instead. She stood alone in the castle's great hall, the sea wind pushing through the arched windows. The lords of Vinehollow filled the long tables. Not one of them had answered her letters. They wanted a king, and she meant to be their first queen. Elara crossed the stone floor and set her mother's pendant on the head table. The gold caught the torchlight. Inside its frame, a bright ember glowed like a living coal. "This passed from queen to heir for three hundred years," she said. "My mother gave it to me. Not to my cousin." An old lord laughed. "A trinket proves nothing. You have cleverness, girl, and no sword behind it." The others nodded. They saw a lone woman with a necklace. They turned back to their wine. Elara did not raise her voice. She walked to the great doors and pulled them open. A bear stood on the steps. Armored plates covered its body. Fire ran along the cracks in the metal, and heat rolled off its fur in waves. The beast lowered its head toward the pendant and let out a low sound. The ember in the gold flared brighter, matching the glow in the creature's seams. The hall went silent. A goblet fell and rang on the stone. Lords pushed back from their benches. The old man who had laughed now gripped the table with both hands. Elara stepped beside the bear and rested her palm on its burning shoulder. The fire did not harm her. "The heirloom and the beast answer the true blood," she said. "They answer me. Crown my cousin, and you crown a man they will not follow." For a long moment no one spoke. Then a young lord at the far end rose. He was the only noble who had ever replied to her letters, a single line asking what she could offer. He walked the length of the hall, past the others, and stopped before her. "I have watched them ignore you for a month," he said. "I will not make that mistake tonight." He knelt. "My house stands with the princess." One by one, three more lords stood. They did not kneel, but they did not leave. The old man stayed in his seat, his mouth tight, his eyes on the bear. Elara had her first allies. She also saw the cost in the old lord's stare. He would not bow to a queen who ruled by fire and fear. Before the night ended, he slipped from the hall through a side door. Elara watched him go and knew where he was headed. Her cousin would hear everything by morning, and he would not come to the next gathering unarmed.