Page 53 of Children of Virtue and Vengeance

“Who’s next?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

AMARI

I’M SURPRISED AT THE LONGINGin my heart that follows Zélie’s ascension to Reaper elder. The celebration goes for hours, taking us deep into the night.

I watch with Tzain as she’s celebrated through the sanctuary’s mountain, every maji and divîner clamoring for her attention. All the while, her three Reapers crowd around her like ducklings, never more than an arm’s length away.

Even before Mother interrupted my rally, the support of the Orïshans didn’t touch the boundless joy of these maji. I wonder what it would be like to be embraced like that. To actually have a place where you belong.

“I wish Baba could see this.” Tzain smiles. “Mama, too. I haven’t seen Zél laugh like that since before the Raid. Growing up, she was always happiest around Mama’s clan.”

I nod, beginning to understand what it means to be an elder. All this time I assumed it was like occupying the throne, but now I realize that it’s so much more. It isn’t simply a position of power. An elder forms the foundation of their clan’s home.

Across the bloodstone, Ramaya sits within her circle of Connectors, more like a mother than a cruel general. A young divîner puts a lily in her forest of curls. Ramaya’s scar crinkles as she smiles.

I look down at my scarred hands, wondering if I will ever be allowed to sit among them. It feels like I could be as strong as my mother and they still wouldn’t accept me.

A sharp bell echoes through the mountains, quieting all celebration at once. The majority of the maji seem to know what it signifies, but Zélie and I exchange a look.

People go still as a Burner runs over the stone bridge, metallic red armor splattered with blood.

“What’s wrong?” Ramaya rises.

“It’s Lagos.” The Burner slows to a stop. “Our soldiers are gone.”

The Burner’s words suck the air from everyone’s lungs. Ramaya’s thick brows furrow as she steps forward.

“What do you mean, gone?”

“The king struck back,” the Burner pants. “He and the tîtáns decimated our camp. By night’s end, they’ll reopen their roads. They’re already reestablishing military communication.”

The mountain erupts in chatter as everyone reacts to the loss. What was once a scene of boundless joy suffocates under the changing tides of war.

This is their fault. I clench my fist, thinking the words I can never speak aloud. Where would we be if they’d taken Inan’s offer? If they’d simply heard me out?

“Elders,” Ramaya calls, drawing each leader to the center of the bloodstone. I rise and get close, trying to catch their new plan.

“What do we do now?” Kâmaru’s iron leg groans as he nears. “It won’t be long before they get reinforcements.”

“There’s still a chance we can overwhelm them if we strike fast.” Ramaya turns to Zélie when she joins them. “What do you think? Do you feel strong enough to take on the queen?”

I force myself into the circle before Zélie can respond, drawing glares from every elder.

“To rush into an attack would be a mistake. If I can contact my brother, I can see if he’s still open to peace—”

Ramaya pushes me so hard, I fall onto the stone. The mountain quiets at once. My cheeks burn as she gets in my face.

“Your brother just slaughtered our soldiers.” Her scar crinkles with her glare. “Interrupt us again, and I’ll send him your head!”

Zélie meets my eye, warning me to back down. But I can’t stay quiet. If they couldn’t take my mother down before, there’s no way they can take her down now. They’re plotting their own demise.

Tzain comes to my side, helping me onto my feet. Concern shines in his warm brown eyes as he guides me away from the circle of elders.

“Just tell Zélie what you want,” he says. “She’ll listen.”

“No, she won’t.” I shake my head. “None of them will.”

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