The Rogue Queen by Emily R. King

2018

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Author:	Emily R. King
Genre:	Fantasy
File Name:	the-rogue-queen-by-emily-r-king.epub
Original Title:	The Rogue Queen (The Hundredth Queen Series Book 3)
Creator:	Emily R. King
Language:	en
Identifier:	ISBN:9781542048347
Publisher:	Skyscape
Date:	1518451200
File Size:	605944.832

Despite the odds, Kalinda has survived it all: Marriage to a tyrant. Tournaments to the death. The forbidden power to rule fire. The icy touch of a demon.

That same demon now disguises itself as Rajah Tarek, Kalinda’s late husband and a man who has never stopped haunting her. Upon taking control of the palace and the army, the demon brands Kalinda and her companions as traitors to the empire. They flee across the sea, seeking haven in the Southern Isles.

In Lestari, Kalinda’s powers are not condemned, as they are in her land. Now free to use them to protect those she loves, Kalinda soon realizes that the demon has tainted her with a cold poison, rendering her fire uncontrollable. But the lack of control may be just what she needs to send the demon back to the darkest depths of the Void.

To take back the empire, Kalinda will ally with those she distrusts—and risk losing those most loyal to her—to defeat the demon and bring peace to a divided nation.

Table of Content

1. Unnamed
2. ALSO BY EMILY R. KING The Hundredth Queen The Fire Queen
3. Unnamed
4. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Text copyright © 2018 by Emily R. King All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by Skyscape, New York www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Skyscape are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781542048347 ISBN-10: 1542048346 Cover design by Jason Blackburn
5. For Joseph, Julian, Danielle, and Ryan. Your names are in my book, front and center. Happy now? Love, Mom
6. CONTENTS AUTHOR’S NOTE 1 KALINDA 2 DEVEN 3 KALINDA 4 DEVEN 5 KALINDA 6 DEVEN 7 KALINDA 8 DEVEN 9 KALINDA 10 DEVEN 11 KALINDA 12 DEVEN 13 KALINDA 14 DEVEN 15 KALINDA 16 DEVEN 17 KALINDA 18 DEVEN 19 KALINDA 20 DEVEN 21 KALINDA 22 DEVEN 23 KALINDA 24 DEVEN 25 KALINDA 26 DEVEN 27 KALINDA 28 DEVEN 29 KALINDA 30 DEVEN 31 KALINDA 32 DEVEN 33 KALINDA 34 KALINDA CHARACTER GLOSSARY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR
7. AUTHOR’S NOTE The religion of the Tarachand Empire, the Parijana faith, is a fictional variation derived from Sumerian deities. However, the Parijana faith and the Tarachand Empire and other empires do not directly represent any specific historical time period, creed, or union. Any other religious or governmental similarities are coincidental and do not depict actual people or events.
8. 1KALINDA The burial starts at daybreak, before the heat of the jungle evaporates the dew and suffocates the morning breeze. Our solemn group congregates in the stern of the riverboat and watches Deven and Yatin finish tying heavy stones to the body’s ankles and wrists. Indah has already washed the deceased in almond oil, a ritual in her homeland, the Southern Isles. Pons, her beloved guard, helped her wrap the departed with white bedsheets. Natesa slips her arm around my waist. I hold on to her, shifting my weight off my sore leg. Prince Ashwin stands to the side, his head down, but I can still see his red eyes and nose. Deven straightens slowly, as though every part of him aches. I recognize that feeling, that sinking heaviness like quicksand. Everyone aboard moves with the same cumbersome slowness, as though we are all tied down by millstones. The rush of the River Ninsar fills the silence. If only life could be as constant as a river. Although I believe death is not the end and our
9. 2DEVEN I grab my sword from behind the wheelhouse door and follow the click-clack of Kali’s cane. Since sustaining her injuries, her already tall, lean frame has thinned to frailty. She stoops over like a crane, her healing leg quaking from exertion. Skies, she’s stubborn. Helping her would be easier if she would quit interpreting my aid as her failing. She is not weak; she is in need. Before the Voider blasted her with his cold-fire, Kali shone bright as the sun and enchanted nature-fire into a huge, fiery dragon. It hurts to see her struggling. Indah and two more Lestarian Aquifiers use their powers to guide our skiff across the choppy delta waters. I managed to avoid seasickness on the smooth-flowing river, but my stomach is less enthused about the open water. On either side of the inlet, the coastline stretches into the distance, dotted with palm trees along alabaster beaches. The rest of my party line up at the rail, staring at the waiting ship. The larger watercraft is more suita
