Children of Blood & Bone: Chapter Summaries

This page presents plot summaries chapter by chapter. *Note: These summaries contain spoilers.*

### Chapters 1-10

#### Chapter 1

*POV: Zélie*

The story opens in Mama Agba’s hut. Mama Agba teaches young divîner and kosidán girls how to defend themselves using a staff. Zélie Adebola, a divîner girl, fights Yemi, a kosidán girl. Yemi is the best of the student martial artists. During the fight, Yemi mocks Zélie for being a divîner. Just as Zélie is about to defeat Yemi, two of the king’s guards approach. The girls quickly disguise the martial arts training school as a seamstress’ shop. The guards enter and demand that Mama Agba should pay taxes for employing divîners. Zélie speaks out, and one of the guards begins to threaten and assault her. Mama Agba pays the tax. The friendlier of the two guards interrupts his colleague, saying they still have many more huts to visit. The guards leave. Mama Agba gathers the girls together and tells them the history of the maji in Orïsha, about the day that magic disappeared, and about the Raid, the day King Saran had all the maji killed. Zélie recalls the death of her mother during the Raid. After the lesson ends, Mama Agba holds back Zélie. Zélie worries she will be punished, but Mama Agba instead gifts Zélie a black fighting staff, which once belonged to Zélie’s mother. Zélie’s brother Tzain arrives and announces there has been an emergency with their father, Baba.

#### Chapter 2

*POV: Zélie*

The chapter starts with Tzain and Zélie racing through the city of Ilorin to find Baba, their father, who was told to be in danger. Tzain is frustrated with Zélie because she was supposed to watch over Baba but instead fought in her graduation sparring. Zélie jumps from boat to boat in the market as Tzain follows behind her. When many people are pointing and shouting at someone in the ocean, Zélie realizes it is her father drowning. As Baba cries for help, two fishermen try to get to him. By the looks of it, they will not get there in time. All of a sudden, Tzain launches into the water and swims out to his drowning father. It takes several times for Tzain to recover Baba. Finally, Tzain comes up with Baba. After they rescue Baba, he tells his kids that he had to go out fishing because the taxes increased. It has gotten complex for Baba to catch fish. Baba has been weakened and puzzled by the Raid. His wife was presumed dead, and he was tortured by the people that raided his village. One of the side effects of this was that he would blackout. Tzain is confused by this, being he just paid taxes last week, but Baba says it is a divîner tax, and if he did not pay it, the guards said they would force Zélie into the Stocks. The Stocks are where people are forced to do hard labor and usually die. As Zélie hides her terror, she feels guilty and thinks it is her fault that all of this happened, mainly because she is a divîner. Zélie tries to fix her mess by telling Tzain and Baba that she will go into Lagos and trade fish to earn money. Lagos is a dangerous area to go to, especially if you are a divîner. Tzain refuses at first but then says he will go with her. As they saddle up on Nailah, their lionaire ryder, they take Baba to Mama Agba’s so he can stay there while they go on their journey.

#### Chapter 3

At the start of this chapter, we are introduced to Princess Amari of Lagos. While she is trying to eat, her mother bashes her with criticism. This, however, does not faze Princess Amari and seems as if her mother has critisized her a thousand times. A servant of Amari tells her that Binta, who is a diviner servant, has been taken to her father, King Saran. Getting told this information, Amari is shocked since Binta is her only and best friend. She thinks that Binta is getting taken to her father because she gave Binta a bangle which Amari gave Binta so she could pay her family's taxes. Amari realizes that Binta must have sold, making them think she is a thief. While this is happening, Amari's mother starts to compliment Samara for her looks. Samara is a rich lighter skin girl who is together with Amari's brother, Prince Inan. Amari's mother values Samara's skin like diamonds. Amari's mother had forced Amari to get horrific beauty regimens to get lighter skin in the past as darker skin is seen as lower in society. Fearing that Binta is in trouble, Amari excuses herself and then proceeds to sneak into her father's throne room. She finds a hiding place right before her father, Admiral Ebele, and Admiral Kaea walk into the room. Amari overhears Kaea explaining that a scroll and a sunstone have washed ashore into a village when the three are talking. King Saran hard ordered these artifacts to be destroyed, however, they have been hexed too many times to do so. She overhears Admiral Kaea saying that these objects have activated powers for the local diviners, which turned them into maji. Binta is forced into the room to experiment if the scroll and sunstone do bring back magic. Kaea pulls Binta's arm to the scroll. Then, multiple colors of light fly around the room out of Binta's hand. Even though Amari was taught magic is evil, she thinks it is beautiful. Out of nowhere, King Saran stabs Binta in the chest with his sword, killing Binta almost instantly. After Amari sees her best friend murdered, she then throws up and sneaks into Admiral Kaea's room. There, she sees the scroll and takes her father's cloak without hesitation.

