Page 69 of Children of Blood and Bone

Kaea’s barks pull me back, breaking through the depths of my memories.

I press against the mountainside, one foot still dangling. With a grunt, I continue my climb, not stopping until I reach the next ledge. Sweat pours from my body as I rub my thumb over the ornate seal in Amari’s headdress.

We never spoke of it. Not once. Even after all these years. Amari was too kind to bring it up. I, far too scared.

We carried on, an invisible chasm always between us. Amari never had to go back to that cellar. I never left.

Though my muscles shake, I pocket the headdress. There’s no time to waste. I failed my sister once. I shall not repeat that mistake again.

As I rise, the maji’s spirit pulses like never before. A surge she can’t control. The sea-salt scent of her soul is so strong it overwhelms theclove smell of bromeliads under my nose. I pause when I notice the flattened stems at my feet.

Tracks…

She’s been here.

She’s close.

I’mclose.

Kill her, my heart thrums as I claw at the mountain ledge.Kill her. Kill magic.

When the girl’s finally in my grasp, this will all be worth it. I shall take my kingdom back.

Amari’s headdress pokes my side as I continue to rise. I couldn’t save her from Father then. But today, I shall save her from herself.

CHAPTER TWENTY

ZÉLIE

“FASTER!” LEKAN CALLSas we run through the temple halls. Tzain carries me over his shoulders, grip tight around my waist.

“Who is it?” Amari asks, though the quiver in her voice suggests she already knows. Her brother’s scarred her once. Who’s to say it won’t happen again?

“My staff,” I moan. It takes every ounce of energy to speak. But I need it to fight. I need it to keep us alive.

“You can barely stand.” Tzain catches me before I slide from his back. “Shut up. And for gods’ sakes, try to hold on!”

We come to a dead end in the hall, and Lekan presses his palm to the stone. The inked symbols dance across his skin and travel into the wall. When his right arm is wiped clean of sênbaría, the stone clicks, sliding open to a golden room. We step into the hidden wonder, filled floor to ceiling with shelves of thin, colored scrolls.

“Do we hide here?” Tzain asks.

Lekan disappears behind a large shelf before returning with an armful of black scrolls. “We’re here to retrieve these incantations,” he explains. “Her powers will need maturation if she is to perform the mamaláwo’s role.”

Before Tzain can object, Lekan shoves them into my leather pack with the ritual parchment.

“Alright,” Lekan says. “Follow me!”

With Lekan’s guidance, we twist around the corners of the temple with new speed, descending endless flights of stairs. Another wall slides open and we emerge on the side of the tarnished temple, greeting the jungle heat.

In the dying sunlight, my head throbs. The entire mountain screams with life. Though a buzz of spiritual energy hummed before, now the temple grounds overwhelm me with haunted shrieks and cries. The shadowlike spirits of the slaughtered sêntaros swirl around my body like magnets finding their way home.

Awakening magic is like adding a new sense.Lekan’s words resurface.Your body needs time to adjust.

Only the adjustment doesn’t come. Magic crushes every other sense, making it almost impossible to see. My vision blacks in and out as Tzain scurries through the rubble. Lekan is about to lead us into the jungle brush when it hits me.

“Nailah!”

“Wait,” Tzain whispers after Lekan, skidding to a halt. “Our lionaire’s out front.”

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