Page 88 of Black Salt Queen

She looked back at the queen. In spite of Imeria’s bitterness, in spite of the pain that threatened to cleave her in half, she ached for Duja.Look at what we’ve lost.

“I-I can’t, Duja.” Imeria’s voice cracked. “I can’t bring back the dead.”

“You don’t know that.” This time, it was Laya who spoke. She came to stand at her mother’s side, her bright eyes oddly blank, as if she were caught in a trance.

Laya.Imeria’s fingers twitched. If she tried, she could sink her claws into Laya’s mind and make her throw herself off the cliffs. Duja must have seen the vengeful gleam in Imeria’s eye, because she stepped protectively in front of her daughter, her hands clenched into fists. All three women stumbled as the cliff face gave a menacing lurch.

But Imeria didn’t strike Laya. The princess was heartless and vile, but her words made her take pause. Laya was right; Imeriadidn’tknow if she could bring back the dead because she had never tried. At this realization, a faint glimmer of hope burst in her chest.

“Luntok,” Imeria said, her voice hoarse.

Duja frowned. “Luntok is?—”

“Dead.” She nodded, her mind spinning, and met Duja’s gaze once more. “Please.Let me save him. Give me this, Duja, and I’ll save your king.”

For all anyone knew, it was a hollow promise, but Duja hesitated. “If I allow this, you will begin by saving Aki,” she said, choosing her words with care. “And if this works, you will not linger. You will take your men and get out of Maynara. I never want to see you here again.”

“And if I fail?”

Duja cut her a sharp look. “You will pay for your treason. With your lives.”

In her grief, Imeria still found it in her to let out a dry laugh. “This is the choice you give me?—execution or exile?”

“Only if you save my husband’s life.”

Imeria fell silent as she weighed her bargain. These were the words of a desperate queen, but Imeria’s situation was no different. “Very well, then,” she said, and lifted her chin. “I accept your terms. But you will let me save my son first.”

Disgruntled murmurs rang out from the watching crowd. Duja shook her head in disbelief. “Now, Imeria, you overstep.”

“Is that what you think?” Imeria snarled. She took three swift strides to the edge of the cliff, stopping in the same spot where her son had been kneeling moments earlier. “I will save Luntok first or no one at all. If you refuse me now, I will not simply overstep. I will jump straight to the rocks below. So if that’s your decision, make it fast. But think twice before denying me,” she declared, followed by an eruption of horrified gasps.

The queen didn’t lunge for her. At Imeria’s threat, she stood still as a statue. “You wouldn’t,” she answered in a deep, throaty voice.

Imeria stared at Duja, biting her lip to keep it from trembling. “I will be reunited with my son. One way or another.”

The queen didn’t dare tear her gaze away. She knew Imeria?—knew that it wasn’t a bluff. Bitterly, she conceded. “You shall get your wish, Imeria. We will begin with Luntok?—but you must remember my terms. If you fail, or if you betray me again?—”

“I know.” Imeria stared back as the ache in her chest grew impossible to ignore. “First Luntok, then the king. Afterward, our attack will cease. We will withdraw from Maynara. You have my word.”

Once again, the queen could not know if it was a hollow promise, but what choice did she have? Duja set her jaw. She looked like she wanted to say more. But then she turned to the guards still clustered on the cliff, unsure of their next move. “Everyone, stand down,” she said. “And General Ojas.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Ojas rushed to Duja’s side, still tracking Imeria out of the corner of his eye.

“Go with Imeria’s men to the rocks at the base of the cliff. Take your strongest divers.”

The general’s mouth twisted into a frown of uncertainty, but he kept his doubts to himself. “Right away, Your Majesty,” he said. Then he turned around, limping, and started barking orders.

The eerie quiet on the cliffs broke as the onlookers sprang into action. Imeria watched, filled with a different kind of grief, as Vikal accompanied Ojas down the steep path that led to the base of the Black Salt Cliffs. The two men took a handful of Kulaw and Gatdula warriors with them, their imposing figures disappearing over the cliffside in a flutter of scarlet and green.

She glanced at Duja, who had returned to Hari Aki’s side. Eti and Bulan flocked to her. Laya held back. Seeing her father’s body up close had shaken her. Laya stared at the king in wide-eyed horror, her hands balling into fists. The air above their heads began to thicken once more into storm clouds. Then Bulan held her hand out to her sister. With a gasping sob, Laya took it. Grief made allies of them. The clouds cleared, and together, they held their mother tight. The ache swelled in Imeria’s heart at the sight of it. She steeled herself and turned her gaze toward the horizon, swallowing the pit that had formed in the back of her throat.

This was supposed to be her son’s wedding, gods help them. She wanted to scream. She couldn’t shake the sense that she had been robbed of something glorious.

What could have been.

The moment she turned around, Gulod appeared at her shoulder. “Do you... Do you truly think you can...,” he asked before trailing off. His shoulders were tense, and his eyes were darting toward the carriage path. But the window to escape had long closed; not even Gulod could smuggle his way out.

“I have no idea if it will work,” she admitted, her fingers tracing the thin glass vial hanging from her neck.

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