Historical Fantasy.

The protagonists (who in this setting previously were the heroes of the Firebird and Koschei tales) are now married with kids and rulers, as the Mongol horde comes to Russia. ( )

Wow. That's quite a story - very rich, on several levels. I'd never read it before. The children, and Volk, become important characters; the relationship between Ivan and Mar'ya grows in several directions. And then there's the minor matter of the Golden Horde themselves, and the physical and magical risks they pose. The climax is surprising in several directions. And so is the final solution. The one question that's never answered, though, is what about Mar'ya's domain? It's only Khorlov that's mentioned - by the Khan, by Ivan and Mar'ya themselves...what happened to them? And of course there's the minor annoyance of at least one story in between Firebird and The Golden Horde that's amply mentioned here but not described in detail - and maybe that has the answer to Mar'ya's rule and what became of it. Dunno. Good story, nice rounded-off end, and I want more! ( )