Page 43 of Children of Anguish and Anarchy

“They were searching for a maji with the blood of the sun. A maji who could take this and survive. The medallion’s transforming my blood. It’s awakened a new power inside.”

The others drink in my every word as I explain what happened in the Silver Skull’s quarters. I describe King Baldyr’s golden mask. I share the way we battled before he shoved the bloodmetal into my sternum.

When I describe the maji lying dead on the floor, Khani shifts. I give her a moment as Nâo guides her to the edge of the camp. I imagine the hole the same medallion left in her twin’s chest. The careless way the Skulls must’ve thrown Imani’s body to the seas. A flood of guilt hits me at the thought of every maji the medallion’s touched.

Every maji King Baldyr’s killed in his hunt.

“I don’t know what their king is after.” I stare into the open flames. “But I’m only one part of his plan. He had two more medallions. One for another girl, and one for him.”

“Another maji?” Kenyon asks.

“Not a maji.” I shake my head. “A girl from another land.”

I start to explain the girl from my vision—her long black hair, her russet-brown skin. I speak of the way her eyes sparkle like diamonds. I tell them of the ancient voice under the glowing seas that told me to find her.

“I don’t know where the girl is,” I continue. “But I think I can find her using this.”

I unclip the Silver Skull’s compass from my waist. The others take turns inspecting the hexagon-shaped device. I wait as it passes through the circle. Most maji are too afraid to touch.

“What does it point to?” Nâo asks. The thick red dial lies dormant in her hands. But when I take the bronze compass back, the metal hums. The medallion flickers beneath my wrap. The red dial starts to shift, pointing to my heart.

“It points to me,” I explain. “I think I can make it point to her.”

“But that would mean…” Nâo’s voice trails off. She looks away from our camp, toward the crashing tides. I picture the lifeboats anchored to the sands, waiting to set sail.

“We have to split up.” I finish her thought. I can almost see the hope deflate in the air. We just reunited. It feels wrong to go our separate ways.

But Tzain slings his arm around my shoulders. Once again, Amari grabs my hand. Their touch warms something deep in my core. It’s been so long since the three of us were truly on the same side.

“Orïsha must be warned.” Inan breaks the silence. “They won’t understand what’s to come. It’s been centuries since we’ve been attacked by a foreign nation. Without a king, they won’t know how to respond.”

“You mean without your father?” Kenyon pushes back. “Or are you referring to yourself?”

“I didn’t mean—” Inan starts.

“If Orïsha still had its king, there’d be no maji for the Skulls to take,” Kenyon continues. “If Orïsha still had its king, we’d all be dead!”

With Kenyon’s words, the air around the fire changes. I tense as the tides shift. A line is drawn in the sand, breaking the fragile unity we just had.

“I wasn’t trying to…” Inan looks around the camp. “There is no excuse for what the monarchy’s done—”

But the maji drown him out. Amari rises as a few begin to swarm. My head spins as the discussion spirals out of control.

How is it we can still fight like this when we know of the Skulls?

“Enough!” I yell.

Tzain grabs my arm. “Don’t defend him. Not here.”

“This isn’t about him!” I rip my arm free and step forward. “We can’t keep doing this. We can’t keepfightinglike this. We’ve brought our kingdom to its knees, and now their fiercest are at our door. How many of our fiercest lie in the ground?”

My voice cracks as I think of all the blood that’s been spilled—Mama Agba’s, Mâzeli’s, Lekan’s. If the maji and the monarchy hadn’t been at war for centuries, would we even be here now?

“We are it.” I look around the circle. “We are the only true defense Orïsha has left. Whatever we’ve done to hurt each other, whatever scores we have to settle, it ends now. We can’t afford to be at each other’s throats.”

The bonfire crackles in our silence as my words ripple through the camp. Some of the maji hang their heads. But the crowd building against Amari and Inan begins to disperse.

“And if I can’t?” Tzain says, staring directly at the royal siblings.

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