10. 3KALINDA I wake to find I am alone in the cabin. Out the open doors, our party congregates along the bow. Deven braces against the portside rail, wearing a dazed expression. I meet him on deck, achy but rejuvenated. “Are you all right?” I ask. “It’s been an odd day.” When no one else is looking, I stroke his hand. His distracted mood peels away, and he smiles. I want to wrap my arms around him, but propriety must be upheld. Deven points past the bow. “We’re here.” The afternoon sun lights up a far-off wall. The towering pile of stones shoots up from the sea, many times higher than our vessel’s mast. While squinting, I make out a passageway in the barrier. A low, arched bridge, like a strand of a spider’s web, spans the gap. “What is it?” I ask. “A breaker. Indah said it encircles the whole island. It fortifies against intruders and errant waves.” Deven sounds impressed, as am I. This wall in the middle of the sea is remarkable. A dark line on the northern horizon draws my attention. Ad
11. 4DEVEN Yatin is stationed on the opposite side of Kali’s door. We stare forward, arms tucked close, and stand guard. The hushed corridors allow my thoughts to wander back to Indah and Kali’s earlier conversation. They assumed they talked quietly, but I overheard enough. The datu trusts Kali—a wise decision. But Kali is not the prince’s intended, and the datu should not pressure her to commit to him or compel her to choose between us. That is the very reason I have not imposed my will on her. I will not offer her my future just to outpace another man or from fear of losing her. When I ask Kali to spend her life with me, my proposal will originate from love, and love only. Thinking of proposals reminds me . . . I look askance at Yatin. “What happened to your lotus ring? Did you lose it?” “No.” I wait, but he does not go on. “Did you change your mind about giving it to Natesa?” “No.” His one-syllable replies rub me the wrong way. Yatin and Natesa can be together. They have nothing standin
12. 5KALINDA Shadows swathe my bedchamber. Natesa and Yatin are shut in her antechamber, their supper scraps left on the terrace, deserted beside a lit lamp. I envy their freedom to shut out the world and lose themselves in one another. Deven has not yet returned. I did not want to leave him behind, but Indah and the admiral suggested they show me more of the palace, and I could not stand Princess Gemi a moment longer. She sat so close to Deven during supper she was nearly in his lap. A warm gust grazes my ear, but a blizzard rages inside me. I gravitate to the lamp and lean over nature’s flame. My soul’s reflection takes form—a fire dragon. I study the small, serpentine figure for changes since the Voider poured his cold-fire inside me, but it gazes up as usual and awaits my command. You’re a lovely sight. I reach for the fire dragon, seeking its warmth. I am not afraid of a burn or any other reprisal. Both of us are born of fire, though only one of us is the master. My hand touches the f
13. 6DEVEN I lean against the wall outside the prince’s door, my fists quaking. Kali took Ashwin’s side. They should be rerouting the navy to Vanhi, yet all they can think about is the warlord. Shortsighted fools. The demon rajah’s head start could mean the end of the war. I push away from the wall and march down the corridor. Turn back and tell her you love her. Don’t part in anger. I nearly bow to my apprehension but stay on course. Last night, I slept on a bench in the garden instead of returning to Kali’s chamber. I resolved to leave her be, and I will, because the only other option is to compel her to choose between the prince and me right now. And that would make me an even bigger fool than they are, for I am not merely competing against a prince. I am up against her throne. She is long past needing me as her guard. Whatever happens on that mountaintop, Kali can defend herself. I am more concerned about them wasting time. But time is all I can give her. Time to consider her future. T
14. 7KALINDA I limp down the corridor for the open archway that leads to the garden. A breeze flows inside, the tail end of stronger drafts summoned by a Galer. I quicken my step, but my bad leg gives out, forcing me to brace against the doorway. Gritting my teeth, I hustle outside under the palm trees. Whooshing air momentarily steals my breath. The wing flyer is airborne. Deven, Natesa, and Yatin ride with Rohan. I limp for the garden clearing, calling for Deven. The loud winds thrash the palm fronds and drown out my shouts. The wing flyer streaks over the cove and quickly shrinks into the sky. I plunk down on a stone bench, rubbing my sore knee. After Deven left Ashwin’s chamber, everything moved so fast. Ashwin dispatched a carrier dove with a letter to Hastin, and then we went to the datu. Bulan agreed with our endeavor to ally with the rebels and ordered Indah and Pons to fly us to meet Hastin. Everyone launched into a flurry of preparations for our departure. I returned to my empty
15. 8DEVEN The ripe scent of drying manure wafts from the field. Beneath my boots, the grass is trampled with wagon and horse tracks. After nearly two days of flying, stopping intermittently along the way, I am thankful my feet are on the ground. I crouch and finger the grass; it is still damp from the rainstorm that passed through this afternoon. Although the traces left by the demon rajah’s slow-moving army are three days old, the troops’ absence does not put me at ease. Yatin and Natesa search for signs of Brac and Opal nearer to the tree line. Dense foliage dissuades wanderers from venturing into the Morass. The jungle dominates Janardan’s territory between the sea and the empire. Brac and Opal would not duck into that tangle of trees unless they wished never to come out. Rohan scours the grasslands behind me, sending whistling gusts through low bushes to expose any place our siblings could have hidden. Where in the gods’ names did they go? Brac left no discernible footprints or scorch
