Children of Blood and Bone - Tomi Adeyemi Page 0,155
a bat-eared foxer. Within seconds, Käto disappears over the railing, fading into the blackness of the other ship.
A weak grunt sounds, followed by another; a few moments later Käto reappears to give the go-ahead. As the last of his men board the ship, Roën beckons to me.
“Level with me, my mysterious maji. What will the gods give me if I take down this boat? Do I get to say what I’m interested in, or do they already know?”
“It doesn’t work like that—”
“Or maybe I need to impress them?” Roën talks over me, pulling his mask over the bridge of his nose. “What do you think I’ll get if I clear this boat in five minutes?”
“You won’t get anything if you don’t shut your mouth and go.”
His eyes crinkle through the holes of the mask; I have no doubt his foxer smile shines behind it. With a wink, he climbs up and we’re left to wait with only the mercenary anchoring the rope as company.
“Ridiculous.” I click my tongue. Five minutes for a boat of that size? The deck alone looks like it could support the whole army. They’ll be lucky to take it at all.
We sit in the night, cringing at the faint screams and grunts from above. But after the initial skirmish, the sounds fade into silence.
“There’s only a dozen of them,” Tzain mutters. “You really think they can take a whole shi—”
We stop as a shadowy figure slides down the rope. Roën lands on the boat with a thud and removes his mask, revealing his crooked smile.
“You did it?” I ask.
“No,” he sighs, and shows me the colored crystals of the hourglass in his timepiece. “Six minutes. Seven, if we’re rounding up. But if you’d let me kill, it would’ve been under five!”
“No way.” Tzain crosses his arms.
“See for yourself, brother. Ladder!”
A ladder flies over the side of the ship and I grab on, ignoring the pain in my back as I climb up the rungs. He’s joking. More games, more lies.
But when I hit the deck, I can hardly believe my eyes: dozens of royal guards lie unconscious, bound from head to toe in rope. Each is stripped of his uniform and their bodies are strewn across the deck like litter.
I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding when I see that Inan and Saran aren’t among the new captives. Yet somehow I doubt they’d fall so easily to Roën and his men.
“There’s more below deck,” Roën whispers in my ear, and even I can’t help but smile. I quickly roll my eyes, but Roën shines at this small hint of approval.
He shrugs and brushes nonexistent dirt off his shoulders. “I suppose it’s to be expected when you’re chosen by the gods.”
His smile lingers before he steps forward, a captain taking charge.
“Get these men in the brig. Sweep for any tools they can use to escape. Rehema, keep this ship on track. Käto, sail behind us in our boat. At this speed, we hit the island’s coordinates at daybreak.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
INAN
TWO DAYS HAVE PASSED.
Two days without her.
In her absence, the ocean air hangs heavy.
Every breath whispers her name.
Staring over the railing of the warship, I see Zélie in everything. A mirror I can’t escape. Her smile shines through the moon, her spirit blows with the ocean wind. Without her, the world is a living memory.
A ledger of all the things I’ll never enjoy again.
I close my eyes, reliving the sensation of Zélie against the reeds of the dreamscape. I didn’t know it was possible to fit so perfectly inside someone else’s arms.
In that moment—that one, perfect moment—she was beautiful. Magic was beautiful. Not a curse, but a gift.
With Zélie, it always is.
I wrap my hand around the bronze piece she gave me, holding it tight as if it’s the last piece of her heart. Something inside tempts me to throw it into the ocean, but I can’t bear to let the last part of her go.
If I could’ve stayed in that dreamscape forever, I would have. Given everything up. Never looked back.
But I woke up.
When my eyes opened, I knew it’d never be the same again.
“Scouting?”
I jump. Father appears beside me. His eyes look as black as the night.
They feel as cold.
I turn away, as if that could hide the longings buried deep in my heart. Father may not be a Connector, but his retaliation will be swift if he senses anything less than steadfast resolve.