Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orïsha #2)(86)

“I understand.” I step away. “I know why you did what you did. But I know I could’ve saved him. I can’t forgive you for taking away that chance.”

“Zélie, please—”

I ignore the tightness in my chest as I turn my back on her.

“I should’ve died that day,” I say. “Just pretend that I did.”

Mama Agba sobs and it hits me in the heart. I’ve never heard her cry like that.

I nearly run away from her tears as I move up the stairs toward my quarters. Leaving my room was a mistake. There’s nothing for me out here.

“You’re back.”

I look up to find Ro?n sitting outside my bedroom door. Two thick bags hang from his shoulders, clinking as he rises. He gestures for me to grab the smaller one.

“Let’s go,” he says.

I roll my eyes and brush past him. “I’m going to bed.”

“No you’re not.” He follows me into my room. “I need your help.”

“Ro?n, please. Not tonight,” I beg.

“You get to ask for my help whenever you want, but the moment I need something in return, you’re too tired?”

I glare at him and he smirks. “That’s what I thought.”

I frown as he slides the smaller bag over my shoulder. “Will you at least tell me where we’re going?”

“Do you know what Z?tsōl means in my tongue?” He tightens the bag’s strap before marching off. “‘Beautiful girl who asks far too many questions.’”



* * *



HOURS PASS IN SILENCE as we ride on the back of Ro?n’s cheetanaire. The jungle humidity leaves us first, followed by the mountain rock. We gallop across the Opeoluwa Plains, heading north from the sanctuary. I hook my chin over Ro?n’s shoulder, lifting my face to the biting winds.

“Can you please tell me what we’re doing?” I yell.

“I see no point,” he shouts back.

“Can you at least tell me if it’s legal?”

“Z?tsōl, I never ask you all these silly questions.”

I roll my eyes and bury my face into his back. Forget it. It doesn’t really matter.

The farther away we get from the sanctuary, the better I can inhale. Mazeli’s absence doesn’t strangle every breath. Beyond those walls, I can think of more than his death.

As we ride, I savor the break, not knowing when it will come back. I wonder if Ro?n always feels like this, unshackled from the weight of the world. From all those he’s lost.

“Here we go.”

I lift my head as Ro?n pulls on the reins of his cheetanaire. We stop along a thin stretch of the coast, meters before a rugged shore. Black waves crash against the shallow bluffs, foaming over the smooth and glassy rocks. The silver moon casts a path down the rippling water, beckoning me to come in.

“What’s going on?”

Ro?n takes both bags and walks across the shore, guided by the rays above. A wind-powered boat sits anchored against the coast, filled with more supplies.

“How far are we going?”

“Again with the questions.” Ro?n clicks his tongue. “It doesn’t matter. Get in.”

Though I don’t trust him, the prospect of the sea is far too great to pass up. The last time I saw the shore, we were racing from Zaria’s sands. My body itches to float above the rocking water. It only takes a few moments before we’re off. The boat’s hum intertwines with the crashing waves as we sail. I close my eyes and inhale the salt-filled air. I forgot how much I missed the sea. How close it made me feel to Baba.

Ro?n steers us until the coast is only a speck on the horizon. The wind turbine shudders as it comes to a stop. He throws the anchor overboard before removing his shirt and kicking off his pants.

“Is this a ploy to get me naked?” I ask.

“Z?tsōl, we both know I don’t need ploys for that.”

He unzips the smaller of the two bags and pulls out two strange-looking masks. As he works, I remove my tunic, leaving only the wrap fastened around my chest.

“Listen closely.” Ro?n fastens the first mask around my head. “Bite down. Breathe in. Don’t let go of my hand.”

I stay still as he tightens the straps, running my tongue over the built-in mouth guard. It takes a few breaths before the oxygen begins flowing. The stale air dries my throat.

“Do everything I do,” Ro?n continues before fitting the second mask over his head. “There’s no time to hesitate.”

Before I can ask a single question, he pulls his mask over his face. With a grunt, he throws one bag overboard and stretches out his hand. I don’t get a chance to brace myself before we jump in.

I clench my teeth at the ocean’s bite. It feels like crashing through a sheet of ice. Bubbles fly as water surrounds us. I squeeze Ro?n’s hand, allowing the weight of his bag to drag us farther down.

My breath hitches when we slow to a stop and we hang, suspended in pure blackness. Ro?n guides my hands to the rusted chain connecting us to the boat above. From the way he squeezes my grip, I can almost hear him saying, “Hold on.”

I squeeze the chains as my breaths start to slow. There’s a strange peace this far underwater. I take it in as Ro?n brushes my side, hands moving to the large bag. He unhooks the latch and I have to squint at the glow. Orbs of light float up from the opened bag, all connected in a spiderweb of chains.