Shadow Queen: Deborah KalinBook I of The Binding. Matilde of the House of Svanaten is tired of being shadow queen. Her accession to the Turasi throne is long overdue, yet her imperious grandmother, Beata, is reluctant to hand over power. When Matilde's mysterious aunt, Helena, turns up for Turassi's most important festival, suspicions abound. Why has Helena long married into the despised Ilthean nobility suddenly appeared? And what of the Ilthean soldiers massed at the southern