16. 9KALINDA Freezing weather has come early to the Alpana Mountains. We fly in a steep climb over the powdery hills, the higher peaks obscured by soupy clouds. Snowflakes pinwheel around us. The white flecks land on Ashwin’s dark eyebrows and pale cheeks. We huddle together on the passenger plank, our teeth chattering out of sync with our shivering. Pons guides us up, up, up, into thinner air. Indah burrows under a wool blanket, her eyes shut; she’s awake but barely tolerating our ascent. Our two-day flight has felt endless. I have never known a wintry depth this dreary. I cannot distinguish where the poisonous cold inside me ends and the bracing weather starts. Each pull of air drives icy spikes into my chest. A growing numbness dulls my focus and drags my eyelids closed. “She must stay awake,” Indah calls to Ashwin over the wind. “Warm her!” Ashwin wraps his arm around me, and I curl into his side. His body heat combats my chills and helps me withstand the pressing cold. He lays his che
17. 10DEVEN My lungs and legs burn. Night left long ago, but the day has been in less of a hurry to end. All day long we have jogged over fields and marshes, side-footed down deep gullies, and marched up slippery hills, yet the imperial army is still in front of us. In the past hour, their tracks have led us into an autumn forest. The sunset streams through the trees that are thick with auburn leaves and the scent of inbound rain. The leaves’ redness, illuminated by the light, reminds me of Kali’s fire dragon in Iresh: fierce and bold, awe-inspiring. Just like the woman who summoned it. My comrades’ pace slows to a grinding walk. I am tired, but not as tired as they. My urgency to find Brac fuels my strength, but I cannot run forever. The farther we trek, the more certain I am that my brother was captured and the less I can deny that this is my fault. A moon ago, I let Brac and Mother stay behind in Tarachand. Before leaving Janardan, I sent Opal and Rohan—two young Galers, hardly old enou
18. 11KALINDA I sway in the creaky rocking chair, the view before me dipping and rising. Out the casement, a sea of frosted evergreens dominates the lower mountain ridges. Above them, sharp slopes and craggy apexes thrust into the clouds. The mountains are so familiar they are like gazing at a friend’s face. The early cold almost dampens the scent of shedding pine needles. Beside me, the north tower beacon radiates warmth, shielding me from the night, and its light furthers my view across the forest. Bits of white lay along the shadowy landscape and lakeshore. Cupped in the mountain trenches, the lake is capped by a hard sheen of glittering ice. Even in the summer, the crystalline waters are too cold for swimming. Some say monsters lurk in the frigid depths, but I am more inclined to fear the Alpana Mountains’ mighty summit, Wolf’s Peak, the land-goddess’s foremost monument to her domain. Jaya believed Wolf’s Peak was Ekur, the hallowed location where the mortals’ realm intersects with the
19. 12DEVEN Torches bob around Rohan and me, like large fireflies illuminating the dark. We blend in with the other soldiers fanning out through the forest. Difficult as it is not to run ahead, we stay in the thick of the hunt. But as the troops disperse into smaller groups, we break out in front of the other search parties. Soon our torch is the only one for a hundred strides in every direction. We finally arrive at the place we last saw our comrades. The leafy covert is vacant. “Where did they go?” Rohan asks, turning about. “I don’t know.” They were not taken. No one from camp has searched farther out than this. The torchlights must have spooked them. I would suggest that Rohan send them a message on the wind, a whistle or birdcall, but torchlights close in on us. Too many men could become suspicious of our signal or any response our friends would send. I sweep the torch over the ground and uncover a footprint of Yatin’s boot. As a boy, he often hid from his five older sisters so they c
20. 13KALINDA Someone kicks my chair, bringing me upright. Indah stands before me, cradling a steaming teacup. “You sleep in the strangest places,” she says. “What time is it?” “Midmorning.” She shuffles in front of my chair and leans against the open casement. Sunlight falls in behind her. The snow clouds have passed, and the air is warmer. Icicles drip from the window. The tower beacon pushes warmth at my back, adding heat to the warming temperatures. I relit the flame last night after Tarek left. My memory of his visit is fuzzy in the light of day, pulling apart my confidence in what I saw. Is it possible for souls to travel from the Void by shadows? Is there truth to Inanna’s Descent? “Ashwin sent me to find you,” Indah says. “What are you doing up here? Have you been here all night?” “I came to watch for Hastin.” I slip my hands under the wool blanket. My inner chill is relentless. “You don’t have to do that. Pons is listening for his arrival.” “I know. I just . . .” Seeing Tarek remi
