Imeria must have thought she could wrest control of Maynara without waging a bloody war. A ruthless takeover thinly disguised as a blessed union. Duja could concede that it was a cunning strategy. Maynaran law was uncompromising when it came to marriage pacts. Once Laya and Luntok exchanged their vows on the Black Salt Cliffs, they could never take them back. And without the Gatdulas’ aid, the datus were too weak⁠—too terrified of Imeria⁠—to stop the marriage from happening.

All of them assumed the Gatdulas were already defeated. That was their mistake.

Duja thought back to the cold smile she’d seen on Imeria’s face when her people had stormed the throne room. Foolish queen. Now do you see what I am capable of? her eyes seemed to say.

It was true. Duja had underestimated Imeria for twenty-two years. Very well, my heart, she thought, her jaw squaring in determination. Let us see what happens when you underestimate me.

“Come, Duja. We must leave at once,” Aki said.

We? Duja turned to her husband. “You will stay here,” she told him. “I will not have you fight the Kulaws.”

“Stay safe behind the palace walls while my family heads straight into battle? I think not.”

Rarely did Aki defy her orders. She wanted to shake the sense back into him. “I bid you stay. You are not a fighter,” she cried.

“But I am a father.” The king raised his voice. His words echoed off the cool walls of the cell, alarming everyone inside. Softening, he took Duja’s hand. “Have you forgotten the vows I made to you? I am your husband. Through triumph and adversity, my place is by your side.”

Duja’s heart swelled, and she swallowed her objections. She pressed her lips to his⁠—a hard, fleeting kiss. She loved him. Oh, how she loved him. There was so much more she wished to say, but now was not the moment.

The king held out his arm to help her to her feet. But Duja stood too quickly. She stumbled, and Aki caught her before she fell. He eased her back onto the cot.

“They must have put something in the wine with my meals,” she muttered, grabbing his arm to steady herself. “Something to sedate me. It’s muddled up my head⁠—and now my hands . . . I cannot fight, Aki. Not like this.”

“But we don’t have time to wait for the drugs to wear off. If we want to make it to the cliffs, we need to leave now,” Bulan said, her eyes darting between her parents.

Bulan was right. The Black Salt Cliffs were far outside the city, and judging by the long shadows that slanted across the floor of the cell, Laya would have just left.