Page 27 of Children of Anguish and Anarchy

Baba…

At the thought of my father, sorrow leaks from the well inside. My memories come alive with the gentle tide that rang through the floating village of Ilorin at all times.

I feel the woven reeds that formed our ahéré. I hear the way Nailah, my lionaire, used to snore. I hold the map to my heart as if it were a doll. Despite all I’ve endured within its borders, seeing my motherland is like seeing a piece of my heart.

I push myself to my shaking feet as new life moves through my brutalized form. The sight of Orïsha fortifies my resolve. My lungs start to expand. Slowly, my full vision returns. I rip off my tattered rags and throw them to the bloodied floor.

I won’t let myself wither on this ship.

I won’t stop until my feet touch the soil of my homeland again.

Thunder rumbles from beyond the door. The sway of the ship grows with every passing second. I search the room until I find the Silver Skull’s wardrobe. I pull on a pair of his wool pants, cutting away the extra fabric and wrapping it tight around my waist and my chest.

I find two machetes on the floor, and my hands mold to their beaded hilts. I remember the images of Oya I saw when I was young. The machetes she’d wield as she rode into war.

“Fún mi lágbára.” I pray to my goddess again.Grant me strength.

The current of the storm buzzes beneath my skin. I feel its power deep within.

I remove my staff from the slain Silver Skull and strap it to my back. I search the fallen captain’s pockets and find the hexagon-shaped compass that he used to separate me from the rest. I open it and catch my reflection in the glass face. With the majacite crown on my head, I look like the princess of death.

I hook the compass to my belt and face the crimson door.

Rage rises in me like a volcano ready to erupt as I walk past the Silver Skull.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ZÉLIE

STEPPING OUTSIDE THESILVERSKULL’Squarters is like stepping into another world. Gone are the thick marble walls that caged us in. Nothing hides me from nature’s rampage.

Rain pelts like arrows from above. Brilliant bolts of lightning crackle through the clouds. Thunder roars like a beast in the sky. Its booms shudder through my bones.

Mama was right.I brace myself against the door, in awe of the raging sea and racing winds. I see the way Mama lifted her head to the chaos on that mountaintop. I see the way the lightning illuminated the bright smile against her dark skin. I lift my own head and open my arms, remembering that sacred night. When I close my eyes, I hear Oya’s cry in the tempest.

IfeelOya’s power in the storm.

The golden medallion pulses in my chest as I embrace the pouring skies. A wild force races through my blood as the triple arrowhead etched into the medallion’s surface starts to flash.

I scan for King Baldyr’s hulking frame, but his golden skull is nowhere in sight. Another ship sails in the distance, nearly triple the size of the Silver Skull’s.

Baldyr.

A shudder runs through me as I watch his golden banners flutter in the winds. What will it take to track him down?

How can I destroy him and his people before the Blood Moon?

But when bodies move below, I don’t have time to stop and think. Skulls spill out of their quarters in droves. A heavy bell starts to ring.

Across the ship, the skies flash against the fighting silhouettes. Maji battle across the deck, taking over the vessel. My people fight with broken iron bars and stolen daggers, overwhelming the Skulls before they can activate their weapons.

My heart flutters when I see Nâo leading a group of girls. They push two Skulls over the edge of the ship. Kenyon leads others to tackle another Skull to the ground. They use their fists to keep the enemy down.

“Wake the captain!” a Skull yells from the levels below. Movement rises, traveling up the stairs. I charge down the steps, gripping the beaded machetes tight. A Skull approaches and I run forward before he can strike.

“Hah!” I slice my machetes across his throat. Hot blood spills across the wooden steps. The Skull grabs his neck and falls back. Lightning crackles as he hits the ground.

A second Skull swings his axe. I duck and kick, sending him down the stairs. With a running start, I leap from the captain’s floor. I raise both machetes over my head. Lightning illuminates the needles of rain as I arc through the air.

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