Page 36 of Ashes of Gold
“Waiting only gives the Chancellor more time to root us out,” I say. “I don’t see a way around this.”
He holds my hand to his chest in silence. It’s hard, firm, strong, just like him. But his lips don’t move. From the few things I remember about the battlefield, fear like this didn’t sit on his expression. It didn’t either when we were locked in the cell and he thought it was the end. And even when we were running for our lives escaping prison, his jaw was not set this way. I’ve only seen Jhamal truly scared once, when he laced my skin back together. When he thought I might die.
“I am going to find a way to raise the Ancestors from the dead,” I say, trying to assure him. “They will fix this for us.”
He meets my gaze, his wide with shock. But, he nods, and just like that he’s miles away.
I make him press his forehead to mine. “Thanks for having my back.”
“You are my Queen. I will always be in your corner.” He reaches to kiss my hand. And though I shouldn’t, I let him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
JHAMAL AND I MOVEback down the narrow hall toward where Kowana Yechi will be held. The hall glows orange in the firelight, the fissures hardly distinguishable in the darkness.
“So how does it work exactly? The decorum, I mean.” Last thing I wanna do is not know what I’m walking into or give offense. I’ve done enough of that; I’m trying to bond with my people, not keep pissing them off.
“There’s time for people to address everyone. After the meeting.” There is more he wants to say, but he presses his lips closed.
“Okay, I’ll wait for the right time to speak. And how does it go?”
“Each clan nominates a tribe member, who then must accept. Then everyone casts their votes. It can get interesting, actually. There’s no guarantee people will vote for their own clansman. It’s one thing to consider someone a brother; it’s another entirely to believe they’re fit to rule over you.”
“And the leader is then…?” I ask as we round a stone corner. His face shines in the firelight.
“Crowned. There’s usually a formal coronation, but there’s no time for that now. I would guess the leader will form a war council as the first matter of business.”
“Sounds like you know a lot about this. Maybe you should volunteer.”
“You cannot volunteer. Humility is a leader’s greatest strength.”
“Well, maybe I’ll nominate you.” I elbow him, playfully, but he doesn’t laugh.
The crowd outside the meeting room is stoic. Moonlight twinkles from a crack in the ceiling, glinting off their armor, and a crowd funnels into the doorway. Everyone’s decked out and my scuffed Air Maxes look extra dirty. “I look like a scrub up in here next to them.”
“A what?”
“Nothing.”
He hands me a chest plate of armor. It’s fairly dinged up, one-shouldered and scuffed. It looks like it used to be all gold, but now it’s mostly black with gold left only on the tips. “It’s all we have.”
I reach but hesitate. The Yakanna don their armor with such pride. Is it right to put it on without their blessing? Somehow it just feels wrong. “I’ll be alright, but thanks.”
“At least hold on to it for when you go out there.”
The way he says “out there” lets me know he’s not at all behind my decision. I take the breastplate from him, and it’s much lighter than I’d imagined. “Thanks.”
I settle in a corner and fold open one last spell book just to be sure I’m not taking unnecessary risks. But my gut says what I’m looking for isn’t here. I fold over a page and read through spells to fuse elements together, recipes for potions that regrow damaged limbs. An anti-aging potion that regenerates cells. Nothing on raising the dead. Or restoring magic, for that matter.
Kai and her girls are already settled in a corner around one of thelong tables. Their faces are done up, streaked with gold paint. Their braids have been redone, tied up with gold twine and bells. Kai wears a ring on her finger that hooks to her wrist and up her arm. She looks like a goddess. What I imagine Mother Yakanna herself must have looked like. And she’s a direct descendant from the Mother’s bloodline, Jhamal had said. Shelooks like a leader.Shechecks the boxes.
I tug at the strand at my neck. Kai just wants to make the Ancestors proud. The way I hope Moms is smiling down at me. The tinge of empathy dissolves when she glances at me and her eyes fall to the mail in my hand. Her lips thin. Her girls huddle around her. Zora’s countenance cracks a smile ever so slightly when our eyes meet.
The center of the room has a long staff lying down the center with flowers at each end. These are red blooms with tiny berries inside. Along the staff are three empty bowls—one for each clan’s nomination. Jhamal sulks off to talk with Shaun and several Beerchi.
I flip through the pages of the text. “Seventy-Eight Uses of Parsnip.” “Healing Properties of the Plinor River.” Nothing useful. Bells chime when Bati enters. They ring from his hair. His ivory robes are tied at the waist and a hood covers most of his face. Several of his brothers, dressed similarly, are behind him. They sit at a far table, clustered together, eyes flicking in my direction. Bati moves toward the center and a voice bellows from the back of the room.
“Who puts themselves forward to conduct this Kowana Yechi?” someone says.
