Coming Soon

Read on for an excerpt from The King of Koraha

coming November 22, 2021

The King of Koraha

Ever since Shyla was six circuits old, she’d wanted to visit all the vast underground cities of Koraha. At that time, her world had been very limited. Raised in a monastery by the Monks of Parzival for eighteen circuits, she’d only ventured out to the nearby city of Zirdai on the rare occasion. Her desire to travel never dimmed as she researched the history of each city, their various famous and infamous inhabitants, and catalogued the underground wonders of Koraha. In her dreams, she’d plan her visits, listing the sights that shouldn’t be missed.

It was a nice bit of dreaming that failed to factor in one crucial detail—visiting those cities required traveling over the hot sands of the desert for far too many sun jumps in a row.

Far, far too many.

Now, Shyla trudged up yet another sand dune, hot, sweaty, and tired of the unending vermillion sands that stretched out in all directions. They were endless, rippling out to the horizon and beyond. As Shyla followed a step behind Lota, she wondered for the millionth time, how in the seven hells did the caravan owner know where she was going?

According to Lota, there was a road underneath the layer of sand. And Shyla had to admit—grudgingly—her dillo leather boots didn’t sink in quite so deep. A good thing as walking would require more effort if she sunk up to her calves with every step.

Shyla glanced back at Lota’s caravan trailing behind them. It was considered an average size, with fifteen wagons filled with goods and one for Lota’s family. Each wagon had its own driver and was pulled by two gamelus. Then there were eight extra people that Lota referred to as her “muscles.” They performed various jobs like taking care of the gamelus during stops and unloading and loading merchandise. There were also eight guards, counting Shyla and Rendor. Actually, as a former captain, Rendor should be counted as three at least.

Opposite of her point guard position, he marched in the rear guard position, scanning the sands for potential threats, but he caught her gaze and smiled. The warmth inside her heated, and it had nothing to do with the sun jumping toward apex. She returned his smile, wishing for the millionth time they could have some privacy. But the travel shelters along the route only supplied protection from the killer heat and during the cold darkness, with nothing fancier than a communal scattering of cushions.