The Jasmine Throne (The Burning Kingdoms, #1)

by Tasha Suri

a mother of flame: Divyanshi, Ahamara, Nanvishi, Suhana, Meenakshi.

a nameless princess of Alor, commonly referred to only as Alori;

high-blooded lady, Narina, daughter of a notable mathematician from Srugna and a highborn Parijati mother.

She stood in the court, her head unadorned and her hair wild, like a living curse.

He did not hold her tight. He did not harm her. He was not a monster.

She was oddly disappointed to realize that all those highborn boys who had boasted to her brothers about being able to bed a dozen women the moment you set foot in Ahiranya for the price of a single Parijati pearl had been grossly exaggerating.

What do you want from me? And even more dangerous. What do I want from you?

So Emperor Chandra intends to purify our women, she thought, with forced detachment. How generous of him, to murder us thus.

The rage had passed through her, after all, and now they were all still here.

“Sometimes you must allow your pride and virtues to fall away in order to win the war,”

“And was it not treason, to try to depose the emperor?” “If I had succeeded, it would not have been,”

“I’m hallucinating,” Malini said impatiently. “Do keep up, Priya.”

“Bad news, my lady.” “Tell me.” “Your husband lives.”

inherently, by your nature, unable to serve your purpose? To want, simply because you want, to love simply for the sake of love?”

“This face. This face right in front of me. The face you’ve shown me, the fact that you kissed me. I know it. I know you,” said Priya. “I know exactly who you are. There are other versions of you that I don’t know. But this one…” Her fingers were against Malini’s lips. “This one is mine.”

“You shouldn’t be so rude to women holding knives,”

“It’s odd how you never want to fight, and yet you always do.”

Lan Zhan bunny, Wei Ying bunny, and Asami—you can’t read because you’re animals, but thank you all the same for supporting me by being fluffy and cute, I guess.