Page 124 of Children of Virtue and Vengeance

He grants me a vision.

Time stills as the moments before the explosion push through the fog in my mind. I see the flash of red. I smell the scent of gas that burned my nostrils.

The ring of bombs go off behind Roën’s head, exploding the tunnel walls and sending us into this abyss. I couldn’t make sense of it at the time, but there were so many explosions. Enough to wipe out an army. Enough to wipe outourarmy.

No…

My head spins as the realization takes hold. We didn’t just trigger an attack.

We walked right into a trap.

The truth is like another boulder falling onto my chest. We thought we held the advantage, but somehow the monarchy knew we were coming. They knew we would take this path.

If they set this trap below, what other dangers lie above? What traps have they set for our people marching past Lagos? The maji and diviners are nearly defenseless.

All of our elders are here!

“Nana—”

My body goes numb with dread as Sky Mother’s song vibrates through my skin. Though Mâzeli’s silhouette draws back, the warm embrace of death reaches for me as my lungs collapse. Fire burns as water rushes down my throat, suffocating me from within. It stings more than any pain I’ve ever known. More than my body can hold.

Everything inside me screams to give in. To fall into the blackness. To end the suffering.

But beyond the pain, I see the gap between Mári’s two front teeth. The patch of discoloration around Bimpe’s brown lips.

I see the faces of every Reaper I’ve yet to meet. I see my brother’s laugh. I see Amari and the other elders.

The monarchy we must find a way to beat.

The pain is too much to take, yet the same agony spurs me on. The pain I’ve been so afraid to feel is how I know I’m still alive.

It’s how I know there’s still something inside me that can fight.

? t?nná agbára yin.

The tattoos on my skin ignite with golden light as I invoke the command in my head. As they heat me in the ice of the water, I allow them to amplify the little lifeforce I have left.

A silent scream escapes in bubbles as I roar. Though I have nothing left to give, I push with all that I am.

My leg sears as stone cuts to the bone, scraping the flesh from my shin. With a gasp, my leg breaks free. My arms start to move.

Water fights me as I kick off the lake floor, following that one command. Tzain. Amari. Roën.

If I die now, they don’t stand a chance.

Live.

Every muscle in my body falls limp, depleted of all oxygen. But I lift a shaking hand, picturing every one of my Reapers.

A purple glow cuts through the darkness, rumbling as shadows twist from my fingers. They latch onto something above, pulling me up through the water.

As I rise, it all falls away. Every ounce of pain. Mâzeli’s final words. Baba’s smile. The chain they wrapped around Mama’s neck.

I choke as I leave every scar they carved onto my heart behind and break through the water’s surface.

Live.

I want to live.

---