#### Chapter 4

The chapter opens with Zélie arguing with Tzain about her responsibility for Baba and the fact that he could have drowned. Tzain believes Zélie was at fault because she left Baba alone to go train with Mama Agba. Zélie argues that it was the guards' fault for raising the tax money and collecting more. Zélie apologizes while they approach Lagos. Tzain is quiet until Zélie dismounts Nailah, their lionaire, when he hands her a dagger and tells her to be careful. Zélie approaches the entrance to Lagos when the guards give her trouble. They are mean, they choke her, touch her inappropriately, and, ultimately, make her feel uncomfortable. She then entered the market quickly, where she spots a man arguing with a vendor about fish. She becomes of interest to the man when she offers him a “special” type of fish. His initial price of fifty silver pieces did not impress her, so she held out. He offered her three-hundred. She was in awe, but she held out. She began to walk away, and felt like she messed up again, when he offered her five-hundred silver pieces for the fish. She accepted and traded the fish when a group of guards came rushing through the market. Zélie was fearful, and even more so, when a girl came up and began begging to be aided in escape.

#### Chapter 5

The chapter opens when the mysterious, “copper-skinned girl” begs for Zélie's help. Zélie knows that she will never forgive herself unless she helps this girl. As much as this stranger would be a burden, Zélie understands that it is the right thing to help. Zélie grabs the girl and enters a clothing stall. She looks at the girl and her clothing and gathers the thought that she is of noble blood. Since the girl is wearing rich materials, Zélie makes her change into a brown cloak so that she is more camouflaged. They walk towards the market's edge where guards are standing to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the area until the fugitive, the “copper-skinned girl” is found. Zélie apologizes for bothering the guards and walks away. While she is thinking of another plan, she realizes that the mysterious girl has not moved and is still standing in front of the guards. Zélie attempts to distract the guards, but they are already searching through the girl's hood. Zélie yells “Duck!” as she takes out her staff and attacks the guards leaving them unconscious on the floor. Zélie had to protect the silver pieces she had just traded for. Zélie and the girl run off and search for a way to escape. They hear footsteps behind them and realize that they need some sort of distraction. Zélie spots a stack of barrels that she pushes down. When there is nowhere to hide, Zélie begins to beg to the gods to hide the two girls. Just then, bright rays of sunshine burst through the clouds and all of the guards look up. The two girls begin to run away and hit some divîners and the divîners drop their rum. Zélie spots a torch and tells the girl to grab it. They both run and Zélie grabs the glass bottle of rum. They see an exit but then see that there are guards blocking the exit and they are ready to catch the girl and Zélie. Zélie then grabs the rum bottle and the torch and lights a fire creating an explosion. The girls manage to see the gate and sprint for it. One guard catches up,  but Zélie fiercely uses her staff to defend herself. Zélie escapes and realizes that the girl is still on the other side so she sprints through the gate. When she reaches the girl,  the gates close. When the guards feel like they are about to capture the girls when Nailah swoops down and Tzain yells at the girls to hop on. Zélie grabs the girl, Nailah flys off, and they are saved.

#### Chapter 6

Prince Inan returns home in defeat after unsuccessfully capturing the fugitive in the marketplace. This was Inan’s first mission as captain of the guard, and he failed. Now, he is preparing himself to face his father’s temper. Inan can also not get Zélie’s face out of his head, and his body feels strange whenever he thinks about her and the look they shared in the market. Inan's mother is furious that her son was even in danger and pulls Inan into the throne room with his father. As Inan and his mother enter the throne room to meet with the king, Inan realizes that Admiral Ebele has been killed by his father and that Kaea is now the admiral. Once Admiral Kaea leaves the room, Inan’s mother immediately starts pleading with King Saran to relinquish Inan’s position as Captain of the Guard. She is worried for her son's safety, and that he will get hurt. Inan then argues that it is his duty as prince to protect his people, and that the fugitive only got away as a result of the other guards breaking their positions. Inan then tells his father that the fugitive from the palace now has an accomplice that they are trying to identify. King Saran dismisses his wife from the throne room, and Inan continues to beg his father for another chance. With almost no hesitation, King Saran grants him another chance because he believes only Inan can capture this fugitive. The king then reveals to Inan that the fugitive is, in fact, his sister, Princess Amari.

#### Chapter 7

After they make it a safe distance away from Lagos, Tzain abruptly stops Nailah, their lionaire, and scolds Zélie for putting their family in danger by helping the fugitive. Zélie is then in an angry mood, and to make matters worse, the fugitive reveals herself to be Princess Amari of Orïsha. Zélie immediately hates Amari for what her father, King Saran has done to her mother and the fellow divîners. Amari then shows them the magical scroll she stole from the palace. Zeile things that magic is dead and that it was a mere hoax being pulled by Amari. Amari tells them that when her childhood divîner friend Binta touched the scroll, she gained magic. Amari believes if Zélie touches the scroll, that maybe they can bring magic back to Orïsha. Zélie is skeptical, but touches the scroll anyways. She feels a tingling sensation of magic rush throughout her body, but quickly draws her hand back because she does not want to get her hopes up that magic can return. Zélie then thinks about her mother and wonders how the Raid would have gone differently if her mom had her powers. She pictures her mom fending off the guards and defending the people in their village. Tzain does not like the scroll, and feels that having magic will put Zélie and their family in even greater danger. So, Tzain tells them that they need to get back to Baba and go into hiding. They then decide to take the scroll and Amari back home with them to Ilorin.

