Page 135 of Children of Virtue and Vengeance

The war is won.

But tears rise to my eyes as I squeeze my gut.Ojore…

Skies, he was my oldest friend.

“Do not grieve him.” Mother squeezes my hand. “Do not let that traitor twist your mind! After everything we did for that boy, you’d think he could show a modicum of restraint—”

“Restraint?” I yank my hands back, shooting up from the bed despite the agony it sends through my chest. “You killed his family. You killedhim!”

Mother narrows her eyes, coldness sharpening her features. “He attacked the king. That foolish boy killed himself.”

It’s the last sword in my gut. I’m surprised when I don’t feel blood. Ojore saved me more times than I could count. He needed me today.

But instead of backing him, I let him down.

I let Mother sacrifice him for the throne.

“He was right,” I whisper. “We’re poison.”

“We are rulers, Inan. We arevictors!” She speaks with such conviction. I hate how much I want to believe her words. To purge myself of this guilt. Remove this hollow pit in my chest.

“You did what was required of you. You stayed strong until the end. You won this war, and now you can rule your kingdom with grace. You can spread the peace you desire!”

She smiles at me, and in her expression, I finally see my truth.

I wanted to be the king my father couldn’t be.

All I did was finish his work.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE

AMARI

DENIAL IS ALL THAT I HAVE.

All that I am.

It carries me from blackened corpse to blackened corpse, to the message written on the mountain.

It doesn’t take long to find the place Inan and Mother planned their attack. The tunnel she dug beneath the ahéréthat they used to escape the village. While they drew our strongest warriors here, those we most needed to protect were left defenseless.

Behind me, maji crowd around Dakarai, watching the blurry frame that spreads between his hands. Almost a hundred of our maji and divîners sit in chains, bound inside a cell in the palace cellars.

Strike, Amari.

Father’s words taunt me as I stare at the bodies on the ground. Their lives were meant to be a sacrifice for Orïsha. Instead their senseless deaths don’t amount to anything.

Whether or not we concede, Inan has our army. We’re done.

Because of me, we’ve lost this war.

“Zél?”

I look up as Tzain enters the village center, covered in dirt from his fall. He sprints toward her, the only motion in the square filled withdozens of bodies. His relief rips through my heart. If it hadn’t been for Zélie’s bravery, I would’ve killed more people.

I would’ve killedher.

“I thought I lost you.” They’re the only words Tzain can muster before he sweeps her into his arms. He shakes as he cries into her shoulder, squeezing her so hard it has to hurt her. Zélie closes her eyes and holds him tight. But when her eyes open, they lock onto mine.

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