“Tzain!” I slash my sword at a lunging assailant, striking a moment too late. The masked man grabs my weapon and disarms me. Another covers my face with a soaked cloth.
Its acidic smell burns to a vicious sting, raging as my vision darkens.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
ZéLIE
AMARI’S SCREAMS REVERBERATE through the trees.
Inan and I freeze mid-attack. We whip our heads to see Amari struggling with a masked man several meters away.
Though she thrashes, a black glove closes over her mouth. Her eyes glaze before rolling back.
“Amari!” Inan takes off after her, and I move to follow. But the forest is empty. I can’t find Nailah.
I don’t see Tzain.
“Tzain?” I brace myself against a tree and survey the silhouetted trees filling the valley. A cloud of dirt plumes in the distance, a netted body, heavy and strong. A limp hand presses against the cords. No …
“Tzain!”
I sprint.
Faster than I knew I could run.
It’s like I’m six years old again, reaching after the chain, clawing after Mama.
I push the memories down as I go, screaming Tzain’s name into the night. This can’t happen. Not to me. Not to Tzain.
Not again.
“Tzain!”
My screams rip my throat raw, my feet quake as I pound against the dirt. I pass Inan in pursuit of Amari. I can save him— “No!”
Tight cords wrap around my ankles, pulling me to the ground. The breath rushes from my chest as a net ensnares my body.
“Agh!” I scream again, twisting and kicking as I’m pulled through the forest. They’ve taken Tzain. They’ve taken Amari.
And now they’re going to take me.
Rocks and twigs tear at my skin, knocking my staff from my hand. I try to unearth Tzain’s dagger, but it too escapes my grasp. Dirt flies into my eyes, burning as I blink the debris away. It’s useless. I’ve lost— The cord pulling my net snaps.
My body rolls to a halt as the two masked figures dragging me pitch forward with a start. In a flash, Inan lunges, striking while they’re still on the ground.
One masked man runs, seeming to disappear under the gaping tree roots. The other moves too slowly; Inan rams the hilt of his sword against the man’s temple and his knees buckle.
When the man crumples to the ground, Inan turns on me. He readjusts his grip on his sword.
A fire rages behind his eyes.
My fingers tremble as I rip at the cords with my bare hands, struggling to free myself. As Inan approaches, the seal of Or?sha catches the moonlight, carrying every pain endured under its leopanaire’s watch. The guards’ boots. The blood in the dirt. The black chain around Mama’s neck.
The way they kicked Tzain down.
The way they threw me to the ground.
Each new memory constricts everything inside me, crushing my ribs. My breath catches as Inan crouches down and pins my arms under his knees.
This is how it ends— Inan’s blade flashes from above.
—exactly how it began.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
INAN
I’M SO CLOSE.
This one thought consumes me as I stalk toward the girl. Trapped in the net, she’s defenseless. No staff. No magic.
With this one kill, I’ll fulfill my duty. Protect all of Or?sha from her madness. Every sin committed in this hunt disappears. The only living being who knows of my curse goes with them.
“Huh!” I pin down her arms with my knees, pressing harder when she fights. I raise my sword and push down on her sternum with one hand, angling to drive the blade through her heart.
But the moment my hand touches her chest, my magic roars through my skin. A force that can’t be stopped. Stronger than any magic I’ve felt.
“Ugh!” I wheeze. The world disappears in a burning blue cloud. Though I fight, I can’t get out.
My curse holds me down.
Red skies.
Shrill screams.
Running blood.
In one moment, the girl’s whole world flashes before my eyes. Her heartbreak rips through my own chest.
Rawer than I knew pain could be.
Cold rock hits my bare feet as she climbs the snow-capped mountains of Ibadan. The warm smell of jollof rice wraps around me. My heart stops when the guards kick down the wooden door of their home. Or?sha’s guards.
My guards.
The very sight of them suffocates me. Like a gorillion squeezing my throat.
A thousand instances flash before me, a thousand crimes bearing the seal of Or?sha.
The snow leopanaire shines as the guard’s ironclad fist collides with her father’s jaw.
It gleams when the blood-covered chain wraps around her mother’s neck.
I see it all. The world Father created.
The pain she’s forced to live in.
“Mama!”
Zélie screams. A cry so mangled it doesn’t even sound human.
Tzain covers her in the corner of their hut, a desperate attempt to hide her from the world’s pain.
It all speeds past. A blur, yet an endless stretch of time.
Thrashing as she runs after her mother.
Freezing when she gets to the tree—
Skies.
The horror sears into my brain. Maji bound by majacite chains. Ornaments of death.
Hanging for the whole world to see.
It’s a wound that reverberates through my core. A decree to any div?ner who lived through that night.
In Father’s Or?sha, this was the only end maji could meet.
It takes everything in me to fight Zélie’s memories back. Her sorrow drags me down like a vengeful current.
With a lurch, I snap back to reality.
My sword hangs above her chest.
Curse the skies.
My hand shakes. The moment to kill still hangs between us. Yet I can’t bring myself to move.
Not when all I see is the scared and broken girl.
It’s like seeing her for the first time: the human behind the maji. Fear embedded in the pain. Tragedy caused in Father’s name.
Father …
The truth sears, a bitter liquor burning down my throat.
Zélie’s memories don’t hold the villains Father always warned of. Only families he tore apart.
Duty before self. His creed rings through my ears.
My father.
Her king.
The harbinger of all this suffering.
With a cry, I strike down. Zélie flinches at my speed.
The cords binding her fall into the dirt.
Her eyes snap open and she scrambles back, waiting for my attack. But it doesn’t come.
I can’t be another person bearing the seal of Or?sha who causes her pain.
Zélie’s mouth falls open. Questions and confusion hang on the curve of her lips. But then her head snaps to the masked figure in the dirt. Her eyes go wide with the realization.
“Tzain!”
She rushes to her feet, nearly tripping in the process. Her brother’s name echoes through the darkness.
When nothing answers her, she falls to the earth. Against my will, I sink with her.
I finally know the truth.
Yet I don’t know what in skies’ name I’m supposed to do.
CHAPTER FORTY
ZéLIE
I DON’T KNOW how long I lie in the dirt.
Ten minutes.
Ten days.
A cold like I’ve never known settles into my bones.
The chill of being alone.
I don’t understand. Who were those masked fighters? What were they after? They moved so fast, there was no way we could’ve avoided them.