Page 84 of Black Salt Queen

Laya barely registered the heat of Luntok’s mouth on hers. It was no more than a brief peck, but any softness from Laya sufficed to distract him. When he pulled back, he did not spare a glance at Eti, who was hovering over them. Laya held her breath as Eti reached between her and Luntok. Her sister kept her head bowed, her cropped hair spilling over her cheeks. With nimble fingers, Eti untied the cord binding Laya to Luntok. The young girl’s hand lingered on the shackles for a long, pregnant moment. The short chain linking her wrists together snapped with a metallic click, and the marriage cord fell to the dirt between them.

Laya flexed her fingers. She couldn’t hear her own thoughts over the swell of the waves and the blood pounding in her ears. A nervous tingle seeped throughout her body. She was free. Eti had rescued her?—and neither Luntok nor his mother appeared to notice.

“Come,” Imeria announced to the awaiting crowd. “It’s time to return to the palace for a celebration feast.”

Gently, Luntok helped Laya to her feet. He made to lead her to the carriages, but she held him back. “Luntok,” she called breathily, as though flustered by the beauty of the cliffs, by the weight of their nascent union.

“What is it?” He looked at her worshipfully, lovingly, in spite of everything he had done.

But Laya finally understood that to love a Kulaw was dangerous. And she would not yield herself to him.

Laya grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him close. He didn’t have time to react before she pressed a harsh kiss to his lips. He kissed her back hungrily.Foolish boy.She planted her palm flat against his chest, right above the wound where the dagger had pierced him.

Luntok looked down and, finally, noticed the broken chain between her wrists. His eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to yell?—but not fast enough.

“Goodbye, Husband,” she sneered and raised her other palm to the sky, then heaved him back with a jet of wind. Luntok flew high above the heads of the datus and the Kulaw guards. He crashed to the ground several feet away, skidding to a stop near the carriage path with a groan.

Imeria whipped around, nostrils flaring. She threw her hand in Laya’s direction.“You stupid bitch!”

Roughly, Laya shoved Eti behind her. She closed her eyes, readying herself for the inevitable onslaught of pain, when the ground beneath their feet rumbled with tremendous intensity. Laya would have fallen had Eti not grabbed her arm and jerked her upright.

Over her shoulder, Maiza cried out, “Hara Duja. By the gods!”

Barreling down the path on a great floating slab of earth was the queen. She wasn’t alone. Hari Aki and Bulan stood beside her. Laya counted about a hundred warriors at their flanks, including the towering figure of General Ojas.

“Ariel and I,” Eti whispered excitedly, “we got them all out. And then we?—”

“The Orfelian?” Laya let out a startled laugh. “Really?”

Hara Duja released the earth she had been wielding. It sank down, shuddering, onto the flat face of the Black Salt Cliffs. Inches away, Luntok had only just begun to come to his senses.

“Imeria,” Duja cried. A gale from the coast swept over the cliffs, whipping back her wild hair. She stalked toward the other woman. The Kulaw warriors clustered behind Imeria, their hands poised on the hilts of their weapons.

If Imeria was afraid, she didn’t dare falter. “You cannot defeat me now, Duja. The ceremony is finished, and I have double your men.”

“Have you?” The queen gazed at the rows of warriors the Kulaws had amassed. Her dirt-streaked face was hard and unrelenting. Impressive as Imeria’s numbers were, the vast majority had either been intimidated by the Kulaws or paid off. Laya realized that her marriage was no longer the only alliance in question. She watched, rooted where she stood, as her mother addressed the traitors gathered before them.

“Brave warriors. Each one of you has pledged your sword to the rightful ruler of Maynara, and yet you fight beside our greatest enemy. Maybe you think I have failed you as sovereign. Maybe you’re afraid. If that is the case, I can forgive your transgressions. But if you throw your support behind Imeria Kulaw, I cannot rectify the mistakes I’ve made.

“In my reign, I may not have been the perfect queen?—but I am a daughter of Mulayri. The throne is my birthright, and this land is mine to defend. So I ask again: To whom do you pledge your sword? The true queen of Maynara? Or a dangerous usurper, who, at any second, can claw her way inside your head?”

Imeria uttered a cry of indignation. “No one is interested in your lectures, Duja. Your reign is over. The people have already decided.”

But judging by the chorus of agitated murmurs rippling through the Kulaws’ ranks, nothing was decided. A tense silence overtook the cliffs. And then?—

“Have mercy, Your Majesty.”A lone figure broke away from the Kulaws’ ranks. He was a senior officer around Ojas’s age. Laya recognized his steady gait from the countless times she’d seen him patrolling the halls of the palace. He staggered across the grass, shame clouding his features, before throwing himself at Hara Duja’s feet. “I have broken my vows. I allowed fear to stand between me and my duty. I owe my service to your family, for your sacrifice and your protection. I cannot undo my errors, but I can offer my sword to you?—the true queen of Maynara.”

His words echoed in the salt-sprayed air. Then, all at once, the mass of warriors crowded behind Imeria began to shift. Dozens followed the senior officer to the other side of the cliff, where the rest of the Gatdulas were waiting. One by one, they begged for forgiveness and pledged their swords to Hara Duja. A smirk spread across Laya’s face as she reevaluated their numbers. By the time the warriors settled into their new positions, nearly half of Imeria’s forces had defected to the Gatdulas. Imeria could no longer be certain of her victory?—the size of their battalions were suddenly even.

Seeing that the odds had shuffled in their favor, Hara Duja opened her arms to the rest of the Kulaw faction. She raised her chin and spoke with renewed confidence. “Come. You need not fear my wrath if you step forward. I promise to grant each one of you clemency if you stand down. Now.”

Then a moment of uneasy hesitation. A fleeting stillness swept over the Black Salt Cliffs. When no one else crossed over to the queen’s side, Imeria threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, I’ve had my fill of Gatdula clemency.” She turned to her remaining warriors and roared, “Guards! Attack the queen.”

Laya scarcely had time to register Imeria’s abrupt order. But the Kulaw forces didn’t hesitate. In a menacing swell, they advanced. Their stampeding footsteps thundered across the cliffs. They swarmed Hara Duja, the steel of their weapons burnished with the pink-and-orange cast of twilight.

“Hurry,” Ojas yelled from the queen’s side. The terse quiet of the cliffs broke as his men surged forward to engage them.

Laya steeled her shoulders and ran after them.

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