Fireheart Tiger
Novella Recommended by 6 award/anthology sources
Quiet, thoughtful princess Thanh was sent away as a hostage to the powerful faraway country of Ephteria as a child. Now she’s returned to her mother's imperial court, haunted not only by memories of her first romance, but by worrying magical echoes of a fire that devastated Ephteria’s royal palace.
Quasar links out; the story lives on Tor Novella, where the author gets the click.