Leyti Kir-Taban is the former Queen of Shu Han. In Rule of Wolves, she reclaimed her throne.
Biography[]
Leyti abdicated. After her daughter Keyen died, she could have reclaimed the throne, but she gave her blessing to her granddaughter Makhi instead because she preferred to rusticate with her lovers and her roses in the Palace of the Thousand Stars.[1]
Rule of Wolves[]
Ehri and Tamar Kir-Bataar go to Ehri's grandmother for protection. Upon learning this, Makhi threatens Leyti's life, and Ehri and Tamar tell her they left the former queen under the guard of cadre of Grisha and her own Tavgharad.[2] Her own Tavgharad will never raise a hand to a former queen, so Makhi sends khergud soldiers to kill Leyti. This allows Tamar to track her line of communication to the secret laboratory where khergud are created.[3]
Ehri and Tamar had already evacuated and hidden Leyti, however. After Makhi's crimes are exposed, Leyti rescinds her blessing and reclaims the throne.[4] She announces she will remain queen until one of her great-grandchildren is old enough to reign with Makhi and Ehri as their regents. Leyti has learned Keyen intended for Ehri to be her heir, and she threatens Makhi with the revelation of her usurpation should she cause trouble.
Tamar asks Leyti for military aid, but Leyti refuses in spite of the help Ravka and Nikolai Lantsov have given her family. She reveals she made a pact with the Fjerdans that they will honor the border should Fjerda occupy Ravka. Tamar warns her about the threat of Fjerda, but Leyti insists it is not their war. Yet Leyti's refusal to acknowledge the khergud allows them to fight for Ravka.[5]