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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

Eti sighed and pressed her forehead against the bark. Ever since the battle on the Black Salt Cliffs, she had fashioned herself into a little adult. She changed her mannerisms and even adopted a lower timbre to her speaking voice⁠—all to appear older than her thirteen years. But Laya knew better. She could see the scared child underneath, and her heart ached for her. Eti was the youngest of them, and she had known their parents the least.

Hara Duja and Hari Aki were gone. No one but Laya was left to protect her sisters. A fierce desire flooded her heart as she gazed at them. I will protect you, she vowed. Both of you.

Laya vowed to be an even better queen than her mother had been. She was not the foolish girl she had been before the start of the feast days. And she would learn from Hara Duja’s mistakes, same as she would learn from her own. Laya realized, with a dull pang, how much she had changed over the previous few weeks. Her heart had led her wrong before, and she vowed to ignore its nagging whispers. She had learned to trust no one but her family⁠—for Laya had not understood loyalty until she was betrayed.

Wisdom bore a terrible cost, Maiza once told her. And Laya had paid a steep price for the knowledge and the throne she had desired for so long.

At the edge of the sacred grove, someone cleared their throat. Laya turned around. General Ojas was waiting, his shoulders level and his hands clasped behind his back. That was his signal.

“Come now,” she said to her sisters. Ojas led them back to the riverboat. By the time they emerged from the grove, the sun had risen on the horizon, marking the end of their tour of Mariit. That afternoon, Laya had her first meeting with the council following her coronation. She imagined them gathered around the council table⁠—Datu Luma with his wispy white hair and somber gaze, Datu Tanglaw with his thick black eyebrows and groveling tone.

Out of the six highborn families, four loyal datus remained. They wouldn’t think to cross her like the Kulaws had. Laya vowed to make them cement their fealty to her in blood. They were probably at the palace already, awaiting their next set of orders. Like the rest of Maynara, they were waiting patiently for Laya to steer them.