“Follow me,” he says, his commanding voice diminishing my fear.
We begin our descent with Tzain leading the way. Though the torch’s bubble of light illuminates our steps, it touches nothing more. I keep a hand on the jagged wall, counting my breaths until we finally reach the next floor. The moment my foot leaves the last step, the opening above us slams shut with a deafening crack.
“Skies!”
My shriek rings through the darkness. I fling myself into Zélie. “What do we do now?” I tremble. “How do we get out of here?”
Tzain turns to run back up the stairs but stops when we hear a hissing in the air. Within seconds, his torch blows out, leaving us in total blackness.
“Tzain!” Zélie shouts.
The hiss grows louder until a warm gust of air hits me like rain. When I inhale, it instantly slows my muscles then begins to cloud my mind.
“Poison,” Tzain manages to croak before I hear the thud of his body hitting the ground. I don’t even have a chance to feel afraid before the darkness takes hold.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
INAN
A HUSH CUTS THROUGH the air when my legion descends into Sokoto. It doesn’t take long to figure out why.
We’re the only guards in sight.
“Where’re the patrols?” I whisper to Kaea. The silence is deafening. It’s like these people have never laid eyes on the Or?shan seal. Skies only know what Father would do if he witnessed their complete lack of respect.
We dismount our ryders by a lake so clear it reflects the surrounding trees like a mirror. Lula gnashes her teeth at a group of children. They scamper away as she takes a drink.
“We don’t post guards at traveling settlements. It would be a waste when the residents change every few days.” Kaea unlatches her helmet and the wind runs through her hair. My scalp itches to feel the same, but I have to keep my white streak hidden.
Find her. I inhale the clean, brisk air, trying to forget about my streak, if only for a moment. Unlike the heat and smog of Lagos, the small settlement is fresh. Revitalizing. The cool breath dulls the burn in my chest as I try to keep my curse down, but my pulse races as I scan the surrounding div?ners. I’ve been so focused on ending the girl.
I didn’t stop to think of how she could end me.
I grip the hilt of my sword as my eyes flick from div?ner to div?ner. I have yet to see the extent of the girl’s magic. How would I defend against her attack?
And what if she fights with her words? A prick of terror hits; the magic inside me spikes. All she’d have to do was point to my helmet, identify the curse hidden beneath. Kaea would see my white streak. My secret would be out for the world to see—
Focus, Inan. I close my eyes, holding the warm sênet pawn tight. I can’t keep spiraling. I have to fulfill my duty. Or?sha is still under attack.
As the numbers force order into my head, I reach for the curved handle of my throwing knife. Magic or not, the right throw will disarm her. A sharp blade will still cut through her chest.
But for all my plotting and maneuvering, it’s obvious the girl isn’t here. Though there’s no shortage of glaring div?ners, her silver gaze is not among them.
I release the throwing knife as something I can’t place deflates in my chest. It sinks like disappointment.
It breathes like relief.
“Take these posters,” Kaea instructs the soldiers. She hands each of the ten men a roll of parchment inked with the girl’s smug face. “Find out if anyone has seen her or a bull-horned lionaire—you usually don’t find them so close to our coast.” Kaea turns to me, lips pursed in determination. “We’ll search the merchants. If they really came south, this would be the first place to gather supplies.”
I nod and try to relax, but being this close to Kaea makes it impossible. Every little movement catches her eye; each sound practically makes her ears twitch.
As I walk behind her, the strain of pushing my powers down grows with every step. The iron of my armor begins to drag like lead. Though we walk slowly, I can’t keep a steady pace. With time, I begin to fall behind. I hunch over, resting my hands on my knees. I just need to catch my brea—
“What’re you doing?”
I snap up, ignoring how my curse spikes at the edge in Kaea’s voice. “Th-the tents.” I gesture at the natural shelters before me. “I was inspecting them.” Unlike the metal poles and leathery hippone hides we use to build our tents, these are made with branches and coated in moss. In fact, there’s a strange efficiency to their structure. Techniques the army could adapt.
“It’s hardly the time for rudimentary architecture.” Kaea narrows her eyes. “Focus on the task at hand.”
She turns on her heel, walking even faster now that I’ve wasted her time. I rush to follow, but as we near the carts and wagons, a stout woman catches my eye. Unlike the other campers, she isn’t glaring. She isn’t looking at us at all. Her attention is directed toward the bundle of blankets she cradles to her chest.
Like a suppressed sneeze, my curse jumps to the surface. The mother’s emotions hit like a smack to the face: sparks of rage, dull flashes of fear. But above all else, a protectiveness burns, snarling like a snow leopanaire guarding its only cub. I don’t understand why until the bundle pressed against her chest begins to cry.
A child …
My eyes travel down the woman’s chestnut skin to the jagged rock clasped in her hand. Her terror surges through my bones, but her resolve burns even stronger.
“Inan!”
I snap back to attention—I have to whenever Kaea calls my name. But as I reach the merchant wagons I glance back at the woman, shoving my curse down despite the way it makes my stomach burn. What does she have to fear? And what business would I have with her child?
“Wait.” I stop Kaea as we pass a merchant wagon pulled by one-horned cheetanaires. The spotted creatures gaze at me with orange eyes. Sharp fangs peek from behind their black-lined lips.
“What?”
A turquoise cloud hangs around the doorway, bigger than the ones that have been appearing. “This one has a wide selection.” I try to keep my voice light as we approach.
And the sea-salt scent of the girl’s soul.
Though I fight my magic, her smell surrounds me when I pass through the cloud. The div?ner appears in my mind fully formed, dark skin almost luminescent in the Sokoto sun.
The image lasts only a moment, but even a flicker makes my insides churn. The magic feeds like a parasite in my blood. I straighten my helmet as we walk through the wagon’s door.
“Welcome, welcome!”
The wide smile of the elderly merchant drips from his dark face like wet paint. He stands, clenching the sides of the wagon for support.
Kaea shoves the scroll in his face. “Have you seen this girl?”
The merchant squints and cleans his spectacles against his shirt. Slowly. Buying time. He takes the sheet. “I can’t say I have.”
Droplets of sweat form on his brow. I glance at Kaea; she notices, too.