The return to Buckkeep isn’t the triumph that Fitz and company were expecting. They get the false news that Verity is dead, and Burrich and Fitz plan on using King Shrewd’s Skill to prove that wrong. A farce of a feast ensues with Regal not so subtly berating Kettricken while his sycophants pile accolades on his shoulders that belong to other people. The announcement of the abandonment of Buckkeep to Tradeford happens and we start to witness the full rule of King-in-Waiting Regal.

 We're reading Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb, book 2 of the Farseer Trilogy in the Realm of the Elderlings.