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CHAPTER TWENTY

ZéLIE

“G ET TO THE LIFEBOATS ! ” Inan roars like the thunder above. All at once, everything shifts. Tzain launches into action, pulling Nailah and me to the other side of the ship.

The elements fight against us as we run. The rain cuts. The winds howl. The deck is slick with the blood of the slain Skulls. We slip and fall across the floor more than we’re able to run.

The other maji stampede across the deck. They trip over one another in their trek. We all race to escape the damaged ship, running toward the wide boats covered with animal skins.

“Your blade!” Tzain snatches a dagger from another boy’s hand.

He cuts through the ropes tying one of the boats to the deck.

Together we turn the boat right side up.

A dozen maji pile in as Tzain and I inspect the boat’s mechanisms, trying to figure out how it works.

Though more complex than the coconut boats we sailed in Ilorin, some of the foreign parts are familiar.

Tzain snaps the wooden mast into place. I tug on a rope, and the mainsail flows free. Tzain points to the lever in the center.

“Who can steer?” He searches the group.

Two lean boys with matching birthmarks step forward. Tzain positions their hands over the lever, showing them how to control the sails.

“Where do we go?” one of the boys asks.

Inan pushes to the front, pointing to a chain of islands on the flashing horizon.

“There!” he shouts over the howling winds. “Head north until you hit sand!”

“Everyone move!” Kenyon orders. Maji back out of his way. The elder of the Burners loads a giant cannon and lights the torch. We cover our ears as the cannon explodes. The ball shoots through the ship’s railing, creating an opening big enough for the lifeboats to escape.

Tzain and Inan don’t waste a second. They push the first lifeboat across the slippery deck. The twelve maji scream as they go over the ship’s edge.

Their lifeboat falls more than twenty meters through the air.

I grab our ship’s railing as the lifeboat lands nose first. The thrashing waters drench the maji in seconds. But the lifeboat stabilizes on the sea’s surface. The wind-powered propeller attached to the boat’s back roars to life.

I hold my breath as the maji fly across the waves, clinging to the sides of the boat. They almost tip over more than once, but they make their way through the choppy waters. Lightning illuminates their trek toward the island chain.

“Again!” Tzain cuts another boat free. “Come forward if you can steer!”

Everyone starts to work together. We find an order through the growing chaos. One by one, Tzain cuts the boats free and maji pile in. Levers snap into place. Sails blow in the wind.

Storm clouds spiral in the raging skies. The sea thrashes from side to side. The ship groans with its pain. Wooden panels crack under the strain.

We push boat after boat over the edge as the ship’s bow starts to rise. As the deck tilts, Skulls’ corpses slide past us. We have to fight our way through the dead.

The trio of cheetanaires sprints across the rising deck, fresh blood matted into the spotted fur around their snouts. One cheetanaire leaps, and Tzain pulls me back. It misses me by a hair, tumbling off the broken ship.

“Let’s go!” Tzain yells. Only one lifeboat remains. I pull Nailah on, and Amari follows.

I keep my hands on the lever. Amari pulls our sails free. Tzain and Inan take position behind the boat. I brace myself as they push.

But as we make our way to the ship’s edge, the medallion glows in my chest. My skin starts to hum with a new force. Fresh bolts of lightning erupt above, each so bright they illuminate the entire horizon.

“What in the gods’ names,” I whisper. The brilliant blaze of color stops time. For a moment, we’re caught under deep oranges and turquoise greens, blazing reds and shocking purples. The lightning forms a crackling circle around our heads.

Somehow I know the medallion is the cause.…

The black waters flash under the brilliant light. More bolts dance across the entire width of the seas. The lightning gathers in one lethal swell.

Then the Skulls’ mighty ship snaps in half.