“You better say something to her. She’s trying to be stoic, but she’s a mess.”
She stepped back. “While I’m gone, no getting kidnapped, no getting shot.” Her voice broke, and she had to take another breath.
“Samira, I’m so sorry you had to be alone, that you had to…” When she seemed almost in tears, he stopped. “Go, go! Mamet’s mom and dad won’t wait forever.”
She gave him a playful slap on the arm then went to Mamet. “Yes.”
Mamet whooped. One of the humans from Pool’s tribe approached them, and Simon recalled the ex-prophet of Gale, Lydia. “Can I come?” she asked. “I can’t go back to Gale. They’ll want me to be a prophet again, and I just…won’t.” She took a deep breath but seemed on the verge of tears. “I won’t be any trouble. I can do things—”
Samira took her hand. “Of course you can come.”
Simon relaxed a fraction. As long as she had someone to look after, Samira would be fine.
The tree lifted the rest of them, and they were off again. They’d have to make a quick stop with the Svenal to finish curing them and pick up their pseudo yafanai, then it would be on to Gale. The Galeans would be in need of a good leader, and when he looked at people like Cordelia and Pool, he knew they’d get it. All that stood in their way was the long walk home.
Epilogue
Fajir paced up and down her room inside the palace. Sitting on her narrow bed, Nico’s gaze never left her, but what answers could he hold that she hadn’t already thought of?
All the vermin were gone. Those she’d kept in the cells had been freed, no doubt by Cordelia’s pet vermin. She cursed herself. She should have been paying better attention.
“And her word is worthless,” Fajir muttered. “She told me she would help me hunt Halaan’s killer, traded her vermin’s life for that, but she’s gone!” And to think Fajir had let her slip away!
“She could come back,” Nico said.
Fajir snarled. It was possible, and hope bloomed again, but she tried to quash it. She’d let hope guide her once before, let the stranger’s open face fool her into thinking Halaan’s killer could be closer than she thought. “The Lords will have too much need of us to clean up the mess the city has become.”
Nico shifted on the bed. “We could go, Seren, you and I.”
A nice offer, one she trusted, but she couldn’t put him into contention with the Lords. She’d planned to risk just her own life. She thought again of going alone, but the idea still filled her with fear. She’d never been alone, not in the whole of her life. How could she do so now? How could she get revenge with no one to witness it?
“We could ask the Lords,” Nico said. “I’ll ask them.”
Loyal Nico. There had to be a way to keep him safe and not be alone. “We’ll volunteer to ride after the tree, to make sure they’ve gone, and so we can check on the villages. We’ll catch them. I’ll remind her of her oath.” She smiled. Cordelia prided herself on honor and loyalty. Fajir had sensed it, and the Lords had confirmed it. Cordelia had always been planning to escape, but she hadn’t abandoned her friends, and she’d been drawn into conflicts with those that needed helping. If Fajir demanded she keep her promise or be dogged by Fajir forever, she would agree; anything to keep her friends safe.
Nico kept with her as she gathered what remained of her troop and got permission from the Lords to ride out. With ossors underneath them, they rode hard, and Fajir could almost feel the distance to Halaan’s killer growing ever shorter.
*
Enka, envoy of the Shi, sat on a rooftop in Gale. With the Storm Lord and his soldiers gone, she had been able to sneak in and out of the city at will, spreading the second part of the Shi’s poison.
The wind shifted, and she relished the new smell of Gale’s denizens. The first part of the poison had spread to nearly everyone, and with the introduction of the second, weakness was spreading faster than even the Shi had anticipated. Soon, Gale would be hard-pressed to find anyone strong enough to stand against the drushka.
The Shi would soon send her queens closer. Enka wondered if they would take the buildings apart or leave them. Which might warn the other humans to stay far from this place? Which would anger or frighten the Anushi enough to make her run for the swamp again? Without his city, how long would the Storm Lord and his soldiers live? So many questions, but Enka was certain the Shi would have the answers. All she had to do was wait.
About the Author
Barbara Ann Wright writes fantasy and science fiction novels and short stories when not ranting on her blog. The Pyramid Waltz was one of Tor.com’s Reviewer’s Choice books of 2012, was a Foreword Review Book of the Year Award Finalist, a Goldie finalist, and made Book Riot’s 100 Must-Read Sci-Fi Fantasy Novels By Female Authors. It also won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best Lesbian Fantasy. A Kingdom Lost was a Goldie finalist and won the 2014 Rainbow Award for Best Lesbian Fantasy Romance.
