Page 129 of Firstborn of the Sun
‘Can’t blame a girl for trying,’ L’?r? said.
‘I can blame you for trying to steal my throne. I mean, it’s only fair I fight for it,’ Tofa said.
‘I don’t want your throne. I don’t want anything to do with you or your kingdom or your gods. I just want to leave this cursed land – with Alawani!’ L’?r? shouted and glanced at Milúà.
Tofa watched all the emotions that flared up with her every word. He wanted to believe her but how could he? She had managed to deceive Alawani into blindly following her but he wouldn’t be such easy prey. ‘Tell me, L’?r? of Òtútù, on this adventure of yours, has anyone in my kingdom bowed to you and sworn the sovereign oath?’
Her eyes widened and that was all the answer he needed.
‘So you don’t want my throne but you claim the servitude and lives of my subjects.’
‘That’s not what happened. I couldn’t stop them.’
‘I was born for this throne,’ Tofa shouted despite himself, ‘raised to sit upon it. The crown has been a burden since my first breath, but it has been my burden to bear. How dare you?’
L’?r? pushed herself off the wall, her eyes furrowed in a deep frown. ‘I’ve told you once. I won’t say it again. I do not want your cursed crown.’
‘Then why are you here!’
‘I was born here!’
‘You shouldn’t have been,’ Tofa said.
L’?r? tilted her head, ‘I shouldn’t have been born?’
Tofa looked into her eyes for a long moment, not sure what he was looking for. Parts of him hoped he’d feel some sort of kinship with her. She was his sister after all. But he felt nothing but rage. He beckoned to the Lord General and half a dozen guards appeared. ‘Tie them up. We’re done here.’
‘Tofa!’ Alawani shouted. ‘Tofa, please don’t do this. Just let us go, and you’ll never see either of us again. I promise.’
Tofa glared at him, ‘You! I will deal with you later,brother.’
As the Lord General stepped towards L’?r?, Àlùfáà-Àgbà’swords rang clear in his head.L’?r? of Òtútù is a threat to your throne and our kingdom. Tofa slowly released the breath he’d been holding. And in a little whisper, his father’s voice pleaded to bring his daughter home alive, promising him that the throne would always be his, as he’d done before Tofa left home. He stopped in his tracks and took another look at her. The familiarity of her features became clearer to him, and he realized one thing. Àlùfáà-Àgbà was right. L’?r? of Òtútù, firstborn of the sun and heir to the throne of Oru, had to die, and she had to die by his hand.
L’?R?
L’?r? hadn’t imagined what her brother, the crown heir, would look like. A part of her thought she’d instantly recognize him. She’d never seen the Lord Regent or any of his children before so when she felt like she could see part of herself in him, it was all she could do not to turn on her heels and run and run and keep running. If Ìyá-Idán was right, Tofa wanted her dead more than anyone else in the kingdom. He was the crown heir to the kingdom of Oru. He was her brother and enemy. If she died today, she knew it’d be by his hand.
L’?r? missed Command more in this moment than ever before. Her guiding voice was gone. And for the first time in many first suns, she felt like that little girl, alone in the desert night, surrounded by people stronger than she was. And the one who’d saved her then was now trapped and bound by his maiden. Fear filled Alawani’s eyes as he watched the soldiers surround her, unable to move past the blade held to his neck. L’?r? blinked, and the soldiers came into focus. She could do this.
For the first time in her life, sheshoutedthe words thatawakened her blades – she had nothing to gain by whispering them now; the Holy Order wanted her dead anyway. She called upon the old god of fire and thunder: ‘?àngó, Dìde. Fún mi ní agbára r?. Jà fún mi!’Wake up. Give me your power. Fight for me.
Her blades crackled to life, and she started swinging. The soldiers closest to her didn’t get the chance to ignite their agbára before she cut them down, targeting the parts of their bodies uncovered by armour. She cut through flesh and bone, swinging wildly in her fury. Her mind was blank. Silent. Still, she knew when to duck low and slice through calves, when to rise in time to meet blows aimed at her head. The three soldiers left standing tried forming energy blasts; she had moved before they could form their attack.
She lunged for the soldier heating the air around her, drawing close enough for him to burn her skin. But she’d grown up tormented by the villagers in her home. The pain of burnt flesh was as familiar as biting her own tongue. She screamed through the pain and kicked him off, and the next swipe of her curved blade left a deadly line across the soldier’s neck. Another soldier kicked her in the chest, throwing her back a few feet. She heard her chest crack on impact, and her vision blurred as she slumped to the ground. As soon as she caught her breath, she ran at him, climbed him like a wall, stepped on his torso, then kicked his chest before flipping back to the ground – the whole time, running her blade through him. He fell in a heap.
Something snapped in her, as the blood sprayed across her face. She turned on the others but a blast of energy sent her sprawling across the room. She crashed into the stone wall and crawled to her feet, spitting out blood and rising to meet the soldiers. Her head throbbed and the ringing in her ears nearly drowned out the sound of Alawani screamingfor her. She heard him scream again in pain and guessed that he’d attempted to ignite his agbára, and the magic cuffs had burned him.
L’?r? noticed that Tofa, Milúà and the Lord General didn’t join the fight or interfere. It was almost like they were making her put on a show for them. She spat out another chunk of blood and wiped her mouth. If it was a show they wanted, she’d gladly oblige. She ran for the two remaining soldiers. As she got closer, she flashed the fire in her blades. The men blinked and shielded their eyes and L’?r? slid across the floor, cutting at their legs, turning in a single move and sinking a blade into both their backs.
The chandeliers above them swung and crashed into each other, raining glass on all of them. The relentless wind picked up speed even as it hammered into the building.
‘You can’t think you’ll make it out of this alive,’ Tofa said, watching the fight from a distance like a master setting his hounds on a prey. L’?r? glared at him, ignoring the aches in her body and the fear that gripped her heart with a firm unyielding hand.
‘I do,’ she said coldly, ‘brother.’
Tofa slowly stalked towards her and Milúà followed. L’?r? stood tall and brushed away the sweat that had gathered on her brows, the sound of her breathing the only thing she could hear. She was ready, blades out and fiery. Then suddenly, she felt an intense heat rising beneath her feet. Alawani let out a deep guttural growl and screamed at the top of his lungs. Hunched over, she couldn’t see what had happened to him and her body grew cold, her fingers trembling, her agbára itching to burst as she waited for him to stand. When he did, his arms were scorched, and the magic cuffs fell from his wrists.
‘Tèmi, run!’ Alawani shouted.
