"General Lightineris," the princess crouched in a deep curtsy to my husband. “Mistress Lightineris,” she bowed her head in a very symbolic way, for the sake of decency.

Evie turned out to be exactly as Aldin had described her: her teeth, although rather large, still did not protrude from her mouth, her skull was of a normal shape, and she took her sparse blond hair into a neat bun at the back of her head. A soft peach-colored silk dress emphasized the fragility of her slender figure, and her huge emerald eyes, although they were close-set, shone so brightly and expressively that they effectively smoothed out the impression of a...