Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orïsha #2)(54)

Perhaps it always will.

I run my hand against the unassuming wall; there’s not even a crease to indicate where the slabs slid apart. But I can hardly wrap my head around the magic at work when everything inside me is still coming apart.

She’s here.…

That fact should fill me with fear. But with only a wall between us, all the words I want to say muddle in my chest: incomplete sentences within a mountain of unfinished letters.

I thought whatever connection Zélie and I shared was broken. Damaged beyond repair. But the way she looked at me …

Skies.

It’s been so long since I inhaled her sea-salt scent.

“Your Majesty!” General Jok?ye runs down the hall, Mother and Ojore at her heels. The sight of them makes my scar burn. After this, they won’t want to hold back.

I was ready to attack, yet one look at Amari and Zélie and I could barely utter one command. I don’t know what to do next.

Who I need to protect.

“Are you alright?” Jok?ye pants.

“I’m fine.” I nod. “But the Iyika got inside.”

“Surround the room.” Jok?ye turns to the soldiers. “If they tunneled in, they may try to tunnel out. Chidi, take care of Emeka. Get him to a medic.”

I look away as two soldiers approach, lifting the soldier who lost his forearm. The poor boy’s screams hit my ears like knives. I squeeze the bronze piece tight.

With only seven fighters, the Iyika have left dozens of our best strewn across the floor. We only have forty soldiers left. I don’t even know if we can take them.

“Summon all of our forces,” Jok?ye shouts. “I want every single t?tán stationed outside this door.”

“No holding back,” Mother yells. “Strike to kill!”

“General, wait.” I stop them both before their orders can hold. “I still want the Iyika taken in alive.”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty, we can’t afford to exercise restraint.” Jok?ye gestures down the hall, and I’m forced to take in the blood of my soldiers. In the corner, a medic tends to the soldier whose arm was severed. Even with distance and sedation, the boy’s moans echo through the twisting halls.

“I empathize with your struggle,” she continues. “But the Iyika risked their lives to retrieve what’s in that room.”

“She’s right, Inan.” Mother grabs my shoulder. “We can’t allow them to obtain it. They may become unstoppable.”

My stomach throbs with a pain so sharp I have to lean against the wall. Deep down, I know they’re both right. I can’t allow the Iyika to leave this temple alive.

Duty over self. Father’s voice rings through my head. Duty above all else.

But last time, I chose him; him and Or?sha, when Amari and Zélie risked everything to choose me.

“If they die here, this war will only escalate, and we’ll never locate their base. Take them in alive.” I turn to Jok?ye. “That’s an order, General. Not a suggestion.”

Jok?ye’s eyes flutter close. I can almost hear the crunch of her biting her tongue.

“Soldiers, get the king to the back of the hall. I don’t want him here when the wall opens.” She fingers the white streak in her braid before placing her hand against the crooked wall.

“Be ready to apprehend the rebels at a moment’s notice. This was their only way in. That means it’s their only way out.”





CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT


ZéLIE


KENYON’S FISTS SLAM against the walls of the scroll room, a thud reverberating through the metal shelves. The Burner hits it again and again until Kamarū grabs his wrists and forces him to stop.

“Keep it together,” the Grounder shouts. “We’re never getting out of here if we fall apart now.”

Kenyon breaks free of his hold and slams the wall again. “We shouldn’t be in here at all!”

The Burner’s anger does little to hide the terror I know we all feel. I want to say something, but it’s hard to focus over the ringing in my ears. I don’t know if the noise is from seeing Inan or the chaos of making it into the scroll room. I reach back for the tattoos on my neck. The swirling marks are still hot to the touch.

“Jahi!” Dakarai shouts. I turn as the Winder falls to the floor, body shaking from the toll of his cyclone. Dakarai kneels to check him out.

“That t?tán,” Jahi pants. “The way she moved…”

Gods, I shake my head.

We’re doomed.

“Mazeli, are you alright?” I turn to find my Second still standing in front of the spot where the wall slid apart. The soldier’s bloody forearm lies on the floor.

“Don’t worry.” I wipe the splatter of blood from his cheek and force him to turn around. “I’ll get us out of here. I promise.”

I place my fingers along the wall’s cool metal interior, temperature falling as my magic fades. A tingle erupts when I lay my palm flat. The same sensation used to crawl up my skin at Inan’s touch.

“Did you hear Inan?” Amari’s voice shakes. “He told them not to attack—”

“That bastard came here with half the godsforsaken military!” Kenyon snaps. “He’s not here to make peace!”