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
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Buried Heart by Laydin Michaels. When Drew Chambliss meets Cicely Jones, her buried past finds its way to the surface—will they survive its discovery or will their chance at love turn to dust? (978-1-62639-801-6)
Escape: Exodus Book Three by Gun Brooke. Aboard the Exodus ship Pathfinder, President Thea Tylio still holds Caya Lindemay, a clairvoyant changer, in protective custody, which has devastating consequences endangering their relationship and the entire Exodus mission. (978-1-62639-635-7)
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Into Thin Air by Jeannie Levig. When her girlfriend disappears, Hannah Lewis discovers her world isn’t as orderly as she thought it was. (978-1-62639-722-4)
Night Voice by CF Frizzell. When talk show host Sable finally acknowledges her risqué radio relationship with a mysterious caller, she welcomes a real relationship with local tradeswoman Riley Burke. (978-1-62639-813-9)
Raging at the Stars by Lesley Davis. When the unbelievable theories start revealing themselves as truths, can you trust in the ones who have conspired against you from the start? (978-1-62639-720-0)
She Wolf by Sheri Lewis Wohl. When the hunter becomes the hunted, more than love might be lost. (978-1-62639-741-5)
Smothered and Covered by Missouri Vaun. The last person Nash Wiley expects to bump into over a two a.m. breakfast at Waffle House is her college crush, decked out in a curve-hugging law enforcement uniform. (978-1-62639-704-0)
The Butterfly Whisperer by Lisa Moreau. Reunited after ten years, can Jordan and Sophie heal the past and rediscover love or will differing desires keep them apart? (978-1-62639-791-0)
The Devil’s Due by Ali Vali. Cain and Emma Casey are awaiting the birth of their third child, but as always in Cain’s world, there are new and old enemies to face in post Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. (978-1-62639-591-6)
Widows of the Sun-Moon by Barbara Ann Wright. With immortality now out of their grasp, the gods of Calamity fight amongst themselves, egged on by the mad goddess they thought they’d left behind. (978-1-62639-777-4)
18 Months by Samantha Boyette. Alissa Reeves has only had two girlfriends and they’ve both gone missing. Now it’s up to her to find out why. (978-1-62639-804-7)
Arrested Hearts by Holly Stratimore. A reckless cop with a secret death wish and a health nut who is afraid to die might be a perfect combination for love. (978-1-62639-809-2)
Capturing Jessica by Jane Hardee. Hyperrealist sculptor Michael tries desperately to conceal the love she holds for best friend, Jess, unaware Jess’s feelings for her are changing. (978-1-62639-836-8)
Counting to Zero by AJ Quinn. NSA agent Emma Thorpe and computer hacker Paxton James must learn to trust each other as they work to stop
a threat clock that’s rapidly counting down to zero. (978-1-62639-783-5)
Courageous Love by KC Richardson. Two women fight a devastating disease, and their own demons, while trying to fall in love. (978-1-62639-797-2)
One More Reason to Leave Orlando by Missouri Vaun. Nash Wiley thought a threesome sounded exotic and exciting, but as it turns out the reality of sleeping with two women at the same time is just really complicated. (978-1-62639-703-3E)
Pathogen by Jessica L. Webb. Can Dr. Kate Morrison navigate a deadly virus and the threat of bioterrorism, as well as her new relationship with Sergeant Andy Wyles and her own troubled past? (978-1-62639-833-7)
Rainbow Gap by Lee Lynch. Jaudon Vickers and Berry Garland, polar opposites, dream and love in this tale of lesbian lives set in Central Florida against the tapestry of societal change and the Vietnam War. (978-1-62639-799-6)
Steel and Promise by Alexa Black. Lady Nivrai’s cruel desires and modified body make most of the galaxy fear her, but courtesan Cailyn Derys soon discovers the real monsters are the ones without the claws. (978-1-62639-805-4)
Swelter by D. Jackson Leigh. Teal Giovanni’s mistake shines an unwanted spotlight on a small Texas ranch where August Reese is secluded until she can testify against a powerful drug kingpin. (978-1-62639-795-8)
Without Justice by Carsen Taite. Cade Kelly and Emily Sinclair must battle each other in the pursuit of justice, but can they fight their undeniable attraction outside the walls of the courtroom? (978-1-62639-560-2)
21 Questions by Mason Dixon. To find love, start by asking the right questions. (978-1-62639-724-8)
A Palette for Love by Charlotte Greene. When newly minted Ph.D. Chloé Devereaux returns to New Orleans, she doesn’t expect her new job, and her powerful employer—Amelia Winters—to be so appealing. (978-1-62639-758-3)
By the Dark of Her Eyes by Cameron MacElvee. When Brenna Taylor inherits a decrepit property haunted by tormented ghosts, Alejandra Santana must not only restore Brenna’s house and property but also save her soul. (978-1-62639-834-4)
Cash Braddock by Ashley Bartlett. Cash Braddock just wants to hang with her cat, fall in love, and deal drugs. What’s the problem with that? (978-1-62639-706-4)
Death by Cocktail Straw by Missouri Vaun. She just wanted to meet girls, but an outing at the local lesbian bar goes comically off the rails, landing Nash Wiley and her best pal in the ER. (978-1-62639-702-6)
Gravity by Juliann Rich. How can Ellie Engebretsen, Olympic ski jumping hopeful with her eye on the gold, soar through the air when all she feels like doing is falling hard for Kate Moreau, her greatest competitor and the girl of her dreams? (978-1-62639-483-4)
Lone Ranger by VK Powell. Reporter Emma Ferguson stirs up a thirty-year-old mystery that threatens Park Ranger Carter West’s family and jeopardizes any hope for a relationship between the two women. (978-1-62639-767-5)
Love on Call by Radclyffe. Ex-Army medic Glenn Archer and recent LA transplant Mariana Mateo fight their mutual desire in the face of past losses as they work together in the Rivers Community Hospital ER. (978-1-62639-843-6)
Never Enough by Robyn Nyx. Can two women put aside their pasts to find love before it’s too late? (978-1-62639-629-6)
Two Souls by Kathleen Knowles. Can love blossom in the wake of tragedy? (978-1-62639-641-8)
Widows of the Sun-Moon Page 33