Page 109 of Children of Virtue and Vengeance

In the back of the room, Nâo and her Second chant in unison. Using magic, they lift liters of palm wine from thick barrels and pour the sweet drink into tin cups. Tahir and the other Welders start to chant, distributing each cup through the crowd.

One floats into my hand just as Mama Agba raises hers in the air. When the dozens of cups meet her toast, I feel everything we’ve been fighting for. In my Orïsha, we will craft sanctuaries throughout the land. We shall gather and celebrate as one.

“You have done all you can to prepare. The rest lies in the gods’ hands. Tomorrow you fight.” Mama Agba tips her glass. “Tonight, you live.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

AMARI

WITHIN HOURS, music and laughter bounce against the sanctuary walls. Palm wine runs free. Na’imah’s rich melodies fill the dining hall as she sings. I smile to myself as I lean against a table, taking in the bodies that fill the dance floor. If I breathe in hard enough I can almost smell the sweet scent of hope that fills the air.

“Come on!” Nâo nudges me from the side, radiant in a long blue dress. “It’s your party, for gods’ sakes. Grab a cup of wine!”

She snaps her fingers and a Welder floats a tin cup into my hands. She knocks our cups together, throwing her arm around my neck.

“To victory!” she shouts.

“To victory,” I repeat. I take a sip, enjoying the way the word tastes on my lips.

“If I decide to let you be queen, you’d better throw more celebrations like this.”

Though she jokes, her words catch me off guard. Up until now, Zélie’s the one they’ve wanted on my throne.

“Na’imah!”

Music draws to a halt as the loud scream echoes through the hall. I jerk forward, ready to fight, when Kenyon barrels his way through the crowd. His locs spill onto his bare chest. He falls to his knees before the stage.

“Na’imah, I love you!”

“For gods’ sakes.” Na’imah hides her face in her hands as the snickers ring through the crowd. “Kenyon, you’re drunk!”

“I know! But it’s still true!”

“Mo fi àwon òrìsà búra—”Na’imah stomps down from the stage as the music resumes. She starts to yell, but then Kenyon pulls a battered bouquet of sunflowers from his belt. Even she can’t help but smile.

Nâo throws her head back at the scene, cackling with laughter. “You’ve done good work,” she urges me on. “Have some fun.”

I wait for her to disappear before setting my cup down. Father wouldn’t drink before battle. Neither can I. More memories of him fill my mind as I drift through the crowd. I wonder if he would be proud of what I’ve done. The ruler I’ve become.

“I sense something…”

I stop as I stumble into a group of people gathered around Mama Agba. She sits in a colorful tent while Folake generates twinkling lights behind her head. People smile as Mama Agba lifts her chin, peeking out at the crowd through a poorly hidden squint.

“Why, I sense a great and powerful elder has entered my presence!”

Every eye falls on me and my cheeks heat. I try to move along, but others force me into Mama Agba’s tent.

“Come, Elder Amari.” She takes my hand in both her own. “Let me search what the stars have in mind for you!”

I can’t hide my laughter as Mama Agba shakes and shimmies like the false prophets that fill Lagos’s streets. Her hands arc in broad, sweeping motions, dancing around Folake’s rainbow lights. Though she can’t cast real incantations anymore without putting her health at risk, she gives us the next best thing.

“You have great battles ahead.” Mama Agba nods. “Great victories, too! And, oh my… I’m seeing something else!”

“Tell us, Mama Agba!” a divîner demands.

“What is it?” I play along.

“I see… great love.”

---