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CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

INAN

S ITTING INSIDE M OTHER’S TENT, I don’t know what to say. I still can’t believe she let me in.

The way she stared at me, I thought she would end me where I stood.

She limps under the crimson flaps, anger hardening the creases above her brow.

I think of the lavender walls that surrounded her palace quarters.

The rich velvets of her bed. Her collection of jewel-studded geles was large enough to fill its own wing.

Her wardrobe overflowed with beautiful gowns and colorful silks.

Now her tent houses little more than rolls of bandages, her t?tán armor, a small table, and one metal cot. I never thought I’d see the day.

I can hardly believe the queen I know is living this way.

Mother winces as she sits on her cot. Bloodstains cover the bandages around her abdomen. She reaches for a new roll, and I rise in an attempt to help.

“Let me—”

Mother slaps my hand away with her staff. I grit my teeth against the sting.

“You’re just as likely to wrap the bandages around my throat.”

I watch her as she struggles to remove the soaked cloth around her stomach. Lantern light reveals a brutal gash. Yellow and blue skin surrounds the wound. Her hands shake as she replaces the dressing.

“Don’t you have Healers?” I ask.

“Our Healers were the first to die.” Mother’s voice drips with bitterness. “I commend your people for damning ours.”

I shut my eyes and turn my head away. I think of all the fresh plots outside the t?tán dome. The loss of their Healers doesn’t just hurt the t?táns.

It hurts anyone the Skulls might harm.

The need to unify presses down on me once more. My shoulders threaten to buckle under the weight. We can’t afford to take one more Or?shan life. If we keep going like this, we’ll destroy ourselves long before the Skulls invade.

“I know you must hate me.”

“Hate you?” Mother breathes. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? We were at the end of the war! We crushed the Iyika ! You’ve brought our kingdom to its knees—”

“Even if I hadn’t dissolved the throne, they would have attacked. You would still have these wounds—”

“I would have an entire nation behind me!” Mother roars. But when shadows move outside the tent, she lowers her voice. “I would command a unified army. Not this measly dome!”

“And then what?” I dare to step forward. “More bodies to bury? More endless guilt? The wars we’ve waged against the maji have destroyed our kingdom! That fighting is what’s brought us here!”

“You’re just as foolish as the night you disappeared.” Mother’s amber eyes narrow. “You and your wretched love for the maji—”

“These aren’t just ideals, Mother!” I cut her off. “We can’t afford to fight anymore. An enemy is coming. A foreign king is already raiding our shores!”

“Do you think I would believe a word from your treacherous mouth?” Mother raises her hand to slap me. I grab her before she can strike.

“Don’t believe me,” I say. “See it for yourself!”

A turquoise cloud ignites around my hand before Mother can pull away. My magic rips us from the tent. In the span of a breath, we’re back on the Skulls’ ship.…

“Ugh!” I keel over as a Skull rams his fist into my gut. My mouth fills with the copper taste of my own blood. The Skull hits me again, and I fall to the floor, landing on top of a maji’s corpse.

The Skull drags me back to my feet. He brings his beady eyes to mine. It’s all I can do to spit on his mask. The Skull grabs me by the head, crushing it against the iron bars.

In the hall, another Skull removes his axe. The runes along its hilt turn red as it feeds on his blood. The hallway shrinks in the Skull’s bulging presence. Tremors pass through the wood planks as he walks.

He raises his glowing axe in front of my cell, a warning of what will come. Its heat burns my face as I shake in the Skull’s arms.…

When Mother pulls away, the sensation is so strong she falls to her knees. She presses a hand to her chest. From the way her nose wrinkles, I can tell she still smells the stench of the dead.

“That is where you’ve been this whole time?” she asks, and I nod.

“They’ve spent moons mounting raids and attacks. They’ve taken Amari, too.”

At Amari’s name, Mother’s lips tighten. Her hands travel to the bandages around her abdomen.

“How did you escape?” Mother asks.

“With the maji. I couldn’t have gotten back to Or?sha without them.”

Mother finally takes my hand as I join her on the cot. Her fury still radiates off her like heat. But with the knowledge of the Skulls, a new enemy has entered her battlefield.

One she might hate more than me.

“Invaders.” She shakes her head. “I never thought I’d see the day. If your father were here…” Mother shuts her eyes. I don’t know if it’s out of missing him or out of fear.

“If you’re fighting for the Or?sha he reigned over, your efforts are in vain,” I declare.

“That kingdom is gone forever. But the chance for a better Or?sha is still here. We need the maji, Mother.” I kneel by her side.

“Whatever remains of the soldiers, too. Our only chance at stopping the Skulls is to oppose their attack together, united as one.”

“It will never work,” Mother says. “The fighting will never stop.”

“Can you call an armistice?” I ask. “Can we put the battle to rest, just for one night?”

Mother stares at her t?tán armor for a long moment before turning to me.

“Give me a few days,” she reluctantly agrees. “I will see what I can do.”