Well, this was astounding. I hadn't really connected with these books before, so this was a bit surprising. Three of Princess Meredith NicEssus's guards have been accused of raping someone from King Taranis's court, but this is thrown by the wayside when King Taranis brutally attacks Merry's people through a mirror. But that's not all: in a strange event that I didn't understand, Merry receives her most devastating blow yet, and even though it comes with good news she can't be merry. (What? Someone had to say it.) But King Taranis isn't done with Merry yet. Unfortunately, it takes a while to get to the good stuff: I was reading but not particularly immersed until circa page 200, so the bulk of the action happens in the last 75 pages. There were moments when I was pissed off with Merry: she used magic to get a human doctor to do her bidding. And talk of Merry's favourites seemed to be quite an issue. Quoth Merry: 'Wasn't I entitled to have favourites?' Yes, you are, but if you're still shagging your non-favourites you're leading them on, and that's not nice. Those points aside, this is by far my favourite of the Merry books.