Page 112 of Children of Blood and Bone

I don’t understand. Who were those masked fighters? What were they after? They moved so fast, there was no way we could’ve avoided them.

Unless you kept running…

The truth puts a bitter tang on my tongue. Even the fastest mask would be nothing compared to Nailah’s speed. If we had just ridden off on Nailah, the men couldn’t have ambushed us. Amari and my brother would be safe. But I ignored Tzain’s warning and he paid the price.

Tzain’s always paying my price.

When I ran after the guards who took Mama, he weathered their beatings to drag me back. When I saved Amari from Lagos, he gave up his home, his team, his past. And when I decide to fight Inan, it’s not me who gets taken. It’s him. Always Tzain paying for my mistakes.

Get up, a voice rings through my head, harsher than it’s ever been.Go after Tzain and Amari. Get them back now.

Whoever these masked men are, they’ve made a fatal mistake. One I will ensure is their last.

Though my body feels like lead, I drag myself to my feet and go over to where Inan and the masked figure lie.

Inan leans against a trunk, face pinched, still clutching his chest. When he sees me, he wraps his hand around the hilt of his sword, but still he doesn’t attack.

Whatever fire he summoned to fight me is extinguished; in its ashes, dark circles have formed under his eyes. He seems smaller than he did before. His bones pull against his blanched skin.

He’s fighting it.…The realization sets in as the air around me chills. He’s pushing down his magic.

He’s making himself weak again.

But why?I stare at him, confusion gathering by the second. Why did he cut me from that net? Why isn’t he raising his sword against me again?

The “why” doesn’t matter, the harsh voice rings inside my head. Regardless of his reasons, I’m still alive.

If I waste any more time, my brother could end up dead.

I turn away from Inan and press my foot to the masked boy’s chest. Part of me itches to unmask him, but this will be easier if I can’t see his face. He seemed like a giant when he dragged me through the forest. Now his limp body looks frail. Perfectly weak.

“Where’d you take them?” I ask.

The boy stirs but stays silent.Wrong choice.

Worst choice.

I reach for my dropped staff and thrust down, smashing the bones in his hand. Inan’s head snaps up as the boy lets out a violent howl that echoes into the night.

“Answer me!” I yell. “Where’d you take them?”

“I don’t—agh!” His screams grow louder, but they’re not loud enough. I want to hear him cry. I want to see him bleed.

I let my staff fall and pull my dagger from my waistband.Tzain’s dagger…

The memory of him placing it in my hands before I walked into Lagos breaks through my grief.

Just in case, he said that day.

Just in case I endangered him.

“Tell me!” My eyes sting. “Where’s the girl? Where’s my brother? Where’s yourcamp?”

The first strike is intentional, a cut in the arm to get him to talk. But when the blood flows, something snaps, something feral I can’t contain.

The second strike is quick, the third passes too fast to follow. The darkest part of my rage breaks free as I slash him again and again, drowning out all my pain.

“Where are they?” I thrust my knife into his hand as the corners of my vision blur. Mama vanishes into the darkness. Tzain’s netted body follows after her. “Answer me!” I shriek, pulling the blade up once more. “Where’d they take him?Where’s my brother?”

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