21. 14DEVEN A bang in the distance wakes me. I go from lying propped against the tree trunk to standing in half a breath. Daylight rests upon the woodland, severing my drowsiness. I groan. “We overslept.” Natesa opens her eyes from her place curled up against Yatin. I nudge him in the boot, and he jolts, thumping his head against their log. Rohan rouses, shedding sleep like the blanket of leaves that kept him dry last night. Sunup stole into the forest, and the day marched us well into morning, far past our planned departure at dawn. Yatin scrubs the sleep from his eyes, and Natesa shoves strands of her fallen hair up underneath her turban. Tightness stretches all my sore, stiff muscles. I peer through the misty woods. The fallen leaves are saturated to a deep crimson from the passing rain. No tent peaks mark the army’s camp. We were completely gone from this world not to have heard the army pack up and leave. I should have anticipated our exhaustion after our taxing days of travel. “They’
22. 15KALINDA The Claiming chamber is locked from the corridor, so I enter an adjoined room around the corner and close the door behind me. The cold, gray inspection chamber that is used for the first stage of the Claiming ritual is empty. Circling the hollow area lit by wall lamps, I feel gooseflesh spread up my arms. Here in this very spot, the other recipients and I stood nude before Healer Baka for evaluation of our physical health, a practice to determine whether we were fit to be shown to the benefactor. An inner door leads to the next chamber. Near it, on a table, is a pot of henna. The sisters used the henna to draw the mark of Enki down our spines. The single wave represented that we were in submission to the most fearsome benefactor who had ever visited our temple. I am tempted to throw the pot and shatter the memory of Tarek’s arrival, but I pick it up and cradle it close. I once carried the mark of the kindred, dyed in henna on the backs of my hands. The number one was a symbol
23. 16DEVEN Late into the afternoon, the plodding wagons spread out. The weariness of the day strings us apart and heavies our steps. Long trails of men wind from the woods and descend into the lowlands, where the air thickens with the dank scent of wet land. The sky opens to unstoppable stretches of blue over verdant grasslands. Men toil in the rice fields and the higher wheat fields, both crops recently planted for the coming winter. Though I scrutinize every wagon and group of soldiers we pass, I have not seen or heard anything about Brac or Opal. The farther we walk, the more my premonition festers that they are in danger. Ahead, our troops trudge through a village. Our catapult is one of the last to pass through the roadways lined with ramshackle huts. Yatin was raised not far from this area. His widowed mother and two eldest sisters worked long days in the fields while he and his other siblings kept house. Women and children watch us roll through from their worn doorways. About a hun
24. 17KALINDA I meet Indah and Pons in the temple courtyard. Night is falling, and with it, the clear sky leaves an opening for the cold winds pushing in from the north. Much of the snow has melted away, and ice forms on the puddles that remain. Ashwin arrived ahead of me. From his hard-set jaw, he is still simmering over our encounter in the Claiming chamber. Pons hands Ashwin his machete and says, “The rebels are waiting near the lake. They wish to meet you and the kindred alone. I cannot tell how many there are. At least one of them is a Galer. I received her request to meet you but nothing since.” The rebel Galer must be redirecting the sounds of their movements to conceal their numbers, an uncomfortable beginning to our diplomatic engagement. I draw my dagger. “I’ll throw up a flame if we need you.” Indah nods. Her powers will not be of much use to us in this cold, but she is still an adept healer. Why am I thinking of needing a healer? Because someone gets hurt every time we interact
25. 18DEVEN The soldiers who earned the coin and bottle of apong sing rowdily across the way. My unit rests on the ground against the catapult wheels. I am dirty, sweaty, and so tired the campfire embers look like lanterns floating off into the sky. I could do with a long pull from that apong bottle, but I settle for the dirty cup of water and charred flatbread a meal server brought around. Yatin sits alone and stares into the rocky plain while flexing his hand into a fist over and over. He and Natesa have not spoken since we left the village. Rohan eats quietly, his gaze jumping around so often my own nerves crackle. No one has come looking for the missing soldier, but that could still change. A mild western wind swirls through camp, flowing from the barren region ahead. At our pressing pace, we will reach the Bhavya Desert the day after tomorrow, a full day ahead of schedule. Natesa itches her neck. “How do you wear these?” “We take our turbans off at night,” I say. “How fortunate for yo
