Page 151 of Children of Virtue and Vengeance

BOOM!

The rumble freezes us where we stand.

It doesn’t ring like an explosion.

It roars like a lionaire.

Alarms blare as bursts of rainbow light flash in the distance, drawing closer by the second. It’s then I see the hole in Lagos’s wall. My eyes widen when the realization hits. The elders…

They’ve come for the people we took.

“Run!” I shout. “Leave the palace now!”

The hall erupts in hysteria as people push against one another to escape. Goblets clank against the marble tiles. Tables crash to the ground as people run past.

“Get to safety!” I yell. “TheIyikaare coming—”

Screams ring as the throne room windows shatter.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE

AMARI

BROKEN GLASS SPARKLESlike diamonds, glittering as it arcs through the air. Jahi’s winds carry our fighters over the chaos, bringing us to the marble floors. It’s like waking up in a dream to land in the walls of my own home. I can’t see past the mass of bodies fleeing the throne room.

“Attack!”

Zélie’s command releases the storm. With a roar, the maji launch forward, unleashing their connected wrath. Imani levels a platoon with her rust-colored gas. Nâo turns barrels of wine into battering rams. Kenyon’s blaze rips through the painted ceiling, burning through the banners that hold Inan’s seal.

Magic tears through the throne room, destroying the beautiful cage. A pressure lifts from my chest when Kâmarushoots forward, ripping the golden throne in half.

“They’re holding them in the cellars!” Zélie calls back, pushing into the main hall. Nobles and guards get out of her way. Elders follow after her as she races toward the stairs.

I sprint toward her to help, but then I feel the ground shake. Behind me, Mother nearly tumbles down the stairs, unsteady on her legs. Her cape rips off of her neck, spreading across the marble steps.

“No!”she yells.

Mother’s shriek is like a prison cell closing me in. Looking at her, I see myself. The path she set me on. I think of all the blood she put on my hands. The look from Tzain I’ll never see again.

She clutches the wall for support, muscles shaking beneath her ripped gown. Horror fills her face as she takes in the scene, but it turns to hatred the moment she spots me.

“You.” She bares her teeth, pushing her weight back onto her trembling feet. I raise my hand to strike, but she wrenches a chunk of marble up from the ground and shoots it at me.

My stomach clenches as the slab rams into my core. The impact knocks me into the wall, stealing the breath from my throat.

I’ve barely hit the ground when Mother hobbles forward, punching out a shaking fist up that glows with green. A pillar of earth crashes through the marble floors and hits me square in the chest. I wheeze as it collides, reaching for my lungs.

The impact sends me flying across the marble floor. My head spins when I crash to the ground, rolling across the cracked tiles. My vision blurs as Mother closes in. I raise my hand before I can aim.

“Stop!”I scream.

The blue comet twists as it flies from my palm. Time seems to slow as it shoots through the air.

Mother raises her arm to defend, but it gives her no protection. A smothered grunt escapes her lips the moment my magic hits her. Her amber eyes bulge. I push myself up from the ground, coughing up blood.

Strike, Amari.

I stumble toward her, rage washing over my pain. Father’s voice echoes in my head, guiding me as I raise my hand.

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