Page 128 of Children of Blood and Bone

“On your knees,” a masked woman barks, cautiously leading the charge outside the gate. She points her ax and gives a nod, drawing more of their fighters out of hiding.

Gods.There are already more than we bargained for.Forty… fifty… sixty?How many more aim at him from the trees?

“Bring out the prisoners first.”

“After you’re restrained.”

The wooden gate swings open. Inan surveys the female leader and takes a step back.

“I’m sorry.” Inan turns. “I’m afraid I can’t make that deal.”

I bolt from the underbrush, sprinting as fast as my legs will take me. Inan hurls the sunstone like an agbön ball, thrusting with all his might. It sails through the air with impressive speed. I have to leap to catch it. I clutch it to my chest and somersault as I hit the ground.

“Ah!” I wheeze as the sunstone fills me, an intoxicating rush I’m beginning to crave. Heat explodes under my skin as its power surges, igniting all the ashêin my blood.

Behind my eyes a different glimpse of Oya plays, red silks luminescent against her black skin. Wind swirls her skirts and twists in her hair, making the beads dance around her face.

A white light radiates from her palm as she reaches out her hand. I can’t feel my body, yet I feel myself reaching back. In one fleeting moment, our fingers brush—

The world rumbles to life.

“Get her!”

Someone cries beyond me, but I can’t truly hear it. Magic roars from my blood, amplifying spirits far and wide. They call to me, rising like a tsunami wave. Their thrum overpowers the sounds of the living.

Like tides pulled by the moon, the souls crash into me.

“4míàw?n tí ó ti sùn—”

I thrust my hand into the earth. A deep fracture ripples through it at my touch.

The ground beneath us groans as an army of the dead rises from the dirt.

They swirl out of the ground, a hurricane of twigs and rocks and soil. Their bodies harden with the silver glow of my magic. I unleash the storm.

“Attack!”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

AMARI

ASHARP CRACKrings through the air.

I reel as Kwame’s fist crashes into Tzain’s jaw.

Tzain’s head lolls to the side, a mess of reds and blacks and bruises.

“Stop it!” I scream, tears spilling down my cheeks. Fresh blood drips into Tzain’s eye, undoing all of Zu’s healing.

Kwame pivots and grabs my chin. “Who else knows you’re here? Where are the rest of your soldiers?” Despite everything, his voice is strained, almost heavy with desperation. It’s like this is hurting him as much as it’s hurting me.

“Thereareno soldiers. Go find the maji we’re traveling with. She’ll confirm that everything I’ve said is true!”

Kwame closes his eyes and breathes deeply. He stays so still, a shudder runs through me.

“When they came to Warri, they looked like you.” He pulls the bone dagger from his waist. “Theysoundedlike you.”

“Kwame, please—”

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