Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orïsha #2)(81)

“Don’t.” I put my hands on his chest. “It’ll only make things worse.”

“Have some compassion,” he shouts over me. “She lost her Second.”

“I lost a quarter of my clan!” Kenyon yells. “I didn’t get to sit around and mourn!”

So many arguments break out at once, it’s impossible to keep track. I close my eyes, attempting to block out the noise. We can’t stay here, but we can’t blindly attack. The next time our forces meet Inan’s, we have to be precise.

Only one of us can survive.

“What’re you thinking?” Tzain asks. I lift my hands and stare at the scars left from my magic. I can almost hear Father in my head, whispering the words he tried to embed in me as a child.

I’ve had the power to end this all along. I just didn’t want to use it against the people I love. But now I have no place to run.

Or?sha waits for no one.

“If I can surround myself with enough Connector t?táns, I think I can take Mother down.”

“No.” Tzain takes my hands. “It’s too dangerous to face her on your own.”

“Who else can challenge her?” I ask. “Who else can suck the life from Inan’s veins?”

I close my eyes, replaying my mistakes. All these years I thought Father was a monster, but what if ruling this kingdom forced him to act that way? War is a race to the death, and right now Mother and Inan are winning.

I push past Tzain, walking into the center of the circle. I can’t allow any more of our blood to spill. I need to end the war at any cost.

“I have an idea.” I raise my hand, quieting the circle. But before I can speak, a voice rings out from behind me.

“Wait!”

All eyes turn to Zélie as she comes sprinting out of the elder tower. Her purple kaftan flies behind her as she runs. Blood still mats her white coils.

My face falls when she catches my eyes, but she doesn’t linger on me before addressing the crowd.

“We don’t have to fight.” She holds up her hands. “There’s another way out of this war.”





CHAPTER SIXTY


ZéLIE


MY PALMS GROW SLICK with sweat as I prepare to address the maji. The elders stand in a broken ring around me. Tzain moves between me and Amari.

My throat dries as I look at her, but I keep her role in our attack to myself. I can’t deal with her now. I don’t have much time.

I can smell the maji’s bloodlust from here. Their desire to run right into battle. But the information I squeezed out of Ro?n creates a choice we’ve never had. For once, we don’t have to fight. We can live beyond this warzone.

“The king isn’t in Lagos,” I shout. “He’s hiding in Ibadan. The monarchy’s expecting us to march on the palace and exhaust our forces in the wrong location. They plan to annihilate us when we’re divided.”

“What does that mean?” Nao’s forehead creases. “We go to Ibadan?”

“We shouldn’t take the bait,” I respond. “We should take the opening.”

I ball my fists, steeling myself for their reaction. It would be so much easier to run. To slip away in the middle of the night. But the thought of Mazeli forces iron into my spine. He would never leave the maji behind.

Neither can I.

“If the monarchy’s forces are split between Ibadan and Lagos, we have a clear path to safety.” I address the crowd. “We can break for Ilorin’s coast. Sail beyond Or?sha’s borders.”

“You can’t be serious.” Nao stumbles back. “You want us to run?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I want us to live.”

I’m not prepared for the flood of anger that is hurled my way.

“You’re just going to let the monarchy win—”

“This is our home! Where would we even go?”

“What about the rest of the maji?”

How do I get them to see the truth? That there’s more beyond this endless fight? What’s the point of staying here if we know we can’t win?

“I’m not leaving.” Kenyon stomps forward, taking charge of the opposition. “I don’t care if you lost your Second. Burners don’t run.”

“Then you’ll die.” I march up to him, meeting his fury head-on. “Who knows how many more cênters the monarchy has? After this last attack, they know exactly where to find us!”

“Then let them find us!” Kenyon shouts, a battle cry others rally behind. “Let them come to our walls again! Let them try to capture us!”

“Do you know what happens when they catch you?”

Silk brushes against my skin as I yank my kaftan over my head, exposing my back to the world. A collective gasp runs through the crowd the moment I reveal my scars.

My cheeks burn with shame, but I refuse to hide my pain. They have to understand that there is no winning this fight. Only bloodshed awaits us in a kingdom that will always see us as maggots.

“Our enemies have no honor,” I say. “No restraint. When they find us, they will carve through our bodies. They’ll destroy us from within.” As I pull down the kaftan, I find Mári and Bimpe in the crowd. The sight of them pushes me on.