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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

TZAIN

“W E FOUND THE LAST ONE ! ”

The moment Nao’s call rings through the palm trees, I jump to my feet. My heart beats in anticipation of the face I need to see.

I slide down the cliff that houses our makeshift shelter. Nailah follows me, pouncing onto the sandy bank. Though unsteady on her feet, the lionaire stays by my side as we make our way through the dense greens.

“Be here,” I whisper to myself. My legs don’t carry me fast enough. Sharp rocks shift under my hardened feet, and thinning branches nick my skin. So much swirls inside me, I can barely feel the pain.

The moment our ship hit the water, everything went black. There was no way to keep Zélie in my grasp. The raging ocean tore us apart. I couldn’t save her or myself.

I gave in to the dark.

When I awoke on the sandy shores, it didn’t feel real. I couldn’t understand how we’d made it to the island chains. But only Nailah and Amari were by my side.

Zélie and Inan were gone.

Nao was the first to find us. I couldn’t speak as she walked us to the nascent maji camp.

When we arrived, I spotted all the maji who had made it off the ship.

I looked for Zélie in every tent. With every new lifeboat that’s been discovered, I’ve waited to see her face.

Every single time I’ve been left waiting in the sand.

“Be here .” I repeat the prayer. The palm trees give way to the open shore. Jagged bluffs fill the white sands, and tangles of seaweed line the beach. A group of yellow crabs skitters by my feet.

The hot sun blinds from above. I shield my eyes as Nao leads another boat of rescued maji down the coastline. I scan the twelve maji for my sister’s face, and something deflates inside.

Despite how hard I search, Zélie is nowhere to be found.

Where are you? I close my eyes, fighting back the swell that wants to burst. We were finally free of the Skulls. I held her in my arms.

I look out to the ocean waters. A steady tide laps the beach. I refuse to believe she’s gone.

After all we endured to escape, Zélie can’t be lost to the seas.

But as the maji make their way toward me, I don’t have time to sit still. The maji’s limbs drag through the wet sand. They’re all so weak they can barely stand.

“Here.” I run forward to meet them. I extend my arms to the two maji who struggle the most. The young girls hold on to me as I lead them away from the beach. When one of them falls, I stop, taking her off her feet and into my arms.

“Thank you.” She squeezes my hand. I offer her a smile in return. I see Zélie in her scars. The thought of this girl in chains makes my stomach turn.

Her small voice brings me back to what we’ve done, reminding me of the magnitude of our escape from the Skulls. I take great care as I hike back up the cliff. I lift the maji over the edge one at a time, watching as the new arrivals disperse through the modest shelter we’ve built.

Eight tents surround our signal fire, each crafted from the strongest branches we could find on this side of the island.

Gathered moss binds our shelters together.

Woven banana leaves form our blankets. Stone pots sit under the trees, collecting the rainwater that falls at night.

Fresh catch fries over the open flame. It’s more than any of us has had in days.

The strongest in our camp come to meet us. The new arrivals seem taken aback by the nourishment they bring. One maji offers large seashells full of rainwater. Another maji follows with fried swordfish and oysters.

Khani, one of my old agbon mates, rushes forward. A pit forms in my chest as I watch her work. From the day I first met her, she was always a part of a matched set. I’ve never seen her without Imani, her twin.

The sunlight warms Khani’s freckled skin, but I sense the emptiness she holds within. She approaches a maji cradling his arm. She’s focused and gentle, taking great care as she inspects the broken limb.

“Come with me,” Khani soothes. “I don’t have my magic, but I can set your bones.”

Despite the death of her own sister, the elder of the Healers helps everyone she can.

I don’t know if I could be that strong.

I gaze over the camp, taking everything in.

Though we’ve found a moment of respite, the toll of those we’ve lost hangs in the air.

When I’m still, I feel the weight of my old chains.

I’m choked with the stench of our cell. Though my feet grip the sand, I feel myself being pulled under the ocean, pulled back into the pain. Those Skulls locked me up.