#### Chapter 8

Inan is troubled with the thought of Amari committing treason by stealing the scroll, since she had always been obedient to her mother and is inexperienced with the world outside of the palace. Inan speaks with his father, King Saran, who explains how overpowered and malicious maji were. In the past, kosidans had tried to be reasonable with maji however it ended with them [maji] killing the majority of the royal family with the exception of King Saran. King Saran inreturn ordered for the Raid as revenge. Many other empires had tried to control maji but failed. King Saran believes that in order for his kingdom to survive, magic must be eradicated. He discovered that the only way to control maji was to cut off the connection between them and the gods. When Inan hears this he is immediately shocked, King Saran told him before that gods did not exist. After finding the source of the spiritual connection between maji and the gods, King Saran ordered his guards to destroy them. King Saran then commands Inan to find and return Amari and the scroll with the aid of Admiral Kaea. Admiral Kaea then enters the room and reveals that it was Zelie who helped Amari. Anxiously, Inan announces that he will go to Ilorin to find Amari. King Saran agrees on the terms that no one finds out and that Ilorin is burned when he is done.

#### Chapter 9

Zélie and Tzain return to Ilorin from Lagos with Amari. They find that Mama Agba took good care of Baba, as he is asleep in her hut. Tzain leaves with Baba to fetch their belongings. Zélie explains to Mama Agba what had happened in Lagos and gives her the scroll. Mama Agba trembles once the scroll is in her hands and reveals to Zélie that she is actually a maji. Mama Agba had a vision and had gotten rid of her white hair in order to escape the violence directed towards the maji. The diviners have been attacked and discriminated against based on their appearance. Mama Agba chants words in Yoruba, which is the language the maji use to connect to the Gods. Since the Raid happened everyone has to speak in Orïshan. Mama Agba’s hands soon start to explode with light and suddenly realizes that the Gods were with them all along the journey. Suddenly they hear shouts coming from outside. The village of Ilorin is burning down. Zélie searches through the village to find Tzain and Baba. She believes that Baba and her brother have perished in the flames. When she thinks the worst she tries to drag Amari into the flames with her so that King Saran, too, will suffer loss. Tzain calls for Zélie and it is revealed that he was safe in the water with Baba, Mama Agba and Nailah. Mama Agba is realizing that her magic is one of a kind and that she wants to bring it back. She wants to go on a quest because magic is a very big thing that should be more used carefully. She is able to see into the future which lets her know that she has to do something immediately.

#### Chapter 10

In the beginning of the chapter, Zélie, Tzain, Amari, and Mama Agba are in a boat floating to the northern coast. They are getting flashbacks of what happened in the past with the four people who couldn't escape the fire. They are all injured and are all in shock of what magic Mama Agba has. Burns all over their bodies makes them start thinking of what actually happened. At this point the guards are trying to kill them and get rid of them because of what they're doing on their quest and the magic that Mama Agba has. The only thing they can do now is fight back against the monarchy. Once they reach the shore they are on their own now, and are on the quest to bring back magic. Mama Agba is not holding back until she gets what she wants and that is magic. But the monarchy is going to be in their way. Once getting back to the shore, Zélie reconciles about who has burned in the fire. Using her magic she can feel their deaths, almost as if it was her fault, making her want to give up. Baba tells Zélie not to give up, saying their only way of insured safety is to fight back. Fighting back against the monarchy now weighs heavily on their existence, which at this point is not easy.

### Chapters 11-20

#### Chapter 11

Inan’s plan to catch Zélie and his sister Amari failed in Ilorin. Illorin was set on fire, taking the houses of hundreds and even killing many too. He thinks he must put Orisha’s safety before his own, thinking of his father Saran. A strange turquoise cloud came towards Inan and went through his fingers. He then has a vision that Zélie was sinking in cold water not fighting the current. Inan is worried that magic has just deeply affected him because of his strange vision. He thinks he was infected when he brushed against Zélie. He tells Kaea that the fugitives are near with the scroll. She asks how he knows he lied and and said a villager told him. Even though it was from a vision. Kaea and Inan threaten the villagers to tell them what they know about Zélie and where she is heading. A girl stepped forward and asked them not to hurt them but if they wanted to know something they would tell them in return for not hurting them. She says they can tell them about her brother and father or about her skill with a staff, but they do not know where she is headed.

#### Chapter 12

Zélie , Amari, Tzain are tired, and make a camp area to sleep overnight. In the dark, Zélie reaches out to Oya, the patron godess of her magic. Zelie is frightened, but the thought of the godess listening gives her comfort. When Zélie awakens, she is no longer in the forest, and is now in a field of reeds. She turns to Inan, he now demands that she releases him from the dreamscape. Inan believes that Zélie is attacking him with her magic. Zélie then notices a shock of white in Inan’s hair. She realizes that he must be a connector, a Maji with power over mind spirit and dreams. Inan then jumps toward Zélie and begins to strangle her. At the end of the chapter, Zélie wakes up beside Nailah. She now fears that Inan will hunt her down because she knows his secret about being a connector.