26. 19KALINDA I stare bleary-eyed at the smoking rubble. Snowflakes drift down upon the smoldering piles of stone and melt to steam. The fire flattened the structure in the night, dancing like cackling demons around a pyre. This charred wreckage is all that remains of the Samiya temple. A low, whitewashed sky has long since lightened to the bleakest gray, casting an abysmal glare over the scene. The hundred or so temple wards huddle as one in the crisp cold. In their rush to escape the fire, few sisters and wards brought cloaks. Flakes of ash entwine with the snowflakes and tarnish the sisters’ humble blue robes. Frightened and saddened tears clean trails down the wards’ sooty faces. The older girls comfort the younger ones, and the sisters comfort the older girls. The wards are too distraught to do little more than steal astonished glances at the men, and the sisters do not stop them. In the wake of this devastation, they do not fear the loss of innocence. I am the enemy they dread. Pries
27. 20DEVEN Our horse team stumbles up another dune, spraying sand in my eyes. We ascend the slippery rise halfway, and then the catapult mires in the sand and jerks to a halt. From the time we set out this morning, we have intermittently charged across the hot sand and spun our wheels. Like the gods, the desert is no respecter of man. I urge the horse team up the dune while Yatin and Natesa push the catapult from behind. Our sleepless night slows our ascent, but we trudge onward. “Come on, come on.” My half plea, half prayer encourages the horses to conquer the sand dune. Overlooking the landscape, I squint at the sunburnt dunes rolling into the distance. Our troops trek up and down them like organized lines of red ants. I collect my breath and guide our horses and wagon over the ridge to descend the other side. Sweat trickles into my eyes. I swipe the stream away with my arm, also slick from perspiration, and smear grit across my brow. Soldiers trudge alongside us, their headscarves shie
28. 21KALINDA The airship’s hull provides ample room for all the sisters and wards. Ashwin, Indah, and Pons stay on deck while I help the little ones descend the ladder to below. Straw carpets the floor, and several yaks penned in the corner account for the stench of manure. I overhear a crewman say the airship was en route to deliver the herd to the clan in the arctic tundra but switched course when they received Tinley’s urgent message about the fire. We rest on bales of grass and escape the freezing temperature huddled beneath wool blankets the crew passes out. I try to repress my shivering, but the blanket merely insulates my cold. The wards, however, are resilient. One of them begins a game of Fly-Fly Crane, and soon a group of them are darting between the bales with their arms spread like wings. The sisters let them play, the semblance of normality welcome. After some time, Priestess Mita wanders down the ladder, each of her steps more unenthusiastic than the last. Even after the Pal
29. 22DEVEN Soon after the wagon stops for the night, Manas returns. “Get out, Deven. The rajah has asked for you.” I am hardly surprised. Opal dissatisfied Udug with her lack of knowledge about Vanhi. Who better to inquire of the palace and rebels than the former captain of the guard? Opal starts to get out too, but Manas throws out his arm. “Stay here, filth. The rajah is finished suffering your repulsive presence.” “Yet he surrounds himself with you,” I say, climbing out of the wagon. Manas smacks the back of my head. I stumble forward to my knees, my hands still tethered behind me. As I rise, the scene beyond camp emerges. The Turquoise Palace shines upon the hill, and Vanhi stretches out below it. To those who love Vanhi, it is known as the City of Gems, a sparkling oasis for all. But the mines beneath the palace that once harvested rich veins of turquoise were boarded up long ago. Like those dried-up veins, Vanhi’s shutters are closed and dim. Men rush around us, situating the catapu
30. 23KALINDA We fly into the night, the mahati falcon undaunted by the dark. Glittering stars chase us, so close they promise the warmth of a thousand wishes but mock me with their unreachable light. The soul-fire I parched from Indah has long since receded, and as she cautioned me, I am colder than before. My jaw aches from clamping my chattering teeth. Ashwin holds on to me, a rock against my tide of shivers. I thirst for soul-fire. The temptation to parch him or Tinley presses into my chest. If I move my hand to Tinley’s arm— No. Remember Indah. I will not violate another friend’s trust. Midway through the night, I drift off into delirium. When I wake later, night still stretches to infinity, and my shivers have stopped. I am not cold; nor am I warm. I feel . . . I feel . . . nothing. Even the ache in my knee has gone. Freedom from pain would be a gift, but the sudden emptiness unsettles me. My heart beats slow, a sluggish thump. I shut my eyes and search for the star in my private nig
