Page 118 of Children of Anguish and Anarchy

“You still can.” Inan squeezes me, breaking through my thoughts. “The Orïsha you will fight for is different than the one we left. It’s one where you can reign—” Inan’s voice strains, and I feel the pull on my soul. The last of his breath is waning.

Our time is slipping away.

“Find King Baldyr,” Inan instructs. “Defeat him once and for all. Takecharge of the nation and create the Orïsha we dreamed of. One that can stand against any foreign kingdom.”

“What if I’m not strong enough?” I whisper.

“You’re the strongest force I know.” Inan takes hold of the majacite crown. With a lurch, it breaks free of my temple. Purple light leaks from my head like blood, warming me as it hits my skin.

“Death doesn’t destroy you, Zélie,” Inan continues. “It frees you. It answers your call.”

As the purple light runs down my body, I feel the power once lost. The ability to raise the dead. The magic embedded in my blood.

“I love you,” Inan exhales. I look away, unable to take in the words. A sob escapes my throat. The fog around us intensifies, erasing our world.

Despite every time I’ve come against him, every moment I’ve held his life in my hands, something sharp tugs at my chest. I’m not ready to say good-bye.

I’m not ready for our story to end.

Inan tucks a lock of hair behind my ear, and my skin starts to glow. His lifeforce kneads through my being. A sharp heat fills my lungs as they expand, beginning to breathe again.

“Inan, I—”

He kisses me, and for one perfect moment, the rest of the universe stands still. His love breaks straight into my heart. It burns through my tears.

The world around us fades as our lips part for the last time.

Though he disappears, I hear him in my soul.

“I know.”

CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE

AMARI

STRIKE!

There’s no end to the Skulls who swarm Mount Gaia’s base. The warriors cut through the waters in their bloodmetal longships, howls of victory echoing from their throats.

The city of New Gaia burns behind them, creating an orange haze beneath the Blood Moon. Mounds of rubble replace the vibrant temples that used to gleam in the sun. Floating plots of scorched vines sink into the mountain lake.

When the first Skulls land, dark blue light surrounds me. It burns as it tears through my skin. Grief carves at me from inside, propelling me to fight, propelling me to win.

“Ha!” I throw my hands out. Spheres of blue light shoot from my palms like cannons. They strike the Skulls straight in the chest. Cries break free as I force my magic into their heads.

My own mind shakes with the memories that race—the empty eyes of the Skulls’ first kills, the blades they use to harvest the bones from their faces. I see the armories where they create their masks. I’m brought back to the stone altar we escaped, the very place they give their blood oaths and receive their weapons.

I rip through the Skulls’ heads, tearing apart their memories as if Icould tear them limb from limb. My magic leaves the warriors on the stone floor, seizing as they stare up at the Blood Moon.

As I attack, the Green Maidens strike, returning from the natural springs to join the fight. Despite the toll of resurrecting their sacred hierophant, the warriors give everything to defend their homeland.

Vines shoot out like whips, grabbing Skulls by their throats. Maidens snap their necks like twigs. Others lift the Skulls into the air, watching as they choke.

One Skull breaks through the masses, too fast for me to summon my magic. He swings at my head with his battle-axe, the crimson blade aglow with red light. But before I can reach for my obsidian blade, vines snap around his wrists. Others wrap tight around his ankles. The Skull shouts as one of the maidens suspends him, leaving him vulnerable to my attack.

I lunge forward and drive my obsidian blade through his gut. I twist with a vengeance, needing him to feel all the pain that he’s caused. But for all our battling, nothing compares to the war Mae’e wages on her own.

The hierophant fights in the bay, vines lifting her into the air. A whirlpool of vines swirls around her at vicious speeds, each wielding massive thorns like serrated fangs.

---