#### Chapter 13

The chapter opens with Zélie mad at her brother Tzain. Tzain gives Princess Amari his cloak to use as a blanket. Due to lack of supplies the group decides to head to Sokoto. Zélie decides to sell Amari’s dress, which makes Amari very reluctant. Zélie gets very angry with Amari’s privileged attitude, and Amari winds up trading the dress. While changing, Tzain and Amari notice a scar running along Amari’s back. Embarrassed, she says it's from a fight between her and her brother, when they were younger. Zélie and Amari split off in Sokoto in hopes to trade the dress for supplies. Amari Asks about Zélie's mother and asks if she died in the Raid. Zélie says yes, and Amari apologizes and says she can understand why she hates her father, the king responsible for the killing of the Maji. Zélie then asks about the scar on Amari’s back, and Amari tells Zélie how the king used to make Amari and her brother Inan fight with real swords. Zélie is confused about why Amari loves her family so much, with all of the pain they have caused her. Zélie and Amari enter a tent of a kosidian woman and they trade the dress for some supplies, but they are both dissatisfied with what they got, because they are worried it won't be enough. Amari pulls out a headdress that Binta, her servant who was also a diviner, gave her. Zélie feels bad about Amari having to give up both her dress and headdress and tells Amari it is ok, but Amari insists. With that they are able to buy ample supplies. Amari also buys a collapsible sword, which shocks Zélie, who didn't know she could fight.

#### Chapter 14

Inan and Kaea are in pursuit of Amari and the scroll. Prince Inan is stressed because he gave his secret that he has magic away to Zélie, who would make a “deal” with him. He is determined to kill her and magic at all costs. As he tries to settle down and fight the magic, he is startled by Kaea. When Kaea asked him about what the villagers told him, he lied and said that the map maker saw Zélie and her companions escaping Lagos to go down South. With doubt, she reprimands him for interrogating citizens without her. At the end of the chapter, the Prince was worried about Amari and whether she would get hurt. We also get a quote from Inan, where he states that his magic is growing stronger. He describes the growing magic by stating, it grows "Like a parasite feeding on my blood”.

#### Chapter 15

Amari, Tzain, and Zélie climb up a mountainside. Amari remembers that Binta had dreamed of traveling the world, a dream that will be forgotten. They all see broken human skulls during their walk up the mountain, and as they get closer Zélie touches one of the skulls and feels a chill pass by her. Zélie explains that she can see the life of the man who had died. They then pass a couple of ruined temples called Chândomblé. When the group reached the ruins of the temple, Amari asked why the temple was dilapidated, although she was quite positive that it was because her father, King Saran, destroyed it. Nailah was too afraid to go inside, but Zélie, Amari, and Tzain went into the temple that was dark and still. Their torches blew out from a cloud of poison surrounding them and fogging their eyes, and then they collapsed.

#### Chapter 16

In the beginning of the chapter, Inan and Kaea arrive in Sokoto. Inan feels tired of hiding his identity. They meet a merchant, finding that he may have met Zélie, they entered and searched the tent, finally finding a vault. Taking a key from him, Inan used it to open the vault, and found Amari’s headdress. He had a flashback to the day he cut Amari’s back with a sword, and he felt painful that he hid and cried into the curtains but didn’t apologize and comfort her. On that day, Binta brought Mother’s old tiara to comfort Amari. Since she was never apart from the headdress, Inan thought that she might be dead. But under the pressure from Inan and Kaea, the merchant disclosed that he saw two girls going to Chândomblé. While Inan deliberated letting the merchant live, he tried to flee and Kaea kills him.

#### Chapter 17

Amari, Tzain and Zélie awoke tied up in a cave. All their weapons are gone and they are approached by a man with white patterns on his skin, named Lekan. He accused them of stealing the scroll from his people. Amari realizes that her father, Saran, was responsible for this. Lekan points his ire at Amari and says Amari stinks of noble blood. Zélie convinces Lekan to release them and not kill Amari by speaking of her vision of Chândomblé. Amari realizes that the place being destroyed is due to her father, Saran. Lekan removes the ties from them and tells them to follow him.

#### Chapter 18

Chapter 18 is told from the point of view of Zélie. A sêntaro named Lekan leads Zélie, Amari, and Tzain into a domed room with murals of gods that end up coming to life. The murals were very powerful and magical. He then tells them about Sky Mother and each of her kids. The last child of Sky Mother that Lekan talks about is Oya. Zélie tells the story of Oya. When she tells the story, memories of her mother come back. Lekan then talks about the bone dagger. He tells them how every century, the bone dagger, sunstone, and scroll must be brought to the sacred temple for the binding ritual in order for magic to stay alive. Lekan then performs a ritual on Zélie where he uses blood magic to bring out Zélie's most powerful magic.

#### Chapter 19

Inan, Kaea, and the guards approached Chândomblé to capture Amari, Tzain, Zélie, and Lekan. Inan now has many voices in his head and has to decipher which ones are real people, and which ones are inside his head. The voices grow louder the closer he gets to the temple of Chândomblé. As Inan knowing his father would be angry by his new identity as one of the people who have magic, Inan refers to the magic he has as a “virus” and he believes it is destroying him. Considering that King Saran had killed his daughter’s only friend, Binta, because of her identity as a divîner, Saran might kill his own son because of the identity too. Inan vividly remembers his father ordering him to strike Amari. He remembers his voice which “boomed against the stone walls of the palace.” During the entire fight, Amari refused to fight Inan, and her father then ordered Inan to strike her with an iron sword. Amari fully dropped her sword and turned around in tears. Her father called her weak and that she puts herself before Orisha. Inan has thoughts about not striking her for her own well-being as he goes back and forth on whether or not to strike her, but when his father’s orders are so powerful he remembers, “Duty before self.” which he finally lunged his sword towards Amari, it made him feel that he failed his sister.