31. 24DEVEN The explosions start just after dawn. Our unit is already packed and hiking the path along the river. Quakes from the army’s assault on the city wall vibrate up from the ground. We all removed our disguises, leaving our scarlet uniform jackets and headscarves in the hut. When I woke, my fingertips were healed. I cannot figure out why my burns are gone while Opal’s are still healing, but it is a mercy I have no time to question. I increase our pace uphill in the bare morning light. Natesa and Yatin keep pace with me. Opal lags some, but her pallor and posture have improved from yesterday. Her Galer powers are returning, so she listens for rebels. The stone pathway ends at a low tunnel. The entrance to the mines lies in the shadow of the Turquoise Palace. I pause to light a lamp we took from the hut, and a chakram flies past me, nearly slicing my nose. The blade embeds itself in the wall. All of us reel around, and the path beneath our feet drags us backward on a rockslide. Our b
32. 25KALINDA Hot wind guides the mahati falcon over the waves of ginger sand dunes. Ashwin and Gemi stoop forward in apprehension as dust builds on their skin. I search the blurry horizon, sepia fading to azure heavens, for the City of Gems. A shadow deepens on the skyline, materializing into view. Civilization rests upon an old, rounded mountain. The Turquoise Palace appears first, its gold-domed roofs a burnished reflection of the desert sun. White-walled towers gleam like ivory teeth above the drab city kneeling at the palace’s feet. Red-coated soldiers flying Tarachand banners with black scorpions swarm the outer wall. They crowd a blown-out hole and fling huge rocks to smash the gap wider. The imperial army is only minutes from breeching the city. Deven and the others would have found a safer, quicker route past the wall to await the navy. He will expect our arrival, so Rohan should be listening for us. Please hear us coming. Tinley clucks her tongue, and Chare dips lower. The falcon
33. 26DEVEN I stand straight as a pole against the corridor wall. Asha waits beside me, listening alertly. My muscles are stiff from hours of skulking down from the upper floor of the outer wing to the center of the palace. The door to the throne room is around the corner, but we can go no farther without the rebel guards at the main entrance seeing us. Where in gods’ name is Brac? He should have caused his distraction by now. A quake rattles up from the ground, extending in huge, terrible waves. Tapestries fall, and glass orbs shatter against the floor. Furniture skids across the tiles. I peer around the corner at the main entry. No rebels. I do not know how Brac managed it, but this must be his distraction. I dart out to check the entry and double stairways. Both are empty. I gesture to Asha, and we slip into the throne room. Daylight shines down from the high casements. Gone are the tidy rows of floor cushions for the rajah’s court to kneel upon. Tables have replaced them, set up in sta
34. 27KALINDA The cold cripples me halfway up the hill. I sway forward and land on all fours in the road. Between the rain and the deadness in my muscles, I cannot feel my feet. If the rebels’ intent is to drive the invaders back with a storm, their strategy is working on at least one person. Ashwin notices I have fallen behind and jogs back to fetch me. “Do you need to rest?” “Just for a minute.” I collapse against him. His soul-fire glows like a beacon, but I am so frozen not even his warmth appeals to me. Gemi backtracks to us. “Is she hurt?” “She just needs to get warm.” Even to me, Ashwin’s assurance sounds feeble. He lifts me into his arms and hefts me up the hill. A catapult snaps nearby, flinging a boulder at the palace. Ashwin freezes and then sidesteps out of the middle of the road. Just when the threat is gone, a mighty gust redirects the boulder at the city. The projectile soars overhead and smashes into several huts on the neighboring road. “Keep going,” Gemi says, watching fo
35. 28DEVEN The sister warriors line up on the ramparts. Yatin, Natesa, Opal, and I are in the center of the troops, on the wall near the gate. Everyone is silent, like the flashes of lightning overhead, while we watch the army steadily approach. Galers conduct the storm from the palace balconies. Aquifiers are stationed beside open water barrels set around the grounds. Hastin and his Tremblers reinforce the outer wall from the courtyard and garden. The rebel army is small, about two hundred bhutas according to my estimate, approximately the same number of sister warriors. Brac has not returned, a concern I have no time at the moment to resolve. I cannot leave my troops, so I hope and pray he finds us. The torches of the army break through the roads. The infantry and archers fan out in front of the wall, men marching and artillery wagons creaking. They are as loud and mobile as we are motionless. Manas rides with the light cavalry and raises his hand for a halt. Hastin calls for the same.
