Page 71 of Children of Virtue and Vengeance

The Burner’s anger does little to hide the terror I know we all feel. I want to say something, but it’s hard to focus over the ringing in my ears. I don’t know if the noise is from seeing Inan or the chaos of making it into the scroll room. I reach back for the tattoos on my neck. The swirling marks are still hot to the touch.

“Jahi!” Dakarai shouts. I turn as the Winder falls to the floor, body shaking from the toll of his cyclone. Dakarai kneels to check him out.

“That tîtán,” Jahi pants. “The way she moved…”

Gods,I shake my head.

We’re doomed.

“Mâzeli, are you alright?” I turn to find my Second still standing in front of the spot where the wall slid apart. The soldier’s bloody forearm lies on the floor.

“Don’t worry.” I wipe the splatter of blood from his cheek and force him to turn around. “I’ll get us out of here. I promise.”

I place my fingers along the wall’s cool metal interior, temperature falling as my magic fades. A tingle erupts when I lay my palm flat. The same sensation used to crawl up my skin at Inan’s touch.

“Did you hear Inan?” Amari’s voice shakes. “He told them not to attack—”

“That bastard came here with half the godsforsaken military!” Kenyon snaps. “He’s not here to make peace!”

“Everyone shut up!” Mâzeli’s high-pitched voice rings over everyone else’s. His hands still shake, but he stands his ground, silencing us all. “We got in here despite the odds. We can figure a way out. But we need to stick together and collect these scrolls!”

He takes in the sacred library, prompting us all to do the same. The last time I was here, I was flung over Tzain’s shoulder; the rush of newly awakened magic masked my other senses. What I thought were walls of gold are actually a reflective substance I’ve never encountered. It lights the room with a soft orange glow, like the color of sunsets melted into a glassy stone.

“If my father could see this…” Kâmarureleases a low whistle, sitting on the ground. Shelves that stretch to the domed ceiling encircle us, each filled with thin, brightly colored scrolls.

Mâzeli inspects the case with the Reaper baajis, running his hands over the gaps that once housed the scrolls Lekan gifted me. But even with those gone, dozens of incantations fill the shelves.

With these scrolls, theIyikacould become an unstoppable force.

“Kâmaru.” Amari kneels by the Grounder’s side, concern creasing her forehead. His eyes drift in and out of focus as he presses a hand to his heaving chest. “If we wait for you to recover, could you break through this substance and tunnel us out?”

“It’s not earth or metal.” He shakes his head. “I’ve never felt anything like this.”

Amari runs a hand through her disheveled hair before turning to Dakarai instead. “Can you use the same incantation to find a path out the front entrance?”

“I suppose.” Dakarai treads with care. “But it’d be hard to do with the soldiers—”

“Don’t worry about them,” she cuts him off. “Everyone, fill the bags with as many scrolls as you can. Kenyon, burn the rest.”

“Amari, you can’t!” I whip around, blinking as the ringing sensation in my ears grows louder. My tattoos hum at the sight of her. I shake my head as my vision blurs.

“These are sacred incantations,” I explain. “Histories of our people that will be lost to time!”

“This is war.” She meets my impassioned words with a cold stare. “These areweapons. Do you really want to leave these sacred incantations in the monarchy’s hands?”

Her words sting, though I know she’s right. A solemn air fills the room as we look at the hundreds of scrolls, silently calculating how many will have to burn.

“How do we know which ones to choose?” Mâzeli asks.

“Just make sure you take the same amount of scrolls for other clans,” Amari says. “No matter who’s present, all the maji need these weapons.”

She removes her leather sack and walks to the Connector shelf, but pauses when nobody moves.

“What are you waiting for?” Amari circles her hand. “Let’s get the scrolls and get out of here!”

Though a few bristle at her orders, Amari’s conviction brings a calm to the chaos. One by one, we all follow her, filling the bags as if troops weren’t waiting beyond the wall.

“Whatever you feel about Inan, don’t act on it today.” Amari comes to my side. “If not for me, then for Mâzeli’s sake. Getting out of here will require your full attention.”

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