Prologue
Seyara stumbled through the darkness, one hand pressed against her abdomen while the other pushed desperately through the forest bushes.
Her legs trembled beneath her.
She was bleeding heavily. She had given birth only hours ago, yet there was no time to rest. No time to recover.
Behind her, palace soldiers were searching the forest.
They were not looking for an enemy.
They were looking for her.
And they had been ordered to kill her.
The drums of Nayara thundered through the night.
For generations, those drums had announced births, weddings, festivals and victories.
Tonight, they sang a different song.
A song of warning.
A song of death.
The people of Nayara heard them from their homes, but no one dared step outside.
Something terrible had happened inside the palace.
Something that would change the kingdom forever.
Seyara stumbled.
Her knees nearly gave way.
She caught herself against the trunk of a tree and fought to remain standing.
Her breath came in short, painful gasps.
Her thoughts went to her newborn son.
Please be safe.
She had wanted to hold him.
She had wanted to stay.
But she knew that if she stayed, they would kill him too.
A branch snapped somewhere behind her.
Seyara froze.
The soldiers were close.
She pushed herself away from the tree and ran.
She didn't know where she was going.
She didn't know if she would survive the night.
But she knew one thing.
She had to live.
Because one day.,..
She had to return.
Hours passed before Seyara finally saw something through the darkness.
Water.
The sacred river.
The River of Remembrance.
For generations, the people of Nayara had believed that the river remembered every oath spoken beside its waters.
And tonight, Vaelira came to it with blood on her hands.
She stumbled toward the riverbank and fell to her knees.
For a moment, she could do nothing but breath.
Her hands trembled.
Then she slowly lowered one bloodied hand into the water.
The river rippled around her fingers.
Seyara lifted her eyes toward the distant glow of her burning kingdom.
Her voice shook.
But she spoke.
In Ayaré.
Sela mi na Aya.
Meya mi na Moro.
Ravaya mi... se Tali.
Then she translated the ancient words herself, so that even the night would remember them.
My blood belongs to this land.
My soul belongs to this crown.
I will return... with justice.
The river carried her words into the darkness.
And the people of Nayara would remember them for generations.
The oath had been spoken.
The promise had been made.
Vaelira pulled her hand from the water and forced herself to stand.
Then she continued into the darkness.
She walked until her legs could carry her no farther.
The forest eventually gave way to the outskirts of a neighboring village.
Vaelira barely made it past the first few houses before her vision blurred.
The last thing she remembered was falling.
Then everything went black.
When she opened her eyes again...
She was no longer alone.
A man was standing beside her.
A stranger.
At least...
that's what she thought.