36. 29KALINDA Deven’s head slumps to the side. Smoke rises off his chest, the foul scent of scorched flesh stomach curdling. Udug’s fire burned through his tunic, down to his skin. His flesh is charred and seared. The need to go to him claws at me, but Udug nears the threshold. Anu, don’t let Deven die, I pray and cross to the palace door, leaving Ashwin to care for Deven. “Don’t come any farther,” I shout to Udug. “Dearest Kalinda,” he purrs, “how are you enjoying the cold-fire I gifted you?” “I don’t care for your poison. Take it back.” His taunting laugh knocks against my tender spots. “I heard about the Samiya temple. I admire your nerve. Few mortals would dare burn down one of the gods’ sanctuaries. You must admit now that you belong to the dark.” “No, Udug. I belong right here.” Behind him, across a gulley in the palace grounds, Yatin clobbers a soldier. Sister warriors combat more imperial troops, the onslaught contained on the far side of the ravine. Our side is strewn with the dea
37. 30DEVEN I come upon Brac in the upper corridor off the main entry. He is dazzling a pair of ranis with a single flame dancing over his palm. I clap him on the back. “I need you to come along and speak to Prince Ashwin with me.” Brac extinguishes the flame and sends a parting grin at the women. “I’ll show you how I put out fire later,” he says. They are all swoons and big eyes as my brother and I start down the staircase together. “Those women know you’re a Burner, and they aren’t afraid of you?” I ask. Brac pushes out a raw laugh. “Odd, isn’t it? I spent my whole life hiding that I’m the most dangerous type of bhuta in the world. But now that the kindred saved the empire with her Burner powers, my rarity makes me desirable.” His buoyant voice holds an undercurrent of resentment. Brac may not need to conceal his powers any longer, but this sudden acceptance from society does not expunge the years he spent hiding in fear. Natesa and Yatin sit on the opposite curved staircase. Yatin sport
38. 31KALINDA I dismount Chare and set foot on snowy ground. The falcon immediately spreads her massive wings and launches off. She soars west, her fiery feathers blending in with the sunset. After almost an entire day of flying, the sun is more than three-quarters eclipsed. By dawn tomorrow, a mere crescent will rise. If the sun rises at all . . . Before Chare landed, I relied upon a bird’s-eye view of the area to search thoroughly for Udug within the frozen landscape. I did not see him. Tugging the bearskin closer, I hike over the hill, away from the frozen lake, past the burned forest, to the remains of the Sisterhood temple. The smoldering heat has gone. Ash and snow blanket the debris of what was the north tower. Part of the blackened piles of stone crumbled down the cliff to the gully below. I hold in tears. The tragic end of my home will never cease to devastate me. Darkness falls, a crisp curtain of raw winter. My banked soul-fire simmers, sending heat to my extremities. I consumed
39. 32DEVEN My breath snags on nettles of terror. Every soldier experiences setbacks in battle, but never have I felt more vulnerable. Surrounded by my family, I have more to lose than my life. I could lose the people who make my life worth living. Udug’s and his siblings’ jubilant screeches abruptly stop. Splashing fills the darkness, and then deep, resonant thuds vibrate up from the ground. Something has risen out of the water. And it is big. “Gods, Deven.” Kali strangles my forearm, but I am grateful for our connection. More whispers of shock and horror resound around us in the impenetrable dark. “What . . . what’s out there?” Natesa whispers. Booms approach our front line. The trembling ground knocks Kali and me back a step. “I don’t think you want to know,” replies Opal. Her amplified hearing can detect what is coming our way through the obsidian night. Brac tosses a heatwave at the forest across the way. His fire ignites the stubby alpine evergreens and strips back the darkness. The
