BooksBarbecue
Back Black Salt Queen Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Praise for
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. City of Mariit: Capital of Maynara Map
  5. One
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Two
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Twelve
  19. Thirteen
  20. Fourteen
  21. Fifteen
  22. Sixteen
  23. Three
  24. Seventeen
  25. Eighteen
  26. Nineteen
  27. Twenty
  28. Twenty-One
  29. Twenty-Two
  30. Four
  31. By Order of General Ojas,On Behalf of Her Majesty Hara Duja
  32. Twenty-Three
  33. Twenty-Four
  34. Twenty-Five
  35. Twenty-Six
  36. Twenty-Seven
  37. Twenty-Eight
  38. Twenty-Nine
  39. Thirty
  40. Thirty-One
  41. Thirty-Two
  42. Thirty-Three
  43. Five
  44. A Coronation Prayer
  45. Thirty-Four
  46. Epilogue
  47. Acknowledgments
  48. Thank You
  49. About the Author
  50. Violetear Books x Bindery Books

Images flooded her mind. She saw her son tearing through Laya’s letters. She saw him falling from the palace walls. One blink, and she saw the shadow of a raptor gliding across the open sea. Sunlight rippled across its glossy plume. It dived low, dipping a sharp talon into the water. When it craned its neck, Imeria caught a glimpse of the raptor’s face. Deep in the amber pools of its eyes, she could make out the silhouette of a young man. She recognized the broad shoulders, the sharp edge of his jawline.

“Luntok?” she gasped.

“My lady!” Vikal’s deep voice pulled her back to earth.

Imeria’s eyes flew open. She was kneeling on the Black Salt Cliffs. Dozens of eyes were on her, but only one pair mattered.

“Duja,” she whispered, unable to ignore the sinking feeling in her chest.

The queen pressed her lips together. “It didn’t work,” she said flatly. She tried to appear strong, but Imeria knew Duja’s stony resolve was about to crack.

“Impossible.” Imeria looked down, dumbstruck. She had healed Luntok’s body. He was lying beside her, young and handsome and whole. But when she laid her hand once more on his chest, her fingers free of the power’s glow, she could detect no heartbeat within. “Luntok,” she whispered, resisting the urge to shake him awake. But his eyes were sealed shut. He wasn’t breathing.

“Imeria.” It was Gulod. He knelt beside her and placed a hand on her arm. “He’s dead,” he said in a low voice. “I’m sorry.”

“It can’t be.” She shook her head in disbelief. “You saw him. He was awake. He was looking at me. He⁠—”

She hadn’t imagined it. Luntok was not merely alive. Luntok was flying.

Gulod frowned. Imeria looked around and saw the same confusion stark on everyone else’s faces. A pit of dread formed in her stomach.

They had not seen what she had seen.

“It didn’t work,” Duja said again, jolting Imeria from her haze. The ground shook as the queen took a step toward her. Imeria hadn’t forgotten⁠—execution or exile. Those were the queen’s terms.

Gulod groaned. “I told you,” he hissed. “We should have run when we had the⁠—”

If I had more time. If I could try again⁠—

Imeria shoved Gulod to the side and scrambled to her feet. She ran for the queen. “Wait⁠—”

Duja raised her hand to the sky, erecting a stone pillar from the ground.

Panic gripped Imeria’s throat. “Duja!” she screamed.

But Duja didn’t relent. With a great cry, she lifted the pillar from the ground and hurled it straight at Imeria.

Thirty-Three

line

Duja