Page 162 of Children of Blood and Bone

Inan grimaces, face splitting with pain. His soldiers. His men. Our undoing once again.

“Zélie, I know.” His voice breaks. “I know. Every time I close my eyes, her body is all I can see.”

I look away, fighting back fresh tears. Zu’s bright smile fills my mind, her endless joy, her light. We should’ve been halfway to Zaria by now. She and Kwame should still be alive.

“They shouldn’t have attacked,” Inan whispers. “Zulaikha deserved a chance. But the soldiers thought you were using the scroll to create a maji army. And after what Kwame did…”

Inan’s voice trails off. All the grief that filled him before seems to shrink, overpowered by fear.

“Kwame took out three platoons in seconds. Burned them alive. He incinerated that camp. We’d probably be dead if he hadn’t burned out himself.”

I rear back in disgust. What in gods’ names is he talking about? “Kwame sacrificed himself to protect us!”

“But imagine how it looked to the guards.” Inan speaks quickly. “I know Kwame’s intentions were pure, but he took it too far. For years we’ve been warned about magic like that. What Kwame did was worse than anything Father’s ever said!”

I blink, searching Inan’s face. Where is the future king who was ready to save the maji? The prince who threw himself in front of flames to keep me safe? I don’t know this boy, afraid, making excuses for everything he claimed to hate. Or maybe I know him too well.

Maybe this is the truth: the broken little prince.

“Make no mistake, the attack was an abomination. I know we’ll have to deal with it. But right now we have to act. The soldiers are terrified a maji like Kwame will attack again.”

“Good.” I squeeze my chains to hide the tremor in my hands. “Let them be afraid.”

Let them taste the terror they make us swallow.

“Zélie, please.” Inan grits his teeth. “Don’t choose this. We can still unite our people. Workwithme and I’ll find a way for you to return to Lagos. We’ll save Orïsha with something safer, something without magic—”

“What’s wrong with you?” My shout echoes against the walls. “There’s nothing to save! After what they just did, there’s nothing at all!”

Inan stares at me, a flash of tears in his eyes. “You think I want this? You think after planning a new kingdom with you I wantthis?” I see my own grief reflected in his eyes. The death of our dream. The future Orïsha will never see. “I thought things could be different. Iwantedthem to be different. But after what we just saw, we have no choice. We can’t give people that kind of power.”

“There’s always a choice,” I hiss. “And your guards made theirs. If they were scared of magic before, they should be terrified now.”

“Zélie, don’t add your body to the dead. That scroll is the only way I convinced them to keep you alive. If you don’t tell us how to destroy it—”

Another click sounds through the door. Inan steps back just as it opens.

“Did I say you could ente—”

His voice falters. The color drains from his face.

“Father?” Inan’s lips part in surprise.

Even without his crown, it’s impossible not to recognize the king.

He enters like a storm, the air darkening in his presence. A wave of emotions hits me as the door swings shut. I forget how to breathe as I meet the soulless eyes of the man who murdered Mama.

Gods, help me.

I don’t know if I’m in a dream or a nightmare. My skin heats with a rage like I’ve never known, yet my pulse thunders with fear. Since the early days after the Raid I’ve pictured this moment, imagined what it would be like to meet him face-to-face. I’ve orchestrated his death so many times in my mind I could fill a tome detailing all the ways he should die.

King Saran rests his hand on Inan’s shoulder. His son flinches, as if waiting for a blow. Despite everything, the flash of terror in Inan’s eyes pains me. I’ve seen him broken before, but this is a side of him I don’t know.

“The guards tell me you tracked her to the uprising.”

Inan stands up straight and clenches his jaw.

“Yes, sir. I’m in the middle of an interrogation. If you leave us, I’ll get the answers we need.”

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