Page 10 of Children of Virtue and Vengeance

“You’re the queen, Amari. Give everyone a new face to picture behind that seal.”

CHAPTER FIVE

ZÉLIE

WHEN THE WARSHIP’S RAMPplunks into the wet sand, the people of Zaria don’t cheer. They don’t move. They don’t blink.

The people only stare.

Nobles line the path to the rally site, black hair occasionally marked by the white streaks of tîtáns. Magic-less kosidán gather behind them, soldiers and military officers milling through their masses. I find my people standing at the fringes, white hair barely hidden under large hoods.

The stillness of the crowd holds the weight of this moment, this chapter of history we create. I can’t believe that after all that’s passed, we’ve finally made it here.My gods,I think to myself.

We’re really doing it.

“I can’t feel my legs.” Amari comes to my side, imposing in her suit of armor. Bloodstains still coat the royal seal. A helmet covers her dark hair, perfectly placed to hide her white streak.

I don my own stolen breastplate, sliding my staff where the past owner’s sword would have gone. I feel like I’m about to vomit, but she doesn’t need to hear that.

“You’ve faced worse.” I pat her shoulder. “You can face this.”

Amari nods, but her hands still shake. I haven’t seen this terror in hersince we were strangers in Lagos’s marketplace. Back then she was only a runaway princess. I was just a poor fisherman’s daughter. She crashed into my life and now the entire kingdom will never be the same.

“You can do this.” I ignore the pain it brings me to look into her eyes. But with her streak tucked away, it’s easier to see her face and not the one of the brother who broke my heart.

“Father and Inan prepared their whole lives for this role,” Amari says. “I’ve barely had a moon.”

“Yet you’ve already given more to this kingdom than any man or woman who’s come before you. I wouldn’t have been able to bring back magic if it wasn’t for you.” I grab her hands and lace her fingers through mine, giving her another squeeze. “The gods chose you. They’re choosing you the same way they chose you to steal that scroll.”

Though I smile, it hurts to speak the words. If the gods chose her, then they chose for me to suffer.

They chose for me to lose Baba.

“Do you really believe that?” Amari looks away. “Even though I’m a tîtán?”

Her question makes my lips tense, but it doesn’t matter how I feel about her kind. The cost of my scars, the price of Baba’s blood—once Amari’s queen, it’ll all mean something. When she’s queen, I won’t have to carry this weight. I’ll finally be free of all this pain.

“I know it.” I lean in. “This is destiny. The gods don’t make mistakes.”

Amari hugs me with such force, I stumble back. I laugh and wrap my arms around her waist. I forgot how nice it feels to hold her like this.

“Thank you,” she whispers into my braids, voice straining with the threat of tears.

“You’re ready,” I whisper back. “You’ll be the best queen Orïsha’s ever seen—”

“Don’t forget the most important part.” Roën interrupts our embrace,sauntering up with a cigarette tucked between his teeth. “Once you’re queen you’ll be in full command of your royal treasuries.”

“As if you’d ever let me forget.” Amari rolls her eyes. “Are your men in position?”

“We’ve cleared the path.” Roën gestures down the ramp before shooting me a wink. “Ready when you are, my queen.”

Amari exhales and shakes out her hands, muttering her speech under her breath. “My name is Amari Olúborí. Mynameis Amari Olúborí.”

As she paces, I put two fingers in my mouth and whistle. In seconds, the sound of claws scratching against the ship’s metal floors surges toward us. Nailah gallops from my quarters, skidding to a stop before me.

“What’re you doing?” Amari’s brows lift as I unlatch the belt keeping Nailah’s saddle and reins in place.

“Giving you an entrance fit for a queen.” I cup my hands to help her up. “You’re the Lionaire. The least you can do is ride one.”

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