The Oleander Sword (The Burning Kingdoms, #2)

by Tasha Suri

In the pink lantern district, where there had once been nothing but pleasure houses, was a library. Nestled between rows of lantern-strung buildings, it was a modest building with pale walls and narrow windows, its interior pleasantly cool, and filled with the noise of rustling paper, distant strains of song and laughter from the pleasure houses, and the hum of voices reciting the Birch Bark Mantras. Ever since she and Priya had taken over leadership of Ahiranya, Bhumika had made a point of investing in the arts in a way she had never been able to do as the regent’s wife. Even when there had been precious little coin to spare, she had arranged for a library to be built, where sages and poets could study, and share their work, and keep their creations safely stored. Under Parijatdvipan rule, it was the scholars and artists who had kept the memory of Ahiranyi faith and culture alive. The Birch Bark Mantras had survived in their recitations—in handwritten copies, hidden by household after household. Bhumika understood very well that to build a new Ahiranya would require strong foundations. A nation could not survive without food—but it could not survive without a soul either. Kritika may have believed the Hirana was where the soul of Ahiranya lay. But in Bhumika’s eyes, it was here.