Page 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

TZAIN

H OLDING Z é LIE IN MY arms, I don’t ever want to let go. For an instant, the ship fades away. The fallen Skulls and freed ryders vanish into thin air.

I feel every time my sister’s been ripped away from me. Every time I thought I would never see her again. When she ran after Mama. When she was tortured by King Saran. When she disappeared in the caves of Ibadan, forced to survive the toxic clouds of gas.

Never again. My body shakes with the words I hold back. No more mistakes. Whatever it takes to keep her safe.

“You’re here ,” Zélie finally whispers. Her soft words bring me back. Outside the ship, the storm rages around us. The cries of the fighting maji travel through the ryder pen.

Zélie’s hot tears spill onto my neck, and I tighten my grip.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper back. “I promise.”

Behind us, Nailah roars. Despite everything, I smile. I reach through the cage and lay my hand on her golden head. I never thought I’d see our lionaire again.

A crude muzzle is tied around her snout. Patches of fur have withered away where her body meets the bars. Her rib cage protrudes from her skin. She looks like she’s suffered just as much as we have.

“Can you break her out?” Zélie asks. I glance back at the foreign axe. I think of the way its power surged through me before. All the Skulls I cut out of my path.

A part of me doesn’t ever want to feel what I feel when I grab on to its hilt. But its power is the only reason I got to Zélie in time. It’s the only thing that will keep her safe.

“Get back,” I instruct my sister. She moves away as I pick up my fallen axe. Again, my blood feeds into the hilt. The foreign chants fill my head.

I breathe in as fresh anger rips through me. My muscles grow taut. The red glow surrounds the crimson blade. I lift it up, almost in a daze.

With one smash, Nailah’s padlock breaks. Our lionaire leaps out of her cage. She topples me to the floor, knocking the axe out of my hand before I feel anything more.

Nailah coats my face with her pink tongue in thanks before running to my sister. Zélie throws her arms around the lionaire’s neck and releases a sob. A moment is all I give them before returning to the fight.

“We need to go.” I raid a fallen Skull, removing the sheath attached to his back. Though I fear the power of the axe, I slide it into the leather handle. I won’t leave the only true power I have to attack.

“Back to the deck.” I grab the rope around Nailah’s snout and help Zélie up. “The ship is almost ours!”

We push past fallen Skulls and fallen cages as we make our way out of the ryder pen. The ship’s sway has increased threefold. It’s a struggle to stay upright.

We pull ourselves up the spiraling steps. With a powerful lurch, we make it back to the deck. Lightning dances above, illuminating the final battle that rages across the ship.

I hold Zélie back, watching as the maji attack. Our people strike with a vengeance. Blood pours like the rain that pounds from above. To our right, a towering Skull takes a sword to the gut.

To our left, a group of maji use a cannon like a battering ram. They knock a pair of charging Skulls overboard. The howling winds steal our enemies’ yells.

We’ve done it.…

I can’t believe it. Our victory draws near. One by one, every Skull falls to the deck. The masks of our enemies crack in half.

When the last Skull falls, Kenyon raises his fists to the flashing sky and roars. The other maji join his battle cry. I think of every maji we lost in this fight. The bodies tossed into the seas. Tears fill my eyes as I lift my hand and shout for them.

I pray they feel our victory.

“It’s really over?” Zélie squeezes my arm, and I nod.

We’ve survived this terror.

We have a chance to go home—

BOOM!

An explosion rings from below the deck. The entire ship quakes. The wooden panels at our feet are blown apart. Debris shoots into the air.

“What was that?” I turn toward the sound as a sharp crack reverberates through the boat. Two silhouettes rise from the lower levels, running onto the deck.

Lightning flashes against a girl’s terror-stricken face and I freeze. My hands fall numb.

Amari…

The sight of the princess I once loved still makes my heart stop.

She clings on to her brother, both soaking wet.

“We have to go!” Amari screams. “The ship’s going down!”