“But what if this does not end at Chân—at the temple?” Amari lowers her voice. “Won’t we need more money? More food? Supplies?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “We’ll figure it out.”
I turn to leave, but Amari frowns and reaches into the depths of my pack.
“How much for this?” She pulls out her jeweled headdress.
The merchant’s eyes bulge out of his head as he stares at the priceless adornment.
“My gods,” he breathes. “Where on earth did you find that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Amari says. “How much?”
He turns the headdress over in his hands, and his mouth falls open when he sees the diamond-studded snow leopanaire. He lifts his gaze to Amari, slow and deliberate. He looks to me, but I keep my face even.
“I cannot take this.” He pushes the headdress away.
“Why?” Amari shoves it into his hands. “You’ll take the dress off my back but not the crown off my head?”
“I can’t.” The merchant shakes his head, but now that gold sits in his hands, his conviction wavers. “Even if I wanted to, there’s nothing I can trade. It’s worth more than everything I have.”
“Then how much can you give?” I ask.
He pauses, fear dancing with greed. He looks back at Amari once more, before staring at the headdress shining in his hands. He removes a ring of keys from his pocket and pushes aside a crate to reveal an iron safe. After unlocking and opening it, he inspects the glowing pile of coins inside.
“Three hundred gold pieces.”
I lurch forward. That kind of coin could last our family a lifetime. Maybe two! I turn to celebrate with Amari when the look on her face brings me back.…
I wouldn’t have this if it weren’t for my handmaiden. It is the only thing of hers I have left.
There was so much pain in her eyes. Pain I recognized. Pain I wore when I was young, the first time my family couldn’t pay a royal tax.
For months Tzain and Baba worked the sunfish harvest from dawn to dusk; at night they took extra work from the guards. They did everything possible to keep me out of it, but eventually their efforts fell short. That day I entered the floating market, Mama’s gold amulet in hand. It was the only thing of hers that we could recover, torn to the ground when the guards dragged her away.
After Mama died, I grasped that amulet like it was the last remaining piece of her soul. I still rub my neck sometimes, plagued by its absence.
“You don’t have to do this.” It stings to say those words in the face of so much gold, but ripping myself from Mama’s amulet felt like ripping away her heart; a pain so harsh I couldn’t even wish it on Amari.
Her eyes soften and she smiles. “You mocked me for not wanting to take off my dress before, but you were right. I was fixated on what I’ve already lost, but after everything my father’s done, my sacrifices will never be enough.” Amari nods to the merchant, making her final decision. “I couldn’t save Binta. But with the gold from this sale…”
We could save the divîners.
I stare at Amari as the merchant takes the headdress and piles the gold into velvet bags. “Take the bow.” He beams. “Take whatever you like!”
Gazing around the wagon, my eyes land on a sturdy leather pack decorated with circles and lines. I lean in to inspect its firm texture but stop when I realize the design is composed entirely of dotted crosses. I run my hands over the disguised clan mark, the secret symbol of Oya, my sister deity. If the guards ever recognized the truth hidden in the bag’s design, they could seize the merchant’s entire cart. They might even cut off his hands.
“Be careful!” the merchant shouts.
I snatch my hand back before I realize he’s talking to Amari.
She turns an empty hilt over in her hands. “What is this? No blade?”
“Point it away from yourself and give it a flick.”
Like with my staff, a flick of the hilt extends a long blade with a lethal curved point. It glides through the air with a deadly grace, surprisingly nimble in Amari’s small hands.
“I’ll take this.”
“If you don’t know how to use it—” the merchant warns.
“Why do you assume I don’t?”
I arch my eyebrow at Amari and think back to her mention of a training accident. I assumed the scar came from her brother’s sword, but was she holding a sword, too? Despite her escape from Lagos, I can’t imagine the princess locked in battle.
The merchant packs up our collection of coins and goods and sends us on our way, giving us everything we need to travel to Chândomblé. We walk back to meet Tzain in silence, but between the scar, the headdress, and the sword, I don’t know what to think. Where’s the spoiled princess I wanted to choke to death? And can she actually wield a sword?
As we pass a papaya tree, I pause, shaking the trunk until a yellow fruit falls. I give Amari a few moments to move forward before whipping the ripe papaya at her head.
For a heartbeat, Amari appears oblivious—how will I explain this? But as the fruit whistles near, she drops her basket and whips around, new blade extended, speed unmatched.
I gape as the ripe papaya falls to the ground, sliced in two clean halves. Amari smiles and picks up a piece, taking a triumphant bite.
“If you wish to hit me, you will have to try a little harder than that.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
INAN
KILL HER.
Kill magic.
My plan is all I have.
Without it, the world slips through my fingers. My maji curse threatens to break from my skin.
I’ll make you a deal, the girl whispers in my mind, lips twisting as she speaks. No one has to know you’re a dirty little—
“Dammit.”
I grit my teeth. It doesn’t block out the rest of her vile speech. With the memory of her voice, my infection simmers to the surface, prickling hot under my skin. As it rises, the broken voices grow. Louder. Sharper.
Like forcing a brick down my throat, I fight the magic back.
One … two …
I count as I struggle. The air around me begins to chill. Sweat gathers on my forehead. By the time my magic’s pushed down, my breath escapes in rough spurts. But the threat is quelled. For a brief instant I’m safe. Alon—
“Inan.”
I flinch and check that my helmet is still secure. My thumb runs over the latch for the fiftieth time today. I swear I can feel this new white streak growing.
Right into Kaea’s view.
She rides forward, summoning me to follow in her stead. She must not realize I’ve been riding behind her all day, avoiding her line of vision. Mere hours ago she almost saw it, catching me off guard as I stared at my reflection in a stream. If she’d left a little earlier … if I’d stayed out a little later—
Focus, Inan!
What am I doing? What-ifs get me nowhere.
Kill the girl. Kill magic. That’s all I need to do.
I squeeze my thighs around my snow leopanaire, Lula, and urge her after Kaea, careful to avoid the horns protruding from her back. If I hit one too hard, my ryder will buck me from my saddle.
“Now.” I snap Lula’s reins when she growls. “Don’t be such a lazy bastard.”