#### Chapter 20

As Zélie felt new and foreign to the power that she gained from the ceremony to connect her to the Sky Mother, Tzain carried the weakened Zélie and ran outside of the temple with the group. Zélie is overwhelmed by the power and she can sense all thrumming around her. Zélie, Amari, Tzain, Lekan, and Nailah approach a bridge over a ridge that they must creep one by one, since the bridge isn't strong enough to hold all of them. They planned to cut it after to deter their pursuers. Striving for more time for the group to escape, Lekan stayed at the back to hold off the Inan, Kaea, and the guards with his powerful magic. Lekan slams his staff into the ground and “his body explodes with a powerful white glow that surrounds the ryder’s bodies” and sends the beasts into the sky using a powerful incantation. As Zélie falls off the snapping bridge, Lekan catches her with a “thundering force” of magic, and raised her up to Tzain. Admiral Kaea was enraged by Lekan, in which she rushed towards Lekan with the sword saying, "You maggot---" as she lunged her sword into Lekan’s heart and killed him.

### Chapters 21-30

#### Chapter 21

The chapter opens up with Inan thinking about magic and the harm it has caused. He feels that with magic roaming around with such great power, his father was right in trying to destroy it completely. Inan uses his pawn from a game he used to play with his father as a token to remember his father’s ideologies and why magic should be destroyed. He wonders if he could harness his magic to use it as a weapon for self-gain. He believes if other maji are able to use it for harm, so can he. He continues to live by the phrase “Duty before self.” He lets his magic thrive inside him in the temple. He sees Lekan’s life and who he was. He learns that Lekan always tried to do good for others. He snaps out of the dreamscape and continues on his quest to find and kill Zélie and the others.

#### Chapter 22

Zélie, Tzain, and Amari are still in the desert and Amari is thinking about Binta. When Amari thinks of Binta she imagines herself away from the desert. Amari remembers her dad telling her about the Grounders that make the desert a dangerous place, but Binta said they make houses of magic. Zélie and Amari go off to look for food when they are surprised to see a bunch of workers. As they are filling the bottles a guard stops them and tells them that a cup is a gold piece. Zélie then tells a girl to quickly drink the water because she is mad at the guard. Zélie finds out there are so many workers here because the nobles want them to compete and fight for a prize like a great stone.

#### Chapter 23

As Zélie, Tzain, and Amari enter the arena filled with guards and nobles, Zélie feels the hundreds of souls that have died there. Zélie realizes that souls can remain in places of great sorrow and death as she looks around at all of the souls. As they prepare, Tzain recommends they wait until the fight starts and everyone’s distracted. Just then, the announcer starts the show and gets the crowd excited. The announcer explains that ten ship captains will fight to the death for a prize and that it will be their first winner. The ships are run by diviner laborers and a kosidan captain. The announcer explains that the prize is a stone of immortality, which the group figure out is the sunstone they were after. Just then, the arena battle starts as cannons are shot. Zélie immediately feels the pain of all of the deaths in the arena. As the battle rages on and more laborers die, Zélie feels the pain more and more. As the battle ends, all the ships have been destroyed and Zélie’s pain begins to alleviate.

#### Chapter 24

Inan starts to wander through Chândomblé. By using his magic, he experienced the visions of Lekan. Then he enters this room that is filled with murals of the gods that he believed to be evil. Inan is surprised to see the beauty of these gods and their magic. His dad always told him that the gods were not strong and not to be believed in, almost evil. Inan is shook to see that the gods are not painted the way his father spoke about them. He sees the god Ori, the god of spirits, mind, and dreams and is furious. He has these powers that were given to him and he knows they will never go away because these gods gave the powers to him. Inan knows that he can do his best to fight these powers but he decides he can only give into them.

#### Chapter 25

The chapter starts with Zélie, Amari, and Tzain sneaking their way into the arena's backstage area. Zélie has these thoughts that she should bring a group of Grounders and then bring revenge on the whole city for what it has done to the people. She can sense that the sunstone is near. All three break the locked door to where they find the sunstone. During this, a young diviner boy is being chased by a group of guards. When the door opens, the guards start to beat the child violently. Tzain holds Zélie back, but she breaks out and tries to stop the beating. When the guards deliver a final blow to the young boy, Zélie cannot feel the boy's spirit. She tells the guards and the announcer that they want to compete for tomorrow night's games. When the three are outside of the town, Amari and Tzain argue that Zélie's plan will not succeed. Zélie says that she has a secret weapon up her sleeve. She says that she's able to make the dead as soldiers. Zélie has learned this spell from her mother, who had performed this many times. Zélie had practiced this spell for many hours but came up short. When practicing, she feels that the gods have abandoned her and the scholar who helped her before the Raid. Zélie starts to focus on the girl that she offered water. When the girl died, Zélie could look through the girl's memories. When focusing on the memories, Zélie can make the girl from the sand.

#### Chapter 26

The chapter starts with Inan in his dreamscape again. He is annoyed by the high presence of peace, so he fights back the feeling. When he takes out the pawn from the senet that his father gave him, it reminds him that he needs to focus on his mission. That mission is to kill Zélie. Inan can bring Zélie into his dreamscape by just imagining her. Zélie starts to taunt Inan and says he is proud of his father’s work, destroying Chândomblé. Inan again reminds himself that he must put duty before himself. Zélie also reminds Inan that he will die if his father figures out that he has magic. Both realize when Zélie starts to walk away, a trail of reeds comes from under her feet. Zélie starts to run in the opposite direction, but with ferns and trees appearing. While ignoring Inan, she is met with a plunging waterfall. When Zélie jumps into the waterfall, she turns to Inan and smiles at him. Zélie also hints at her location when she says that the water will cost him a gold piece per cup.

