Page 142 of Children of Virtue and Vengeance

“At least you finally look sorry.”

I snap my head up; Zélie stands on the other side of the stone bars.The mountain ledges cast half her face in shadow, but a light seems to shine from within.

“You’re alright…” I prop my hands up, but she’s so much more than that. It’s like a new fire burns in her heart. My skin almost prickles from the heat of its blaze.

“If you had known I was alive in the village, would you still have launched that attack?” she asks.

I shrink into myself. The truth carves out the last pieces of dignity I have.

“To win this war?” I close my eyes. “Yes.”

I put my hand to my mouth, not knowing if vomit or screams will come out. “There’s no excuse for what I did. I know you could never forgive me.” Facing her now is like a sledgehammer to the heart. It forces me to face the reality I’ve fought so hard to hide.

I am the child of King Saran. The daughter of Queen Nehanda.

I was raised to win at all costs, no matter who gets hurt in the process.

“We brought them back.” Zélie crosses her arms. “You don’t deserve to know, but every person you killed breathes again.”

“What?” I shake my head, unsure if I actually heard her. “They’re alive?”

“Each and every one.”

I stumble as the world falls out from under me again. Relief rips through the last parts of me that were still whole. I can’t believe my ears. I can’t stop the tears that fall.

“How?”

“We used the magic of the moonstone to connect. With our combined power, Khani healed their bodies. I brought them back to life again.” She looks at the golden tattoos on her skin, seeing something I can’t. “We’re going to use it to attack Lagos and bring down the crown.”

I rise, though my legs feel like water. “You’ll be slaughtered.”

“Not after we all connect. We’re going to end this war and destroy the monarchy once and for all. Even Nehanda won’t be able to stop us.”

Strike, Amari.

Father’s words shrivel in my chest. I don’t know what to say. What I should feel. The throne is where this all started. Perhaps it’s where this all ends. But the thought of the crown becoming nothing…

“You’ll throw Orïsha into chaos.” I shake my head. “The agony you’ll cause—”

“Anguish and anarchy are far better than the tyranny we’ve known,” Zélie says. “The future of Orïsha will no longer be corrupted by a crown.”

She frowns and I see the pity in her gaze.

She thinks that’s what happened to me.

I will be a better queen…

I release the vow I can never fulfill. I’ve gone beyond losing this war.

I’ve completely lost the right to lead.

“When do you leave?” I ask.

“Tonight.”

“After you connect?”

Zélie’s mouth falls open, but no words escape. The purpose of her visit becomes clear.

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