“Solstasia afeshiya!” Ziran boomed back.

The familiar thrill of knowing she had her audience right where she needed them to be wound through her. Perhaps she wasn’t a natural leader like the rest of her family, but if she knew anything, it was how to perform.

Her voice ringing through the square, Karina began, “We thank the Great Mother for this beautiful day. We thank the Great Mother for the gifts we see before us.”

The crowd repeated the prayer.

Karina continued, “A thousand years ago, the Kennouan Empire stood where we stand now, ruled over by the petty and cruel pharaoh Akhmen-ki. It is said that the pharaoh’s greed was as boundless as the sky and as limitless as the sea. It was not enough for him that he ruled over an empire larger than any Sonande has ever seen. Akhmen-ki would not rest until he had enslaved every non-Kennouan in the land, pillaged every village, and taken for himself all that our ancestors had built!”

Jeers rippled through the crowd.

Karina continued, “Kennoua’s reign of terror across Sonande lasted for millennia. Our people prayed to the Great Mother for relief from this cruelty, and she sent them a hero—my ancestor, Bahia Alahari!”

The crowd cheered at the mention of their beloved founder, and Karina put up another hand to silence them.

“Even though most believed it to be a hopeless cause, Grandmother Bahia waged a war against the pharaoh. Our ancestors fought with everything our young city had to spare, even as former allies, like the Faceless King, turned against them. And after years of battles and bloodshed, they won!”

The cheer that roared through the crowd was too powerful for Karina to stop, and she had to wait until it faded before she could say, “Today, we remember the sacrifices our ancestors made to guarantee our peace and prosperity. Today, we remind ourselves why no matter what storms may pass or tragedies befall her, Ziran will never die!”

“Ziran will never die! Ziran will never die!”

Karina’s breath curled in her lungs as the chant reverberated through the air. This was Grandmother Bahia’s dream made real, proof that everything her family had sacrificed had not been in vain. She could even learn to live with never leaving Ziran if it meant more moments like this.

The chant was still going when a servant led a beautiful stallion with fur blacker than midnight onto the stage. Karina gestured to the animal.

“Now we will light the bonfire that symbolizes the guiding light that the Great Mother sent to aid our people to victory during the final battle. But first, an offering to our beloved goddess as thanks for her continued blessings.”

A servant handed Karina a knife nearly as long as her forearm, and she stepped toward the stallion, taking in the glossy sheen of its coat and the gentle look in its large, brown eyes. He had been one of the most popular horses within the royal stables, and Karina’s heart hammered in her chest. After this, the animal’s meat and hide would all be put to good use. It was no different from the livestock they raised in the palace, no reason to hesitate.

One clean cut. That was all she had to do.

She lifted her blade and slashed in a clumsy arc.

The stallion fell to the stage with an otherworldly scream, twitching and jerking. Horror froze Karina to the spot, but she couldn’t run. She slashed at it again, but the cut still wasn’t thick enough to sever the most vital artery, and all she earned was gore down her front. But even worse than the blood were the stallion’s pleading cries, and Karina had to fight down the bile in her throat as Commander Hamidou came forward and severed the horse’s head from its body with one clean swipe of her blade.

Karina stared in shock as the High Priestesses collected the stallion’s blood and poured it over the bonfire. The point of the sacrifice was to bless Ziran, and the creature had to be killed humanely lest they suffer the Great Mother’s wrath for inflicting needless cruelty on an innocent creature.

But the stallion had suffered in its final moments. Karina was supposed to reassure the people, and instead she had cursed them with an ill omen on the first day of her rule. Surely no other sultana had failed so badly, so quickly.

She barely noticed the High Priestesses touch their seven torches to the bonfire until a wave of heat blew into her face as the flames devoured the offerings. Karina shrank from the column of flame, a memory she couldn’t make out teasing at the edges of her mind.

She had been eight years old when a blaze had torn through Ksar Alahari, killing Baba, Hanane, and nearly a dozen others in the process. Her memories from that night were limited. Mostly screaming, Baba handing her off to Aminata’s mother, his back receding as he dove into the inferno to find Hanane.

But the blistering heat. The way the fire devoured without mercy, destroying anything and everything in its path. That was something she would never forget, no matter how many years went by. The pain in her head intensified, and tears blurred her vision though she didn’t dare let them fall.

The crowd cheered for the bonfire, but not as loudly as they had before. No doubt they were thinking about how much they wished the Kestrel were there instead. There was no way her mother would have ever botched the sacrifice so poorly and humiliated herself in front of so many people.

When Karina spoke again, her voice was weak as she fought to not let her migraine show.

“In honor of the three trials Bahia Alahari had to face to free the seven trapped gods, each of our Champions will now face a series of three challenges. Through the winner, we shall see which god the Great Mother means to rule over the next era of our lives.”

Karina paused as hundreds of thousands of eyes bore into her, eager to know what this year’s grand prize would be.

It was true she had never been meant to be sultana. Her failure just now proved that more than ever.

But there was one thing she could still do. She could perform the Rite of Resurrection, bring her mother back to life, and end her disastrous reign before it truly began. All she had to do was gather all the items for the ritual, one of which was the heart of a king.

Karina glanced at the distant forms of the Champions, all waiting to accept whatever prize she deemed worthy of their accomplishments.

Even if no one was allowed to know yet, she was already a queen. If she needed a king, she would make herself one. Besides, it was as Farid had said the night before—if she was going to enter a political marriage, it may as well be to her own advantage.

“And so the Champion who emerges victorious from all three challenges shall win the ultimate prize—my hand in marriage!”

The words were out of Karina’s mouth before she could stop herself, and the clamor of excitement around her left no room for regret, even as the pressure in her temples mounted.

Before this week was done, she would renew the Barrier and keep Ziran safe.

And she would obtain the king’s heart, the blood moon flower, and everything else she needed to bring her mother back to life. Even if it meant one of the boys on this stage was going to die, though he didn’t know it yet.

11

Malik

Malik could not have heard that right. Marriage? To Princess Karina?

From the shocked looks on the other Champions’ faces, none of them had seen this coming either. This was the first time all seven of them were in the same place, and Malik couldn’t help but sneak glances at his competition and wonder if they felt as unprepared as he did.

The Water Champion, Adetunde, looked particularly troubled—the easy smile he had worn when his priestess unveiled him was gone. Though the Champions could barely see Princess Karina, Adetunde had gazed up at the girl as if she were the sun and all he’d ever known was night. Those two had to have some kind of connection; Malik filed the observation away to consider later.

Still, marriage. He supposed there was no reason why the royal family couldn’t offer a betrothal as a prize. The sultana could marry whomever she wished, and a few had taken multiple husbands and wives when they wished. But marrying an ordinary commoner? That was unheard of. Malik’s hands twitched toward where his satchel strap would have been. How could he use this turn of events to help Nadia?

It was a long while before the crowd settled enough for Princess Karina to say, “I understand you are all surprised by this announcement. It is my mother’s wish, and mine as well, that this twentieth Solstasia surpasses all others that have come before. This is why we have chosen to make this year’s prize a chance to share the blessings the Great Mother has given us and bring someone new into our family.”