Queen_malikamp4

"The Fire-Stalkers believe they are fighting a girl," Malika told the leaders. "They will learn they are fighting the dragon of the savannah. We do not hide behind stone walls. We ride."

Malika turned, her eyes reflecting the orange glow of the distant fires. She gripped the hilt of her ancestral blade, The Sun-Shard . queen_malikamp4

Malika didn't look back at her advisors. She focused on the horizon, where the smoke of burning villages stained the sky. "The Fire-Stalkers believe they are fighting a girl,"

The dust of the savannah hadn't settled, but Queen Malika stood unmoving atop the highest terrace of the Azzazian citadel. Below her, the coalition of tribal leaders argued, their voices rising like the desert wind. They doubted the 17-year-old queen could hold the line against the encroaching Fire-Stalkers. We ride

She descended the stone steps, her armored skirts clinking. As she reached the center of the gathering, she drew the blade, the metal catching the setting sun.

"Surrender is not a strategy, Gidi. It is a waiting room for death," Malika said, her voice calm but carrying across the terrace, silencing the argument below.