Page 87 of Children of Virtue and Vengeance

“Every name means something, child. Yours means ‘possesses great strength.’” Mama Agba smiles, the skin crinkling at the corners of her large eyes. “A few moons ago you were a scared princess on the run. Now you’re an elder leading the maji through war. A queen poised to take her throne.”

Her words force me to think of everything I’ve done, how far I’ve truly come. I thought victory would only be achieved once I sat on Orïsha’s throne, but I suppose there is another victory in what I’ve already become.

“This all started the moment you stole that scroll. It was your courageous actions that brought us here at all. I know it’s difficult, but give it time. If anyone can bring about peace, I know it is you.”

She cups my chin and looks at me with such a warmth, I can’t help but smile. I don’t know when it happened or why, but I feel genuine love in her eyes.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“Thank you is unnecessary.” She pulls me into a hug. “Your courage has given so much back to me. I am as grateful to you as I am to Zélie.”

She rises to her feet and I move to join her, but she sits me back down.

“When I was younger, this was the best place in the sanctuary for me to explore the extent of my powers. It may help you, too.”

“But I don’t have an incantation.” I scrunch my brows. “Zélie destroyed it.”

“You’re a cênter, Amari. For better or worse, you’re not bound by incantations. You share a special connection with your brother. Clear your mind and focus on that.”

I smile as she walks off. Her advice lifts a weight from my shoulders that I should have never tried to carry at all. I’m not a maji, and I never will be. I need to stop playing by their rules. Their incantations, their restrictions—they don’t apply to me.

I stare at my hands, remembering the thrill that ran through me when I summoned my cênter powers and took Mother down in Chândomblé’s halls. That moment was the best I’ve felt in moons.

The most I’ve felt like myself.

My skin stings as I call on my power, focusing on my core. Though no tîtáns are around to fuel my magic, I can feel it swelling from a different source.

Come on, Inan.I think of him as a faint blue light ignites in my chest.I need you now more than ever. We’re the only ones who can end this.

As sunset turns to night, I settle on the bench, reaching for my brother in the dark. I don’t know if this will work, but I won’t give up.

I’ll stay here for an eternity if it means I can finally end this war.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

INAN

THOUGH I GRABthe polished table of the war room, the world keeps slipping away. The advisors’ faces blur around me. Mother’s whispers drown under the ringing in my ears.

Reality slips from my hands like a dream coming to an end. I attempt to keep the confusion from my face as I hear the voice again.

Inan—

“Pay attention.” Mother nudges me, forcing me to sit up straight. I blink as I focus on Jokôye’s presentation, a report of all her progress. Though she’s never been one for smiles, a new venom has seeped into her words since our return from Chândomblé. She still struggles to move around the room with the iron brace around her leg.

“I’ve been training my tîtáns,” Jokôye says. “All day. All night. The next time we face theIyika, we’ll be ready for their games. We’ll annihilate those traitors where they stand.”

She speaks the words I need to hear, yet they still make my fingers cold. Every day we get closer to the bloodbath I desperately want to avoid.

“Have you located their base?” I ask.

“We’re getting closer.” Jokôye marks a new oval on the map, zeroing in on theIyika’s supposed location. “We tend to lose contact with ourscouts once they enter this zone. But as we speak, my soldiers are finding new ways to scour the location. Our forces in Oron have been training a few tîtán Seers. When they have better control over their abilities, they may be able to give us the answers we need.”

Once they do…

I rub my thumb over the cheetanaire engraved onto the bronze piece. There’ll be no delaying Jokôye’s forces. We’ll throw everything we have at that attack.

“Continue training your tîtáns and bolstering Lagos’s defenses,” I command. “Notify me immediately if there’s any more information on their location. Otherwise, you are dismissed.”

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