Sitara nearly surrenders to the empress’s masterful machinations. Can she steel her resolve? Continue reading →

We don’t immediately get to see what Boraqchin discussed with Toregene. Instead, we dive headfirst into the war between the Mongols and the Jin Dynasty. Continue reading →

Sitara is roped into cataloguing the results of the Mongols’ pillaging. After all, they’re warriors (and butchers), so most of them can’t read or write. Hell, maybe all of them. Basically, they need people like Sitara to help them keep an extensive record of what they’ve stolen. In the process, Sitara stumbles upon a book on alchemy — a book that might contain a magical cure-all. Continue reading →

Like a lot of women back in the day — and still now in a lot of places, I suppose — Toregene was just property. Continue reading →

Princess Sorghaghtani wants Sitara to become her spy, but she doesn’t sic the latter on the Great Kha’an. Instead, she wants the girl to spy on Chagatai. Continue reading →