The heavy scent of wax and parchment filled the air as Jeyne Marbrand sat at her desk in her private chamber, the faint sound of the bustling Casterly Rock in the distance. A slow burn of frustration smoldered beneath her composed exterior, her gaze flickering from the papers before her to the view outside, where the distant cliffs loomed like silent sentinels.

The War of the Wombs had raged for months now, a vicious, insidious battle fought not with swords but with words, gossip, and subtle acts of one-upmanship. And in that conflict, it was Ellyn Reyne widow of Tytos’s elder brother, who was her most bitter rival. After the debacle of Ellyn’s attempted seduction of Tytos, which had almost led to a tarnishing of her own honor, Jeyne had not simply sought retribution; she had seen to Ellyn’s swift removal. Now, though, it felt as though the flames of that feud were reigniting, this time with far greater stakes.

Jeyne’s mind was in a swirl as she closed the door to her chamber behind her husband. Tytos’s face was soft with guilt, as it always was when he came to her after a moment of weakness, but today, his apology was not what she wanted to hear.