The Diamonds court is one of the powers competing for control of Wonderland, with Adina as its Queen. Her rise into that position follows a much more personal story involving Jo…

The Diamonds court is one of the powers competing for control of Wonderland, with Adina as its Queen. Her rise into that position follows a much more personal story involving Johnny Liddle and Keres, but once she has the title, she is part of a conflict involving whole armies. Diamonds stands alongside Hearts, Spades and Clubs as one of the four royal claims. Each Queen has forces behind her, and each has reason to worry about another court gaining an advantage. The return of the Ebony Blade turns that rivalry into an immediate fight over a weapon they all want. In Clash of Queens, the Diamonds army is among the forces converging on the Hearts castle once the Queen of Hearts has the blade. Spades and Clubs are heading toward the same target. That creates a possible advantage in numbers, but the three attacking courts have their own interests. The gathering armies don't automatically make a stable alliance. Adina's relationship with the Queen of Clubs gives those two rulers a particularly close connection. They are lovers, so there is more between them than a temporary agreement about which rival to fight. Their personal relationship exists in the middle of a political situation where several people are trying to control the same realm. Trickster's involvement makes that situation more dangerous. She's working on the Queens' rivalries while they are focused on the weapon and on one another. Their armies give them strength, but the decisions about where to use that strength are being influenced from outside. The Diamonds court puts Adina in a very different position from the one she occupied when she first entered Wonderland. She began as somebody trying to survive and escape. Now her decisions as a Queen have consequences for the people serving under her, too.