Epilogue
Dusk gathered at the same shore the Slevaborg ships had invaded. The water glistened copper as people filtered down the dunes, carrying their lanterns. Soldiers, miners, women wrapped in shawls, children holding parents’ hands. The elderly with their careful steps.
The beach had been washed clean by countless tides.
Aisha stood at the edge of the water with Tariq, wishing her sisters had been able to visit as planned, but the Emperor’s growing control over Avanid’s coast was making travel and trade more difficult than ever.
Tariq was forced to send soldiers with every shipment to ensure deliveries landed in the right hands.
But even then, around half the limestone was being intercepted by rogue ships they all knew were funded by Slevaborg.
Farrah moved through the crowd at an unhurried pace, accepting greetings.
She was there for the same reason everyone else was, to pay her respects to those who had lost their lives defending Gruisea’s shores.
It was a ceremony to honour the dead as they emerged from trauma and grief.
The names of the lost rose and fell in low voices.
Everyone present had someone to send off.
Mira tumbled into Tariq’s leg, a silky bundle of muscle and mischief bounding all over the beach.
‘Easy,’ Tariq told her, righting her with his foot and watching her trot away.
She had arrived on a ship a few months earlier, smuggled out of Avanid like a criminal, which was a fairly accurate description of the young leopard.
Time had evolved her from lanky adolescent to something larger and more powerful.
But her eyes were the same pale gold as the cub Aisha had discovered in that den a year earlier.
The pair watched as she dropped into an exaggerated prowl, tail flicking, then sprang at a crab.
‘She has no respect for solemn occasions,’ Aisha said.
Tariq laughed quietly and shook his head. ‘As long as she’s not hunting the children, she’s welcome.’
Torches were passed down the line, and one by one, the lanterns lit up, their paper faces coming to life. The first to be released in the shallows were carried out by the families of the wall guards. Hands pressed to hearts as the flames bobbed free. More lanterns followed. Then more.
Aisha balanced her lantern against the breeze. The paper was pale blue, ringed with a delicate ink line of waves. One of the children had made it for her. She angled the lantern towards Tariq, and he shielded the small flame as he lit it.
‘This one’s for your mother,’ he said quietly.
The sting in her eyes was instant. She breathed her mama’s name into the flame as she walked into the shallow water and set it down. When she let the lantern go, the tide took it, the sea unhurried. It rocked gently, then drifted away to join the others.
Mira joined Aisha in the shallows, sending water spraying in all directions. ‘Stop,’ Aisha scolded, ushering her towards the sand.
A tut drew Aisha’s gaze over her shoulder. She found Farrah standing a few feet away.
‘She is a true menace,’ Farrah said.
A smile broke out on Aisha’s face. ‘Come, Your Majesty. We’ll light a lantern for King Hamza.’
Farrah’s lips flattened, and she looked like she would dismiss the offer. But then she walked over to Tariq, who took another lantern from a nearby basket and held it out to her. She accepted it with a small nod, the stiffness at her shoulders easing.
Aisha returned to the sand as Tariq lit it. He looked at her over the lantern’s glow, his lips briefly turning up in appreciation.
‘Must I get wet?’ Farrah asked.
‘Yes,’ Tariq and Aisha replied at the same time.
The three of them entered the water together, the hems of their clothing soaking up water as they did so.
Farrah placed the lantern in the water and whispered, ‘For King Hamza.’
The tide lifted it and carried it away, its light joining the slow, shimmering procession across the darkening sea.
A spray of foam rushed at their ankles, and Mira bounded after it with indecent enthusiasm. Farrah turned to the leopard. ‘Come, Mira. Before you soak all the lanterns.’ She clicked her tongue, and to Aisha’s absolute surprise, the leopard followed her back to the sand.
Further along the beach, Kaidon was crouched down, helping a young girl light the wick of a lantern twice the size of her head. When it finally blazed, she clapped and looked up at him as if he had kindled the sun.
‘This beach will never be a place of death again,’ Tariq said, staring out at the water. ‘From now on, it’s a place we come to remember who we are.’
‘And who we refuse to be,’ Aisha added.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him.
They stood for a long time, watching the lanterns and listening to the whisper of names around them as the sun continued to descend.
‘The Emperor won’t stop,’ Tariq said quietly. ‘Avanid’s under a blockade, even if no one’s brave enough to call it that.’
He was right, but she didn’t know what else they could do. They needed more support. Zara was, of course, working on that.
‘You need a counterweight he respects,’ Tariq said. ‘You need Cogalla.’
Aisha stifled a laugh. ‘Now that would be a great ally. If only Cogalla wasn’t entirely independent and their king averse to most people.’
Mira had escaped Farrah’s control and was now dragging a coil of rope she had stolen from gods only knew where across the sand. The sight drew laughter from the grieving.
‘She’ll not forgive me for the bath she’s about to need,’ Aisha said.
Tariq shook his head. ‘Good luck with that.’
Kaidon approached, his boots sinking into the damp sand. ‘Excuse me, Your Majesties, but I’ve just been informed that a ship has anchored.’ Something flickered beneath his serious expression. ‘The cargo has been brought safely ashore.’
Aisha tilted her head. ‘What cargo?’
Tariq pointed to the line of trees at the back of the beach. ‘That cargo.’
Aisha took a few steps forwards, focusing hard in the dark. There stood Maryam, smaller than Aisha remembered.
Their eyes locked, and a shocked laugh came from Aisha before she crossed the beach, skirts dragging through the wet sand. Maryam met her halfway, stopping a few feet away and bowing low, hand over her heart.
Aisha stepped forwards, pulling her into a hug. ‘Welcome home.’ She held Maryam’s small frame until Maryam hugged her back. There was no need for words, just silent recognition of all they had survived together and apart.
Maryam released her and stepped aside as Tariq appeared.
‘Queen Aisha’s looking forward to having you back in her service,’ he told her.
Maryam bowed her head. ‘I am honoured, Your Majesty.’
Mira bounded in, nearly bowling Maryam over with her overly enthusiastic greeting.
‘Safe to say she remembers you,’ Aisha laughed.
Once Mira had settled down, Aisha and Tariq returned to the water’s edge, watching the lanterns navigate the small waves. The tide reached for their feet, then slid away. Tariq took her hand again, and she marvelled at how his touch could reorder the world. Fingers wove through hers, palms meeting.
As the sun slipped below the horizon, a rider appeared on the beach, dismounting fast. A messenger. Kaidon strode across the beach towards the breathless man, and Aisha watched their exchange. When Kaidon looked in her direction, the change in his expression made her stomach drop.
‘Something’s wrong,’ Aisha said.
Tariq followed her line of sight to where Kaidon was now making his way over to them.
‘What is it?’ Tariq asked.
Kaidon waited until he was standing right in front of them before speaking. That was surely a bad sign. He looked at Aisha, an apology in his eyes. ‘Your Majesty.’
Her pulse slowed.
‘I’m sorry to inform you that Princess Lilah is missing,’ he said.
A wave broke, then retreated with a hiss. The last bit of light vanished, leaving behind a black sea and turning lanterns into stars.