Inan puts those pieces together and figures out that she is in Ibeji. When Inan awakens from his dreamscape, he is met with a sword pointing at him. Pointing the sword at him is Admiral Kaea. With the thought that Inan was using magic, Kaea asks how long he’s been a maji for. She accuses Inan of being a traitor without any hesitation. Inan has to clarify and say that he is still on their side. With Kaea being calmed down a little, she says that the bridge is constructed and will bring the team and find Amari. She also says that Inan is dangerous and tells him that he needs to go back to King Saran. Inan, filled with nervousness, tackles Kaea. She screams for help and says that Inan is a maji. Without any thought, he uses his magic to send energy into her head. When trying to release her, blood comes down from her ears. Her last word to Inan was "maggot". Knowing that his father will not forgive him for this treacherous act, he needs to keep his identity on the low.

#### Chapter 27

In this chapter, Binta’s voice rings through Amari’s head, giving her courage. The announcer of the battle leads Zélie, Tzain, and Amari into the underground. Zélie grabs Tzain’s arm. The laborers cheer. The announcer says they have 30 minutes to strategize. Tzain and Zélie pull loaves of bread and canteens from their backpacks and distribute them throughout the crowd. Tzain assures the laborers that they will not die if they trust him.

#### Chapter 28

Tzain commands the laborers and instructs them on the strategies they plan to use in the battle. As Amari boards the ship, he tries to convince her to stay on land and protect the information of the ritual in case they die fighting. Tzain and Zélie are already on the boat, and if Amari died with them, the secret of the ritual would be lost forever. However, she reflects on Binta’s words and boards the ship ready to fight. The cold truth that they would have to kill all their opponents to win finally strikes Amari, as she realizes that three times the number of boats would be participating.

#### Chapter 29

Chapter 29 is from the perspective of Zélie. Zélie, Tzain, and Amari are in Ibegi, in an amphitheater filled with water. They become part of a naval battle where their lives are at risk as they try to win the sunstone. As the chapter opens, the announcer is heard riling the crowd. As the announcer’s voice booms in the amphitheater, Amari shouts at Zélie and Tzain to form alliances with the other crews involved in the naval battle. Then he gives more orders. He tells the rowers on the ship to split in half, so half of them are rowing and half of them join the assembly line to fire cannons at other boats. The announcer continues to animate the crowd, saying that the battle is a battle of a lifetime. Everyone in the battle is fighting for their lives and doesn’t want to die. Tzain tells Zélie to use her Reaper magic to help them survive the battle. Even though Zélie’s mother was a very powerful Reaper, Zélie doesn’t think that her magic will work. Tzain encourages her to try. He thinks she can use her magic and be a great Reaper, just like her mother. The battle is a do-or-die situation, they either win and get the stone or die. Zélie tries her hardest to create the magic. After a few attempts, she is able to draw from the energy of the dead and she feels sharp heat pulsing through her veins, and sees a lavender light glowing in her hands. Her magic works and the animation is in the form of a human, with the body being formed from the water. More animations form from the water. Pointing to ships, Zélie commands the animations and they dart to the ships and destroy them. As this is happening, cannons are firing and dead bodies and blood are flying everywhere. Zélie fills with terror when she sees a girl plunge into the water with limp limbs. Zélie tries to command the animations to save the girl, but her connection is weak. She feels the spirit in her body fading. Even so, Zélie is very proud that she has the talent of her mother and is a true Reaper.

#### Chapter 30

In chapter 30, we see Amari frozen. She was unable to fight, even though her father had trained her. Her father taught her that the only mark of strength is to fight. Now because she doesn’t want to join in and fight, she felt useless. While she was deciding whether or not she should fight, Tzain blocked an attack that was aimed right for her. He then got slashed in the arm and injured. Amari felt shame and embarrassment after he yelled for her to get out of the way. Their ship then began to sink.

### Chapters 31-40

#### Chapter 31

In Chapter 31, Zélie’s magic is beginning to go away. Even though that is a problem, she has to make sure she can save Amari and Tzain. So to make sure she can save them she disobeys her mom’s wishes and decides to use blood magic. She bites into her hand to get some blood and with it came a swirl of powerful draining magic. An army of reanimated spirits came to do her bidding, but she feels like her skin is being torn apart. She thinks of her mother as she begins to drown and water fills up her lungs.

#### Chapter 32

In the beginning of chapter 32, there are only 2 ships and Zélie is nowhere to be found. Tzain, being the type of person to do anything for his family, jumps into the water, finds her and brings her to the surface. While everyone is boarding the ships, Amari is wishing the fighting would end. Unlike her father, who valued training and violence, she cannot bring herself to feel the same way. The captain of the other ship jumped off and started running towards Zélie. He was going to attack her but Amari does something unpredictable. Amari stabbed the captain and killed him. The ships go silent. Then the announcer declared that they had won.

