The Lotus Empire

Old magic is waking in Ahiranya, and the kingdom's foundations are cracking. Empress Malini faces a hard bargain: she can climb onto a pyre and burn, which wins her the priesthood's backing, or she can find another person to die in her place.

Priya survived the deathless waters, and the yaksa beneath them has since chosen her as a sacrifice. The being offers to guard the land, but it wants a price for that protection.

Malini and Priya were allies once. Now they stand on opposite sides of a single dispute over what power should be allowed to cost, and over who should be made to pay it.

An ancient enemy then rises against both of their kingdoms. The two women have to put their quarrel aside, or watch everything they have fought for fall.

This is the third and final book of the Burning Kingdoms trilogy, which began with The Jasmine Throne and continued with The Oleander Sword. The story moves between several points of view.