Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orïsha #2)(95)

I choke as I leave every scar they carved onto my heart behind and break through the water’s surface.

Live.

I want to live.





CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE


INAN


MY ARMS FALL LIMP as the dagger hangs in midair. I don’t believe my eyes. Ojore controls the metal with his hand.

He drops the sword meant for Mother’s head as he turns the dagger on me.

“You’re a maji?”

A snarl rises to Ojore’s lips.

“I prefer the term t?tán.”

He flicks his finger and the dagger goes flying. I dive out of the way as the blade pierces the iron wall at my back. Right where my head would have been.

I don’t have a chance to rise from the ground before the plates under my feet transform. The metal slides around my ankle like mercury. Slanted columns shoot up from the floor.

I cry out as one strikes me in the gut. Another clips my jaw. A flat column hits my chest with such force I twist onto my back.

All the while, Ojore watches from the corner. A soldier shaking with emotion. His mastery is greater than any I’ve seen. Far beyond a normal Welder’s capabilities.

“I hated myself,” he whispers. “I hated what I had become. I thought magic was the problem, but it was you and your mother all along!”

I fling another dagger from my belt, but Ojore splits the metal before it can strike. The air rings as it breaks into thick needles. With a snap of his fingers, the shards pierce my thigh.

“You don’t deserve the throne.”

The agony is so great, I can only gasp. My body seizes as the metal works through my blood. With another clench of his fist, Ojore tears the armor from his skin.

It molds around his bicep, transforming into a serrated blade.

“You can’t claim the right to lead after all you’ve done to tear this kingdom apart.”

The metal beneath me shifts, wrapping around my wrists. I can barely see straight as he lifts me up, hanging me in front of him with metal restraints.

“You and your mother.” He shakes his head. “You’re a poison.”

He melts my breastplate, lifting my undercoat to line up his blade with my father’s scar.

“I intend to end the epidemic with yo—”

I thrust forward, driving my knee into his chin. A loud crack echoes through the room as Ojore’s leg buckles.

The metal restraints dissolve as he stumbles and I crash to the ground. But when he lunges for me, a cobalt cloud shoots from my hand. The bones in my arm snap as my magic hits him in the chest, temporarily paralyzing him.

I drag my body toward the door as Ojore bares his teeth, fighting my hold. His body shakes as I try to escape.

“Help!” I shout, my voice hoarse.

Ojore roars like an animal, fists clenched as he rips metal plates from the walls. The iron sheets surround me as I crawl, sharpening into blades.

I look back, not recognizing the monster that wears Ojore’s face. We did this to him. We poisoned him with all our hate.

Now we shall pay the price. I can’t even pretend he isn’t justified. He deserves retribution for all the blood on our hands. All of Or?sha does— “Inan!”

A blast rips the fortress door from its hinges.

I look up as Mother lunges toward us and shoots out her hand, driving a column of earth up from the ground.

Ojore’s eyes bulge as it punctures his stomach. The metal blades surrounding me fall to the floor, clanking with their impact. Ojore slumps forward as blood leaks from his gut, pooling onto the silver floor.

“Quick!” Mother screams. “Get the Healers! We need to retreat!”

Boots pound my way, but I can’t see past the hatred frozen on Ojore’s face.

He’s dead.

Ojore’s dead.

The realization hurts more than any wound.





CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO


ZéLIE


I WHEEZE AS I break the surface. I fight to breathe through my coughs. Unfamiliar mountains surround me. Pale yellow light shines from above.

I drag myself to the thin stretch of stones along the water’s surface, shaking as I latch on to something solid. My throat burns as I cough, shooting water from my lungs onto the mountain stone.

Breathe, I command myself. Air has never tasted so sweet. I try to take it all in as I fight to think through the haze.

My mind spins in waves, but one thought breaks through the noise. Nao was furthest from the blast. But the cave collapsed right above Ro?n’s head.

If he’s still alive, he needs my help!

Though I still choke, I inhale all the air I can. Another second is all I give myself before diving back into the water.

? t?nná agbára yin.

The moonstone’s marks glow along my skin, lighting my way through the darkness. Only one life pulses through the water’s depths.

One that grows dimmer by the second.

I’m coming!

My leg throbs. Crimson bleeds into the water with each kick. But the agony is a gift. It’s like air to my lungs, reminding me to fight on.

My heart clenches at the sight of Ro?n’s limp form. His lifeforce is faint, only centimeters from death. A cracked mask like the one we used to surf the blue whale hangs from his nose, giving him his last breaths of air.

I dive closer until I see the massive slab crushing his bicep, pinning him to the rocky floor. I brace my good leg against the stone, but it’s far too heavy to roll. No matter how I shift, his body won’t budge. We’re running out of time.