Chapter 33

Chapter 33 takes place through Zélie's perspective after she, Tzain, and Amari win the battle in Ibeji. Zélie is exhausted much like Tzain and Amari. Zélie states her body had been ripped apart 538 times. For the first time, Zélie starts to see Amari as someone who helped her instead of the sister of Inan and the daughter of Saran. Although she wins the battle, it does not feel like a victory for her because there are so many deaths. After giving the people who were part of Zélie's crew the gold, the announcer gives Zélie the sunstone and for the first time in a while, Zélie starts to feel hope. Now they have the scroll, the dagger, and the sunstone. After touching the stone, Zélie feels a surge of power and sees Sky Mother. She is described as being very stunning and bright. Zélie starts to understand why her mother loved magic.

#### Chapter 34

After the tournament, Amari finds herself evaluating the morality of what she, Zélie and Tzain are being praised for. She realizes that a mass amount of people were just killed to receive the sunstone. She feels guilty about being given recognition. Zélie was named “The Immortal,” Tzain “The Commander,” and Amari “The Lionaire”. She believes that she is not worthy of the nickname “lionaire” given to her by the spectators, as she is still disturbed by the thought of all the people they had to kill. As she showers off, she continues to shame herself for the cowardice she showed during the competition. She feels as if the blood she is trying to wash away is a reminder of how many people just died. As Zélie falls asleep that night, Tzain and Amari begin to worry that Amari’s dad found out about the events of that day. Tzain wants to protect Amari and doesn't want to make her do anything she doesn't want to, so he tries to convince her to return home. But Amari thought they could bring back magic and make Binta's death meaningful, which strengthened her determination. Their conversation continues late into the night. Amari comes to the conclusion that she is an important part in this group and will continue her journey with Zélie and Tzain.

#### Chapter 35

Chapter 35 takes place through Inan’s perspective as he travels through the desert after accidentally killing his friend and mentor Kaea. Inan feels great guilt and reminisces about how Kaea helped him through his childhood. Inan sends a message home that a maji has killed Kaea and he is chasing the scroll. Inan is having trouble hiding his magic and getting Kaea’s last words out of his head as he travels to Ibeji. Inan then has memories of Kaea after he hurt Amari, she tells him he is strong for hurting her. When he enters Ibeji, the townspeople are celebrating. Inan starts to smell the sea which is a sign Zélie is close. He rips through huts along an alley in the city to find her. Suddenly, a hand grabs Inan’s shoulder. He turns on the man, grabbing his throat and pointing the sword at his heart. Inan demands the man to tell him where Zélie is, not realizing Zélie has already left.

#### Chapter 36

The chapter begins with Amari, Zélie, and Tzain in the lush forests of the Gombe River Valley. They are traveling through the trees when they come across a river. The water sounds of the river are nostalgic for Zélie and reminds her of home. It reminds her of fishing with Baba. The forest makes Zélie feel safe and relaxed. When they approach the Gombe River, Zélie gets on her knees and begins drinking the river water. Tzain proceeds to tell Zélie that she should stop drinking the water and that it should be for Nailah. As he goes to fill his canteen, Zélie distracts him and rams him into the river. They play fight like siblings and then Tzain decides to pull Amari in with them. They are all acting like kids and having fun when Zélie gets a vision in the prince’s dreamscape. She realizes that he is close and tells Tzain and Amari. They gather their things when Zélie spots Inan speeding towards them. Amari, Zélie, and Tzain get out of the water as fast as they can and hop on Nailah. Zélie then notices that the prince is alone, without backup. Zélie jumps off of Nailah and prepares for what is about to come. Inan also does the same and dismounts with his sword ready for battle. Zélie notices that Inan is weak. Amari then slides off of Nailah and approaches her brother. She then makes an attempt to persuade Inan to stop fighting and realize that their father was wrong and that magic is not a bad thing. Then, Inan pushes Amari aside and prepares to fight Zélie and Tzain despite Amari’s words. They begin to fight. Zélie and Inan exchange a few words during battle. The chapter ends with Inan raising his sword with a cry.

The Chapter opens with Zélie, Amari and Tzain arriving at Gombe after six days of traveling. Gombe reminds Zélie of her home and Baba, which relaxes her. Amari wonders if stories will be told about them and their journey. Amari and Tzain playfully joke with each other until interrupted by Zélie. They reach the Gombe River and rest. Zélie pushes Tzain into the river and light-hearted playing ensues. Each person carries an artifact, Amari holds the scroll, Tzain has the bone dagger and Zélie keeps the sunstone. The scroll is placed on Nailah, away from the water and the others. While still in the river, Zélie is abruptly transported to Inan’s dreamscape and then back to Gombe. Zélie realizes that Inan is close and that they have to leave quickly. Amari and Tzain are interrupted by Inan racing towards them. Inan is alone, making Zélie question how he was able to catch up to them. Zélie, believing that she can fight Inan, dismounts from Nailah. Amari follows Zélie and stands between her and Inan. Amari believes that Inan won’t hurt her. Amari comforts Inan, telling him that they are different from the King. Inan ignores Amari’s statement and attacks Zélie. Zélie aims to kill Inan during their fight.

#### Chapter 37

Chapter 37 is based around Amari and Tzain and their perspectives throughout. They realize that Inan and Zélie are fighting and just watch it happen. After a little bit Amari is realizing that someone is watching them and can just feel it. They all think its guards are on the hunt for them but it isn't. It's a group of masked people that could be a part of that area or who knows. They capture all of them and they don't know what is going on. They then realize that maybe these people have been hunting them down for how long their journey has been which frightens them because more people could be on the way to start something and fight for it. When Amari tried to fight against the net, she was fainted by a piece of cloth with an acidic smell.

