Page 117 of Children of Anguish and Anarchy

But I can still offer her this.

Petition Mama Gaia.Mae’e’s words return as I reach the mountaintop.Exchange her breath of life for yours!

I fight my way to the crater’s center. The force of the shaking mountain brings me to my knees. Every breath I take sears down my throat. I choke on the plumes of toxic gas.

“Please!” I gasp through my coughs. I reach for the pulse of Mama Gaia, for every divine force in Orïsha. The Blood Moon beats down from above, a reminder of all we’ve lost.

“Please!” I scream to the spirits, the very beings I was raised to reject. Tears stream down my face as dark clouds gather overhead.

When lightning crackles, I lift Zélie’s body to the skies. I offer her up to the storm.

“Save her.…” I whisper the words to whomever will answer my call.

Everything goes white as the mountain explodes.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT

ZÉLIE

WHENIBLINK OPENmy eyes, green is all I see—bright ferns with feathery leaves; the long, narrow stems of sweetgrass. Meadows of mint stretch far, filling the air with their cool, crisp scent. An endless field of reeds spreads out before me, tickling my bare feet as I walk.

It can’t be…

No sun lies above. A gentle haze surrounds me like a thin layer of fog. Shock pricks my body like needles. I turn in a slow circle, taking everything in.

Though I inhale, I don’t breathe in air. I don’t feel the brush of wind. I float in walls of white, brought back to a place I never thought I’d see again.

“You’re here.”

I look beyond my shoulder—Inan stands tall. Dressed in a white silk kaftan, a brilliant smile spreads across his face. A soft peace radiates around him, as tangible as light.

He keeps me under his gentle gaze, beyond fear. Beyond pain.

Under his amber eyes, the weight of the world falls away.

“Are we…” The question I’m too afraid to ask hangs on the tip of my tongue. But Inan shakes his head. He runs his fingers through the reeds.

“Mae’e came to me before the battle,” he explains. “She kept seeingvisions of the two of us. She told me to bring you to the mountaintop. That up here we could exchange the breath of life.”

Inan closes the space between us, lacing his fingers with mine. It’s then I see our difference—with every exhale Inan releases, his body fades. His skin grows more transparent by the second. Mine only grows more opaque.

“What did you do?” I whisper.

“Kept my promise to you.”

I watch, bewildered, as our lives transfer. My connection with Mount Gaia pulses through me like another heartbeat. The sacred mountain anchors our exchange.

“We still need you.” Though his spirit fades, Inan’s smile stays. “Baldyr’s launched his assault. I can’t stop him, but you have a chance.”

The bite of tears stings my eyes. I fight the urge to let them fall free. Inan takes my face into his fading fingers. I don’t know if he’s ever held me with such tenderness. Such grace.

He presses our foreheads together, and I inhale his musky scent. I feel every moment we’ve ever shared in his caress. Training with him on the mountains outside Gombe. Teaching him how to use his gift. Running through the forest with him in the maji festival.

The very first time we kissed.

The scars he created with his betrayals. The wounds only his touch could erase. We were supposed to bring about a new dawn.

We were supposed to change the fate of Orïsha.

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