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

She wanted to believe that was the case, but she couldn’t deny the voice in the back of her head that whispered otherwise.

Over Ojas’s shoulder, Laya caught a glimpse of sunlight glaring off a pair of spectacles⁠—Ariel Sauros. The growing fondness she felt for him aside, she owed him for protecting Eti. When any self-seeking man would have fled, Ariel had stayed in Maynara and helped the Gatdula family. He was part of Laya’s retinue because she needed him and his priceless alchemy skills⁠—more than she cared to admit.

The previous evening, Laya had summoned Ariel to her chambers. She waved before him the letter she had stolen from his desk all those weeks before. Although she had finally deciphered it, the words left her with more questions than answers. “I think it’s time you told me about this,” she said.

Ariel stared at her, dumbfounded. “How on earth did you find that?” he demanded.

“I’m queen now. And it’s my duty to get to know my guests,” she said, giving him a wry grin. “It’s your own fault, you know. If you didn’t want me to read it, you should never have taught me that dreadful alphabet.”

Ariel had sighed in half-hearted defeat, because Laya was right; Ariel was under her protection as queen and had no right to lie to her. Thus, the story came out. Parts of it, Laya already knew⁠—what precioso could do, and why her mother had sought his services. As for Pangil, the man who’d sent Ariel to Maynara in the first place⁠—

“I wish to speak to this man,” she said. “Can you contact him for me?”

“Certainly, Your Majesty,” Ariel told her. He met her gaze before bowing his head in deference, his lips curling into a hesitant grin.

On the riverboat, Ojas drew back so Laya’s family could join her at the bow. Eti leaned against Laya’s side, her cropped hair tumbling over her eyes in the breeze. Bulan placed a reassuring hand on Laya’s other shoulder, keeping her steady gaze trained on the canal ahead.

Laya tightened her grip on the brass railing. The three Gatdula sisters, left to fend for themselves in the land of gods. The land of monsters.