Tiger Queen by Annie Sullivan

Kateri promised her mother that she would protect their people. It's a promise made harder by the ongoing drought and the rebel group known as the Desert Boys. When she finds her father has arranged a marriage for her, she runs into the desert to try to keep that promise.

Annie Sullivan writes another story reimaging a famous story. Her last one was the story of King Midas; this is a short story called The Lady and the Tiger. She builds up an interesting mythology around it, but I could have done without the love story; these characters know each other for a handful of days before our POV character is thinking about how she can't live without him. The bad guy was pretty obvious right from the start, but the fight scenes were well done and action packed. It's an interesting read, all in all. 

In the mythical desert kingdom of Achra, an ancient law forces sixteen-year-old Princess Kateri to fight in the arena to prove her right to rule. For Kateri, winning also means fulfilling a promise to her late mother that she would protect her people, who are struggling through windstorms and drought. The situation is worsened by the gang of Desert Boys that frequently raids the city wells, forcing the king to ration what little water is left. The punishment for stealing water is a choice between two doors: behind one lies freedom, and behind the other is a tiger.

But when Kateri’s final opponent is announced, she knows she cannot win. In desperation, she turns to the desert and the one person she never thought she’d side with. What Kateri discovers twists her world—and her heart—upside down. Her future is now behind two doors—only she’s not sure which holds the key to keeping her kingdom and which releases the tiger.