#### Chapter 38

Zélie hears Amari’s screams as Amari is being kidnapped, and she and Inan freeze halfway through their fight. Realizing Tzain has been taken as well, Zélie takes off in pursuit of Inan and both of their siblings. Suddenly, she finds herself tangled in ropes as two masked figures start dragging her away. Inan fights them both off. He knocks one of the masked boys unconscious, and the boy falls at his feet. Then, Inan turns to Zélie with his blade pointed at her.

#### Chapter 39

Inan is extremely tempted to kill Zélie, now that she is weak and helpless. When Inan pins her down, his magic comes to life. All of Zélie's pain and heartbreak is shown. Inan sees the way Zélie's mother died. Inan finally sees Zélie as a human, instead of an enemy. Now with this belief, Inan frees Zélie from the trap. Zélie was confused at Inan’s good deed, then she remembered that Tzain was gone. Inan also collapses to the ground in thought of Amari.

#### Chapter 40

Zélie has been washed away with guilt. If she didn’t start fighting Inan, none of this would have happened because they would have been alert and ready. Zélie sees that Inan is suppressing his magic. She doesn’t understand why he won’t let it out and use it. Zélie walks over to the captured boy and starts torturing him. Inan tells her to stop but she keeps going. She slashes and stabs the boy with her dagger and threatens to kill him if he doesn’t give her information. Then Inan gets involved and grabs Zélie to stop her from killing the boy.

### Chapters 41-50

#### Chapter 41

In the beginning Inan grabs Zélie’s by the hand and feels some magic in his skin. Now he starts to see her past. Then he can’t take his eyes off of Zélie because of what he saw. He starts to suddenly know that he cannot be a king like his dad Saran. He says that his dad is everything he doesn’t want to be.

#### Chapter 43

In this chapter Zélie and Inan are running through the forest trying to  follow a series of hidden symbols and following the direction of the boy they have captured. Then Inan fights with all his energy to keep his magic going. After, he starts to see the pain and fear of Zélie's life. He also sees moments of beauty. He then starts to wonder what she would see in his life if she could see into it.They come upon a bunch of trees in the valley, arranged in the symbol of the outlaws. Zélie wants to attack immediately, but Inan  says not to. He says there are masked soldiers stationed all around the camp.Then they argue about how to proceed. Inan wants to call guards from a nearby town, but Zélie says the guards would kill them both because they are diviners. So  she says she will learn how to summon enough animations to fight for them.

#### Chapter 44

Zélie and Inan are continuing to spar on the top of the mountain. Zélie is insisting that the ten animations she is able to summon will be enough to defeat the masked men, but Inan is adamant that they need the royal guards in order to defeat them. The two begin to bicker that each of their plans would work better. As Zélie starts to get tired, she lashes out at Inan and says that if he can barely fight her animations, surely these masked men will also not be able to stop them. Inan counters this by saying that there are probably fifty masked men who are skilled fighters guarding the entrance that could easily defeat the animations better than he can at half his usual strength. Zélie then pushes Inan to fight her animations using his magic. Inan defeats all twelve very quickly once he accesses his magic. This further frustrates Zélie as this proves Inan’s point, that her animations are not powerful enough to save Tzain, Amari, and the stolen scroll and dagger. She then contemplates using the sunstone or her blood magic to make her animations stronger, but decides that both options are too dangerous. In the meantime, Inan continues to tell Zélie that the guards he controls are good people that they can trust. However, Zélie feels that if Inan would start using his magic instead of oppressing it that they would not need the guards. Inan then lies to Zélie by saying he can not use his magic because it would not help them offensively. He says this even though he knows what his magic did to Admiral Kaea. At this point, Zélie is furious and asks Inan if it hurts more to use his magic, or to suppress it (Adeyemi 310). The two then start to argue over how King Saran is ruling Orïsha. Zélie feels that by eliminating magic, King Saran has become the center of Orïsha’s problems. Whereas Inan feels that magic was taken away for good reason, but the aftermath of it is where the king went wrong. Zélie then tells Inan that since they are both maji, without magic they will continue to be horribly treated. Inan once again tries to persuade Zélie to give his guards a chance, but he has now pushed Zélie to her breaking point. He tells her that she has nothing to be afraid of, to which Zélie finally realizes that she is always afraid. Upon discovering this, Zélie recognizes that she locked away this feeling after the Raid, but is now feeling it at full force. She now starts crying hysterically and shaking uncontrollably. Although Inan gently tries asking her to talk to him about what she is feeling, she reveals to him that he will never understand what she has gone through. Zélie explains to Inan that the world is currently made to love him, and to be absolutely horrific for maji like herself. Learning and acknowledging that she is always afraid is the biggest blow Zélie has ever encountered.

#### Chapter 45

Inan feels the pain Zélie is going through. He feels it sink into his skin and rip into his heart. This pain, but mainly her fear, crushes him. Inan feels the fear Zélie lives with everyday because of his father’s version of Orïsha. Zélie says that the only way for salvation to come is power. She tells Inan how horrible his guards are. She even refers to them as criminals. Zélie gets herself back on her feet and is determined to not let King Saran beat her. She will no longer have her pain silenced. As Zélie disappears, