Children of Blood and Bone - Tomi Adeyemi Page 0,36

stomach. Before I can stop myself, this morning’s roasted swordfish fights its way up. I double over as vomit burns my throat and hits the sand with a splash.

“Inan!” Kaea wrinkles her nose as I cough, a hint of concern eclipsed by her disgust. She probably thinks me weak. But better that than her discovering the truth.

I clench my fist, almost positive I can feel the magic attacking my blood. If maji can infect us now, they’ll defeat us before we have a chance to take them out.

“She was here.” I wipe my mouth on the back of my hand. “The divîner with the scroll. We need to locate her before she hurts anyone else.”

“What?” Kaea’s thin brows crease. “How do you know?”

I open my mouth to explain when the sickening sting erupts under my scalp again. I turn. The prickle grows—it’s strongest when I face the southern forest.

Though the air stinks of charred flesh and black smoke, I catch the fleeting scent of the sea again. It’s her. It has to be. Hiding among the trees …

“Inan,” Kaea snaps. “What do you mean? How do you know she was here?”

Magic.

My grip tightens around the tarnished pawn. My palm itches at the touch. The word feels dirtier than maggot. If I can hardly stomach the idea, how will Kaea react?

“A villager,” I lie. “He told me they went south.”

“Where is the villager now?”

I point blindly at a corpse, but my finger lands on the scorched body of a child. Another turquoise cloud shoots toward me. All rosemary and ash.

Before I can run away, the cloud passes through my hand with sickening heat. The world fades out in a wall of flames. Screams bleed into my ears.

“Help—”

“Inan!”

I snap back to reality. A cold tide rushes over my boots.

The beach. I squeeze the pawn. You’re still on the beach.

“What happened?” Kaea asks. “You were moaning.…”

I whip around, looking for the girl. She has to be behind this. She’s using her wretched magic to fill my head with sounds.

“Inan—”

“We should interrogate them.” I ignore the concern in Kaea’s eyes. “If one of the villagers knew where they were headed, another might have information, too.”

Kaea hesitates and purses her lips. She probably wants to pry. But her duty as admiral comes first. It always will.

We walk over to the surviving villagers. I focus on the tide to ignore their shrieks, but the screaming only grows louder as we draw near.

Seven…, I count in my head. Eight … nine …

I am the son of Orïsha’s greatest ruler.

I am their future king.

“Silence!”

My voice booms into the night with a power that doesn’t feel like my own. Even Kaea gives me a surprised glance as the cries quiet into nothingness.

“We’re looking for Zélie Adebola. She has stolen something valuable from the crown. We were told she’s heading south, and now we need to know why.”

I scan the dark faces of those who refuse to meet my eyes, searching for any sign of the truth. Their fear soaks into the air like humidity. It seeps into my own skin.

“—gods, please—”

“—if he kills me—”

“—in the gods’ names did she steal—”

My heart slams against my chest as their voices attack in flickers, broken thoughts that threaten to overwhelm me. More turquoise clouds rise into the air. Like wasps, they dart toward me. I start to fall back into the blackness of my mind—

“Answer him!”

Thank the skies. Kaea’s bark pulls me back.

I blink and grip the pommel of my sword. The smooth metal grounds me in reality. With time, their fear fades. But the unnerving sensation remains.…

“I said, answer him!” Kaea growls. “Do not make me repeat myself.”

The villagers keep their gazes to the ground.

In their silence, Kaea lunges.

Screams erupt as she grabs an elderly woman by her gray hair. Kaea drags the moaning woman through the sand.

“Admiral—” My voice chokes when Kaea unsheathes her sword. She places the blade against the woman’s wrinkled neck. A single drop of blood falls onto the ground.

“You want to stay silent?” Kaea hisses. “Stay silent and you die!”

“We don’t know anything!” a young girl cries out. Everyone on the beach freezes.

The girl’s hands are trembling. She shoves them into the sand.

“We can tell you about her brother and father. We can tell you of her skill with a staff. But not a soul in Ilorin knows where she’s gone or why.”

I give Kaea a stern look; she drops the woman like a rag doll. I trudge through the wet sand until I reach the