“Shefali,” Shizuka whispers, and it is all Barsalai can do not to howl with emotion at the sound.
“I’m here,” she says. “I’m here, Shizuka.”
Their hands join, the crescents on their palms meet, and for a moment, all the world does fall away. There is only Shizuka, only the Silver Steppes, only the stars and the endless sky, only the forests and rolling hills. When Shefali’s lips find her wife’s, it is not simply a kiss but a promise, an oath: this is the world I promise you, this is the world we will share.
When at last they part, when at last their eyes once more meet, it is Shizuka who breaks the silence. “Always?”
“Two pine needles,” Shefali says. The word cracks like pottery; she cannot keep her voice steady. Her Shizuka, her Shizuka. Months, she has agonized over her, months she has visited and hoped and dreamed.
And look at her—behold the majesty Shizuka has at last granted herself! The brilliant shroud hovering around her shoulders, radiant as the dawn itself; the crown of bright feathers around her temples; the pure gold of her eyes, with no white to be seen; the fires lapping at her hair. This is the Sun in truth; this is the god. Together, at last: the women they always swore they’d become.
A messenger arrives, but Shefali is too concerned with her wife to pay them any mind, too lost in the well of elation to wonder what might possibly drive a messenger to bother the Empress at such an hour. Shizuka is speaking, and there is nothing, nothing more important in the world.
“Even when the time comes, someday, for us to die?”
“Then someday, together—”
There are years where the paint is too bored to dry, and there are days that build whole empires. The twenty-eighth is closer to the latter, for Dorbentei seizes Shefali around the shoulders before she can finish speaking. “It’s her. Burqila. Her liver mare—”
In the years that come, it will be Minami Shizuka, the Phoenix Empress, who is prayed to for decisiveness—but let it be known that Barsalai Shefali does not hesitate either. Her bones creak and her joints cry out, but she lifts Shizuka all the same.
“Lead,” she says to Dorbentei.
It is not a demand she has to make twice. Shizuka throws her arms around Shefali’s neck as the two of them race down the halls of the palace—past the priests of the Moon, past the servants scrubbing their trail of ice—to the gates outside. How the servants whisper at the sight of them! The Moon in such a state, carrying … Was that the Phoenix in her arms, glowing like a paper lantern, her robes half-open, her hair hanging free as a girl’s?
But Shefali does not care what they think and neither does Shizuka. Breathless, the Moon! But to the courtyard she goes, and there at the gates—a woman on a liver mare.
She runs. Her feet slap against the cool stones, leaving ice in her wake, but she runs, and when her mother dismounts, she nearly faints from the joy. Yes—it is Burqila Alshara, returned from the lands beyond the new Wall. There is her deel, there is her mare, there are her two viper green eyes, and there—her arms outspread and ready for the three of them.
How many things does she wish to say to her?
She could tell her of the Qorin, of Dorbentei accepting the position as their new Kharsa, and of the challenges they face with half their population twenty years younger than the other half.
How no one remembers Shefali—but everyone remembers Burqila, and up until now, they have all blamed the Moon for Burqila’s disappearance.
She could tell her of the Hokkarans—of Itsuki’s last moments, of the assault on the palace and the subsequent efforts to rebuild, of the book Sakura is writing.
She could tell her of Baoyi—of the blue mare she still rides, of her hatred for her aunts, of the long strides she’s made toward peace.
She could tell her of Kenshiro—of the boy she so long neglected, of the man who put on a warrior’s mask to save his own family, of the son she can finally claim with pride.
But the words die on her tongue. All that leaves her, all that leaves Shizuka:
“Aaj, Aaj, I was so afraid—”
“What were you afraid of?” answers Burqila Alshara. “My daughters have nothing to fear.”
And the rest of it—the Qorin, the Hokkarans, Kenshiro, and Baoyi—the rest of it can wait.
BY K ARSENAULT RIVERA
The Tiger’s Daughter
The Phoenix Empress
The Warrior Moon
Sixteen Swords (forthcoming)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
K ARSENAULT RIVERA was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, but moved to New York when she was a toddler. While not managing a nutritional supplement store in Brooklyn, K is an avid participant in the role-playing community. Her adult fantasy debut was The Tiger’s Daughter. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her partner. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Map
One: Barsalai Shefali
One: Minami Sakura
One: O-Shizuka
Two: Barsalai Shefali
Two: Minami Sakura
Two: O-Shizuka
Three: Barsalai Shefali
Three: O-Shizuka
Three: Minami Sakura
Four: O-Shizuka
Four: Barsalai Shefali
Five: Barsalai Shefali
One: Temurin, the Iron Woman
Six: Barsalai Shefali
Five: O-Shizuka
One: Lai Baoyi
Six: O-Shizuka
Four: Minami Sakura
Seven: Barsalai Shefali
One: Dorbentei Otgar
Seven: O-Shizuka
Five: Minami Sakura
Eight: O-Shizuka
One: Burqila Alshara
Eight: Barsalai Shefali
Six: Minami Sakura
Nine: O-Shizuka
Nine: Barsalai Shefali
Ten: O-Shizuka
The Fathomless Sea
Seven: Minami Sakura
One: The Warrior Moon
Eight: Minami Sakura
Eleven: O-Shizuka
Two: The Warrior Moon
Twelve: O-Shizuka
Three: The Warrior Moon
Thirteen: O-Shizuka
Four: The Warrior Moon
Fourteen: O-Shizuka
Five: The Warrior Moon
Fifteen: O-Shizuka
Two: Lai Baoyi
Six: The Warrior Moon
Sixteen: O-Shizuka
Seventeen: O-Shizuka
Seven: The Warrior Moon
At Last: The Phoenix
Three: Lai Baoyi
Nine: Minami Sakura
Two: Dorbentei Otgar
Together: Someday
Also by K Arsenault Rivera
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE WARRIOR MOON
Copyright © 2019 by K Arsenault Rivera
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Jaime Jones
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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New York, NY 10271
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tered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-7653-9259-6 (trade paperback)
ISBN 978-0-7653-9260-2 (ebook)
eISBN 9780765392602
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First Edition: Setpember 2019
The Warrior Moon Page 65