Page 24 of Children of Anguish and Anarchy

“The deck. The boys are fighting there.”

With a nod, Nâo takes off. The maji in her cell follow her up the stairs.

When Kenyon turns to my cell, I freeze. The last time we were face-to-face, I was his enemy. If it weren’t for Mama Agba, he and the other elders would’ve killed me.

Kenyon stares and something flashes across his face. I prepare myself for how he’ll retaliate. He frees the rest of the maji in my cell, leaving the two of us alone.

“Do it.” I lower my head.

Kenyon grabs my shackles and I ready myself for his strike. I don’t know what to think when the shackles drop to my sides.

“Really?” I look up at him, rubbing my bruised wrists.

“You’re not the enemy.” Kenyon steps away. “Not right now.”

His words wash over me like a wave. I feel the chance to atone for my mistakes.

“I won’t let you down.” I move for the deck, but Kenyon grabs my arm, stopping me before I can travel up the stairs.

“Your brother attacked a Skull tonight. They locked him on the lower deck.”

I think of the struggling boy the Skulls carried past us before. The canvas bag tied over his head.

“That was Inan?” My eyes go wide as Kenyon places the ring of keys in my hand.

“Go after him.” He nudges me forward. “Before it’s too late.”

I take off, bracing myself against the sliding walls of the ship. I picture my brother locked below, isolated in the Skulls’ hold.

“Wait!” I turn back to Kenyon as I reach the next stairwell. I hold the Burner’s gaze. “Thank you.”

Kenyon almost smiles.

“Kill every Skull in your way.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

INAN

IFAILED HER.

The thought of Zélie with the Silver Skull makes my blood run cold. The places they might have taken her. The things they must have done.

When they locked me down here, I thought we had a chance. With time, I could break her out. Get her back to Orïsha and make up for every single time I’ve hurt her. Every time I’ve let her down.

The Skulls have been searching for her heart. I knew it the moment I made sense of their words. Whatever their plans, they needed her enough to invade another kingdom. Enough to haul ships of my people across the seas. What will happen once they discover it’s her?

What will Baldyr do to the rest of Orïsha?

I have to stop them.The realization settles in my core.All of them. Every single Skull.For the first time in centuries, Orïsha can’t battle against itself. We have to unite.

Our kingdom is at war.

Outside the vessel, the ocean’s storm picks up force. The entire ship quakes with the deafening thunder that booms from above. The reverberations shake through my bones. Waves slam against the ship’s side like battering rams. Sheets of water crash into the hold.

My hanging cage swings wildly in the flooding prison. The gears groan above my head, rusted from the damp sea air. At any moment, the attachment will break. The force of the fall might give me a chance to escape.

But these shackles…

---