“I have no idea if it will work,” she admitted, her fingers tracing the thin glass vial hanging from her neck.

His gaze trailed down to her necklace⁠—to the precious remains of their precioso. “I’m sorry about your boy, Imeria, but this”⁠—he shook his head, his mouth hardening into a line⁠—“this is a risky gamble. I hope you know what’s at stake.”

He didn’t need to tell her. Imeria knew what she was risking⁠—her life, and perhaps the lives of those who had followed her into battle. She didn’t care. She would risk everything⁠—her title, her wealth, even her grip on the throne. She would surrender it all to save her son’s life.

“None of that matters now. I have to try,” she said in a quiet voice.

Gulod let out a desperate sigh, but he didn’t try to convince her otherwise.

It seemed as if an eternity passed before the divers returned. By the time their heads emerged over the side of the cliff, the sky had lost all warmth and was painted in purple and blue, like a bruise above the Untulu Sea. Vikal approached her first, his wet hair plastered against the side of his face.

“We have found him, my lady,” he said, the muscles in his jaw stretched taut.

Imeria didn’t understand the tremor in his voice until Ojas and the other men sidled up behind him. They were carrying what looked like a bundle of bones wrapped up in a bloodied fisherman’s tarp.

“Oh.”

They were gone for so long, she thought she would be prepared for this moment. But Imeria was too weak to withstand the wave of pain that coursed through her at the sight of Luntok’s body. A fractured wail escaped from her mouth. She fell to her knees.

A strong hand squeezed her shoulder⁠—Vikal. “If this is too much, my lady⁠—” he said softly.

“It’s not.” Imeria shook his hand away and squared her back. She looked up to find that Duja was on her feet, watching her, a shadow of pity on her haggard face. The tight coil of pain in her heart unfurled once again⁠—oh, what we’ve lost, what we both have lost⁠—before Imeria shoved it back down.

She thought once more of Luntok’s young, handsome face and braced herself before she reached for the edge of the tarp. With a sharp breath, she peeled it back. Her stomach turned. Behind her, she heard the nobles on the Black Salt Cliffs gasp. A rumble of dread tore through the crowd. The grisly assemblage of muscle and flesh was unrecognizable.

This is my son, she reminded herself. Imeria shook her head and squared her shoulders. She thought of Laya and the ruthlessness with which she threw him into the water. The anger focused her. I won’t let you kill him.