40. 33KALINDA Kur will not be moved. No matter where Brac and I throw our fire, the demon god steps farther from the lake. The evernight will prevail if he gains more ground. I feel it in my gut. Brac discharges another heatwave at the serpentine dragon, his unique orangey flame weaker than his last. Our powers do not penetrate Kur’s scaly shell. We will soon lose the convenience of our soul-fire with this useless strategy. Nature-fire feeds off the trees, lighting the battlefield. Serpents dance in the flames, swirling and twirling happily. Their flickering eyes trail me, worshipful and adoring in our mutual love of the light. I stretch my fingers to them. My friends, I have missed you. Fiery tendrils shoot out and encircle my body, hot and heady. I call them to action. Create me a helpmate. The nature-fire hisses, and more flames zip from the wildfire. They whirl and fasten together, combining ferocity. A monster forms between Kur and me, a serpentine beast that rises to the demon god’s
41. 34KALINDA The Tigress Pavilion is warm today. Spring awakens heat from the afternoon, and a breeze ushers in a sweetness scented of blooming irises and sun-warmed citrus. None of the women or girls complain, of course. We are content with the sunshine, remembering vividly a world under a broken sky. I have finished my art lesson and dismissed my class. Sarita, my co-instructor, will come by later to pack up my supplies and return them to my chamber. She has an aptitude for painting, and as I may never sketch like I used to, she is a fine asset. In the center of the pavilion, Parisa and Eshana demonstrate sparring strategies. Their class of temple wards sits cross-legged in front of the full weapon racks, their attention rapt on the ranis wielding staffs. Near the black-and-white-tiled fountain, Shyla shushes three girls for whispering instead of listening and then lectures them on the importance of honoring the land-goddess Ki and her sister warriors. Rehan toddles at her feet, her lit
42. CHARACTER GLOSSARY Kalinda: orphan turned first queen, a Burner Deven: general of the imperial army Prince Ashwin: heir to the Tarachand Empire Natesa: former imperial courtesan Yatin: soldier, Deven’s best friend Brother Shaan: member of the Brotherhood Indah: southern Aquifier, Virtue Guard Pons: Galer, Virtue Guard Brac: former rebel, Burner Mathura: Deven’s and Brac’s mother, former imperial courtesan Admiral Rimba: Indah’s father, southern Aquifier Captain Loc: captain of the raiders Princess Gemi: heir to the Southern Isles, Trembler Datu Bulan: ruler of the Southern Isles Rohan: brother to Opal, Galer Opal: sister to Rohan, Galer Rajah Tarek: deceased ruler of the Tarachand Empire The Voider (aka the demon rajah, Udug): demon unleashed from the Void The demon Kur: ruler of the Void Manas: general of the imperial army Priestess Mita: leader of the Samiya temple Jaya: Kalinda’s deceased best friend Healer Baka and Sister Hetal: sisters at the Samiya temple Tinley: daughter of Chie
43. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Sending praise and salutations to these fine individuals: Jason Kirk, my commander in chief. Not an e-mail passes between us that I don’t utter appreciation for you as my editor. You’ve made my publishing journey a true joy. Clarence Haynes, the depth of your insightfulness and soulful questions knows no bounds. Without you, this book would be a shell. As you often say, excelsior and peace. Kim Cowser, Brittany Jackson, and Kristin King, for your cheerleading from afar and your buzz-building efforts. You’re my sister warrior street team. My ever-supportive agent, Marlene Stringer. I fulfilled my vision for this world and story because of your unfailing support. Thank you for loving Kalinda. Kate Coursey, we are bosom buddies for eternity. You’re never getting rid of me. Fellow sister warriors: Veeda Bybee, Kathryn Purdie, Breeana Shields, Kate Watson, Tricia Levenseller, Charlie Holmberg, Caitlyn McFarland, Lauri Schoenfeld, Angie Cothran, Erin Summerill, Sierra Abrams,
44. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Photo © 2015 Erin Summerill Emily R. King is a writer of fantasy and the author of The Hundredth Queen Series. Born in Canada and raised in the United States, she is a shark advocate, a consumer of gummy bears, and an islander at heart, but her greatest interests are her four children. Emily is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and an active participant in her local writers’ community. She lives in Northern Utah with her family and their cantankerous cat. Visit her at www.emilyrking.com.