Page 22 of Children of Anguish and Anarchy

His words make my hands shake, but I won’t allow him to stop my escape.

“Say hello to my gods.”

The Silver Skull’s eyes widen as I speak in his tongue.

Then I drive my staff into his heart.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

AMARI

IUSED TO DREAM OF MONSTERS.

Long before the Raid.

The years when I looked up at Father and still saw a radiant king.

The man who would chase every monster away.

One night, I dreamed I was walking through a forest. I had finally made it beyond Lagos’s walls. Rich green trees danced around me. Blue-whisked bee-eaters flew by my cheek. I lay in soft moss and stared up at the open sky. The clearing filled with brilliant butterflies.

But then the skies turned black. The towering trees twisted into harsh shadows. A pack of wild hyenaires slithered out of the ground. With sharp yelps, they hunted me down.

I shouted for help as I ran through the dark forest. The hyenaires seemed to cackle at my fear. The beasts cornered me into a den and pounced at once. Their fangs ripped through my flesh, drowning out my cries.

When I awoke, I was covered with sweat. My cheeks were damp from the tears I had shed. My legs shook as I crawled out of my sheets.

It was as if I’d died right there on that bed.

I went to Inan’s quarters, but he was nowhere to be found. I tried to crawl onto Mother’s mattress, but she insisted I return to my own. Ifound Father alone in the throne room. He opened his arms, and I nuzzled into his robes.

“There are walls for a reason, Amari.” He was gentle, running his hand over my hair as I shook. “You would do well to stay inside them, even in your dreams. They were built to keep every monster out.”

“Even the hyenaires?” I asked.

“Especially the hyenaires.” He almost smiled, but something weighed him down. “And those who wish us harm.”

I always thought Father spoke of scheming nobles. Of the maji he seemed to hate so much. But in all my time locked on this ship, I’ve wondered what he knew of the monsters beyond Orïsha’s borders.

I wonder what he knew of the Skulls.

It was my sword that sent Father to his death. It was my vow to protect the people of Orïsha and defeat Mother that led to chaos and bloodshed. I fought for the maji elders to accept me and betrayed their trust. I sacrificed an entire village and still failed to win our war.

When Mama Agba gave up her life to help us overthrow the monarchy, she told me I was more than that moment. That I was more than all my mistakes. If I’d survived, it had to be for a reason.

With the threat of the Skulls, that reason is clear.

A new monster is here.

“Something’s happening,” I call, pointing to the floorboards above. A clamor builds over our heads. The frenzy grows like the ocean storm beating against the ship’s hull.

My chest tightens as I draw closer to the iron bars. Shouts mix with the groans of breaking metal.

It has to be Zélie, I think to myself.She must have found a way to fight.

I yearn to peek through the floorboards. To see where Zélie is now. In spite of our turbulent past, she told me to hold on.

What if she has a plan to get us out?

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