The Will of the Empress (The Circle Reforged #1)2005

For years the Empress of Namorn has pressed her young cousin, Lady Sandrilene fa Toren, to visit her vast lands within the Empire's borders. Sandry has avoided the invitation for as long as it was possible. Now, listening to her guilty conscience, Sandry has agreed to pay that overdue visit. Sandry's uncle promises guards to accompany her. But they're hardly a group of warriors! They're her old friends from Winding Circle: Daja, Tris, and Briar. Sandry hardly knows them now. They've grown up and grown apart. Sandry isn't sure they'll ever find their old connection again-or if she even wants them to. When they arrive at the palace, it slowly dawns on Sandry why the Empress has really brought her to Namorn. She's set a cunning trap to keep Sandry in the brutal Empire forever, a simpering lady in her cousin's court and the miserable wife of a noble. The Empress has wily and powerful mages on her side. But so, of course, does Sandry... if she can get them to work together.