Liah left the palace, the dagger still lying beside the Empress. She could hear the enemy clamoring at the gates, and she knew the Empress’s fate was sealed. Someone somewhere beyond her world had made a decision.
Calmly, Liah walked down the mountainside. The wooden boxes were all empty. She had taken all the bones and given them proper burials. Those souls might rest now. Sadly, the bones in the tiny box would never find peace.
She passed the fields of sorghum and millet—no longer soured with evil—now bright gold and ready for harvest. She paused only briefly at the crossroads where she had met the Lie-peddler so long ago, and then entered the ancient forest.
Halfway through it, she stopped. She reached into her satchel and took out the box. She placed it on the edge of the path, looked up, and smiled.
A figure stood half-hidden in shadow, a white beast at its side. Liah waved.
The figure waved back.