Page 160 of Children of Blood and Bone

I nod, for once not fearing the fight. I was the Lionaire once.

For Tzain and Zélie, I shall be her again.

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

ZÉLIE

MAJACITE CUFFS SCALDmy skin, searing straight through my wrists and ankles. The black chains suspend me above the floor of my jail cell, making it impossible for me to cast an incantation. Sweat drips down my skin as another warm blast funnels through the vent. The heat must be intentional.

Heat will make the coming pain worse.

Live…Lekan’s words echo, a taunt as I face my death.

I told him it was a mistake. I told him, I told everyone. I begged them not to waste this chance on me; now look what I’ve done. I laughed and spun and kissed as the king prepared our slaughter.

Metal-soled boots clank outside. I flinch as they near my door. It would be easier if my cell had bars. At least then I could prepare myself. But they’ve locked me in an iron box. Only two burning torches keep me from being left in the dark.

Whatever they plan to do, they intend to hide it even from the guards.

I swallow hard, a feeble attempt to quench my dry mouth.You’ve done this before, I remind myself,more times than you can count. For a moment I ponder whether Mama Agba’s constant lashings weren’t to punish, but to prepare. She beat me so often I got good at taking it, good atloosening my body to minimize the aches. Could she sense that my life would end this way?

Dammit.Tears sting my eyes at the shame of all the corpses I’ve left in my wake. Little Bisi. Lekan. Zulaikha.

Their sacrifice will never amount to anything.

This is all my fault.We never should have stayed. Somehow we must’ve led the army to that camp. Without us, they might still be alive. Zu could’ve survived.…

My thoughts slow.

Tzain’s glare flashes into my mind. My heart seizes at the thought. Could Inan have done this?

No.

My throat burns with the fear I choke back like bile. He wouldn’t. After everything we’ve been through, he couldn’t. If he wanted to betray me, he had countless opportunities. He could’ve made off with the scroll without taking all those innocent lives away.

Amari’s face overtakes Tzain’s, her amber eyes dripping with pity.Either he’s about to betray us or something else is taking place.

Inan’s smile breaks through their hate, the soft gaze he gave me before we kissed. But it blackens and it twists and it burns until it wraps around my throat with the strength of his grip—

“No!” I close my eyes, remembering the way he held me in his armsHe saved me.Twice. And he tried to save me again. He didn’t do this. He couldn’t have.

A clink sounds.

The first lock outside my door opens. I brace myself for pain, holding on to the last good things I have left.

At least Tzain is alive. At least he and Amari survived. With Nailah’s speed, they had to have gotten away. I have to focus on that. One thing turned out alright. And Baba…

The threat of tears burns behind my eyes as I remember the crooked grin I prayed I would see once more. When he finds out about this, he’ll never smile again.

I close my eyes as the tears fall, stinging like tiny knives. I hope he’s dead.

I hope he never experiences that pain.

The final lock unhinges and the door groans open. I steel myself.

But when Inan fills the entryway, my every defense breaks.

My body jolts against the chains as the little prince walks in, flanked by two lieutenants. After days of seeing him in muted kaftans and borrowed dashikis, I forgot how cold he looks in a guard’s uniform.

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