The Sword of Calandra: Book Two, Wizard's Destiny (Volume 2)

BOOK TWO, Wizard's Destiny Tristan does not imagine that his troubles are over. He stands reluctantly revealed as Calandra's king--but his right is almost universally disputed, his castle has no walls, his wife is betrothed to a dead man, and his throne will kill him during his crowning unless he can lay hands on the long-lost sword of the Last King. And his homegrown magic is no more reliable than it's ever been. He seeks the sword by magical means, without success. Galan of Radak--and his sorcerer Reynaud--are laying siege to Crogen castle. After an attempt on his life, Tristan departs for Kovelir, convinced that Crewzel's fortune-telling cards can give him a clue to the sword's location. But Crewzel and her cards have vanished. Seeking her, Tristan is trapped into a clandestine course of study at the mages' Academy, for which he is neither prepared nor inclined. His quest for the sword leads Tristan toward Kinark, where the blade was forged. On the way there Tristan encounters Jehan, a Kinarkan swordsmith fleeing a dreadful past. Convinced by then that the true sword is lost, Tristan sets out to recreate it, with Jehan's coerced help. They forge a blade as much like the original as may be, and Tristan takes it back to Calandra--after a trial for unlicensed street-magic at which his old nemesis Reynaud puts in a disastrous appearance. Elisena invests the replicated blade with spells, but Tristan stands vigil over it in dread, for he knows all too well the risk he runs if the substitute blade will not do.