A Different Fate. Book 3

Something is going wrong in Gaul. Island elves, previously quiet on a tiny patch of land surrounded by water, suddenly and all at once cry out about a revenge in a war long lost—and now they lay claim to a considerable portion of the province. No blood has been spilled yet; negotiations are still possible, but the Duke of Estrey can’t be left out of them.

Meanwhile, in the glorious Roan near the capital, smallpox breaks out. The contagion is trying to be stopped by keeping people within the city walls—but quarantines and sanitary cordons are needed. To help the people and the magistrate, the duke sends his men, while himself—with a small retinue—rushes to bring the elves to reason.

While the husband is away on campaign, the young duchess remains “in charge.” No one taught the former peasant woman how to govern a province or even a city. Martha is genuinely worried. She doesn’t have time to think whether the disasters that drove her husband away were just a coincidence with their timing. Because hunters might go after her, too.