But someone else broke out of that cage.

“Come on.” I nod to Nailah. I place my hand on her neck as we make our way back to the coastline. The faint echo of foreign chants fills my ears. I squeeze my eyes shut to keep them at bay.

We walk to an isolated part of the beach and climb over moss-covered reefs. I wade into the warm waters, and Nailah follows me in. She plunges her massive head below the surface, returning with a mouthful of fish.

As she feeds, I pull myself through the tangled roots of a mangrove tree. I push the branches away, revealing the Skull’s crimson axe.

Blóeseier…

My skin prickles at the words that run through my head.

It’s as if the axe calls to me, daring me to wield it again.

In the sunlight, the bloodmetal shines. Crimson stains the rectangular runes carved into its rosewood hilt.

My fingers drift toward the handle, and I remember the way I lost control.

I see the bodies of the fallen Skulls. With a drop of blood, I know the axe would awaken once more.

I’d feel the power of its red glow—

“Tzain!” The sound of Amari’s voice snaps me out of my haze. Water splashes at my back as she makes her way through the tides. I rush to move the branches and cover the axe’s hiding place.

“It’s Kenyon!” she speaks through her pants.

“He’s gathering the others.…” Amari’s voice trails off, and I follow her gaze.

Despite the branches, the sun reflects off the axe’s crimson blade.

Her brown cheeks flush, reminding me why I hid the axe so far from camp.

The way the others look at me with it, I might as well be wearing one of the Skull’s horrid masks.

Amari eyes me for a moment before reaching out and touching the hilt. A sharp hiss sounds and she draws her hand back. She gazes at my palms.

“Doesn’t it burn when you touch it?” she asks.

I think back to the Skull I killed. To the sharp heat that prickled through my skin. It was like the axe called out to me in its former owner’s death. Is that why I’m able to wield his weapon when the others can’t?

“I couldn’t leave it behind.” I fill the silence. “If something happens—”

“You don’t have to explain.” Amari speaks too quickly to mean what she says. But in her voice, I feel something gentle. A part of her that wants to understand.

I almost want to tell her what the axe does to me. The strange words I hear in my head. Being this close to her now, I remember the warmth of her embrace. The way she used to fit inside my arms. I think of the Tzain I was when all I wanted was for us to be together.

That Tzain thought our love would last forever.

But in her attempt to defeat her mother, Amari almost killed Zélie and an entire village. Even with the threat of the Skulls, I don’t know how I can forgive her for everything she’s done.

What future can we have when she was willing to destroy everything I loved?

“I didn’t know where to go.” Amari crosses her arms over her chest. She stares out at the endless sea. “Kenyon’s gathering the others. They’re preparing the boats for the journey home.”

“Back to Or?sha?” My brows arch. We haven’t even been on the island for two days. I hadn’t dared to think that far.

“There are maji at the camp,” Amari explains. “Sailors who know how to chart the stars. By the time night falls, they’ll be able to point us back home.”

I look out over the horizon. Again, my hands itch for the glinting axe. More Skulls could appear any second. If another ship landed on our shores, we wouldn’t stand a chance.

“When does he want to leave?” I ask.

“Dawn.” Amari closes her eyes, and her shoulders slump. “Talk to him. Please. We have to make them wait.”

“We can’t.”

“We don’t have a choice!” Amari’s voice turns shrill. “Inan and Zélie haven’t returned!”

“We can’t hold the rest of the maji hostage waiting for ghosts.”

Amari’s lips part. She looks at me like I’ve struck her with the axe. “You don’t mean that.”

I turn away. I don’t know what she wants me to say. I think of Khani back at the camp, caring for the others despite everything she’s lost. Zélie wouldn’t want me to wait.

She’d want to make sure the rest of the maji were safe.

“The others had boats,” I say. “They got off the ship. They had a real chance to get away.”

“So did we.” Amari doesn’t allow my words to shake her faith. “They’re alive, Tzain. I know it. I feel it in my gut. If you won’t help me stop the others, I’ll do it by myself.”