Excerpt from Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Of course she did." I bite my tongue before I curse my sister in front of my fellow Shields. It was months of hurtful speculation after Atheer died. The last thing I need is people realizing Amira is on a wayward path of her own and deeming it a worthy topic of conversation.

I signal the smoking stable hand to fetch my horse. "So you let her go on her own?" I ask, turning back to Dalila.

"Let her? No, Amira almost killed me shoving me out of the saddle when I refused to go any further. She stole my horse!"

"Please, lower your voice." I feign a casual smile at a group of Shields marching past.

"Sorry. Just, please save her. Amira's not been herself since ... you know."

"I know." The stable hand emerges with my silver filly, Badr, shining in the morning sun. I hoist into the cool saddle. "Go back to school, Dalila. I'll make sure she's safe."

Or I will die trying. I snap the reins and ride to the barrack gates.

2

I gallop Stealing Qalia's twisting streets, dodging crowds fanning in colorful silks between carriages agleam with brass and gold fittings. The enormous city is a sun-splashed labyrinth of date palms and sandstone minarets; long, breezy arcades; and spacious villas with verdant gardens on their roofs. But I was born and raised here, and I know it like the lines in my palm. I quickly navigate the quieter back lanes and leave the gilded gates behind, traversing grasslands west to the Forbidden Wastes.

Excerpted from Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim. Copyright © 2023 by Maiya Ibrahim. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.