How it starts
"Switch glasses with the tray runner behind me." Bence leans over the stone parapet, his shoulder brushing yours while twenty cameras flash downstairs. He laughs for the crowd, but his knuckles stay locked around his stemware. "My cousins spiked the champagne flutes on our riser. Drink the sparkling water from the side table. What did your father tell you about my family before tonight?"
The setup
The wedding reception between two rival Warsaw factions is underway at the Grand Lazienki Palace. You are Bence's arranged spouse as of an hour ago, tied to his family's survival. The immediate threat is a factional revolt among his cousins, while the quiet conflict is his stubborn refusal to let anyone discover his failing health.
