Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orïsha #2)(73)

My chest rises and falls in the echo of his words. I think of Mazeli’s triumphant smile. The hunger in Mári’s eyes. I imagine all the other Reapers I don’t even know outside the sanctuary walls, just waiting to be a part of a clan again.

“Please.” Amari lowers her hands. “At least allow the elders to read his treaty. That’s all I ask.”

I look back at Inan; to my hand against his chest. His heartbeat reverberates through my bones and I remember the times when that same pulse used to remind me of the tides. Of safety. Of home.

I exhale a deep breath and close my eyes, lowering my hands. The tears I’ve been holding inside break free as I step back.

“You’re doing the right thing.” Amari moves to embrace me, but I hold up my hand.

“I’m not letting either one of you past me until I see that treaty.”

Inan’s mouth falls slack, but he nods, reaching into the leather pack on his back. As he pulls out the parchment, something lifts in my chest.

For so long I’ve wanted to fight. To make him pay for everything he’s done. But somehow giving in feels right. Every chain around my heart starts to lift.

If this peace is real … if it allows me and my Reapers to be free …

Gods.

That would be everything.

“Here.” Inan hands me the parchment, and I start to read. I feel him and Amari holding their breath as I comb over the words.

“It won’t be enough to convince the others,” I say. “But it’ll be enough to bring you to the tab—”

A horn blares, catching me off guard. I whip around as it rises in pitch, ringing from the direction of the sanctuary.

“What’s that?” Amari turns around and Inan’s brows crease.

“I don’t know…” his voice trails off. “I swear, I came alone!”

Shadows extend from my arm, weaving around a branch above me. I let them raise me up through the trees, up through the canopy. I pray the alarm isn’t what I fear.

But as I rise, I see it: the black and gold of Nehanda’s seal. Over a hundred velvet banners flutter in the jungle winds, marking an endless line of military caravans.

An ice I haven’t felt since the night of the Raid chills me from my core.

The enemy’s at our gates.

The war has come to us.





CHAPTER FIFTY


AMARI


“YOU MONSTER!” ZéLIE SHRIEKS as she unwinds her shadows and descends back to the ground. She lunges with her staff for Inan, but stops when the Iyika siren blares again. Her face falls as she turns around. She flees through the trees. When she disappears, I collapse to my knees.

After saving his life.

After fighting Father on his behalf.

After all the time I’ve spent pleading with Zélie to trust him.

Tears burn my eyes as I curl into myself. I can’t believe he did this to me. To Zélie!

“Amari, I swear.” Inan reaches out. “This wasn’t a part of my plan—”

His voice blacks in and out. I can’t hear him over the sounds of war. Hundreds of creaking wagons speed toward us. A sea of velvet seals flap in the wind. I brought Inan here to make peace with the maji.

Instead he brought our demise.

“You have to believe me!” Inan’s voice shakes. “Only Ojore knew! He promised he wouldn’t tell!”

He’ll do the right thing when it’s easy, but when it matters most, he’ll stab you in the back. You can’t trust him, Amari. All he leaves us with are scars.

Zélie’s words return, destroying me from within. I wanted her to be wrong. I thought Inan was the one person in the world I could trust, the only other person who shared the vision of a united Or?sha.

But there’s no denying it now. No lie he can’t tell.

He’s truly Father’s son.

He’s been a monster all along.

“I-I’ll call it off,” Inan shouts over the blaring siren. “Just give me a chance!”

But staring at him is like staring into a void. I feel myself slipping away, losing the person I want to be to the person my family’s forced me to become.

Inan and Mother are just like Father.

Or?sha won’t be free of their tyranny until they both lie in the dirt.

“Amari—”

Inan’s eyes bulge when I open my palm. His heartbeat pulses through my ears. It vibrates through my bones.

Blue wisps of magic leach from his skin as I suck the ashê from his veins. His slowing pulse reverberates through my chest. It would take nothing for me to stop it for good. To drain every essence of his life and never look back.

Strike, Amari.

My breaths hitch as Father’s voice fills my head. I think of standing across from Inan in the palace cellar all those years ago. I held back and I got hurt.

I always get hurt.

T?tán soldiers appear on the hilltop above, running through the jungle trees. I count almost three dozen among the first wave. More caravans pulled by panthenaires ride in behind them.

But the closer they get, the more heartbeats bleed into my ears. I feel the ashê of other Connector t?táns like the rising heat of a flame. My power builds as I start to pull the lifeforce from their veins, too.

“We’re done.” I reach forward, putting my hand over my brother’s chest. More magic feeds into my hands, charging me up as the first wave of t?táns descend down the hill.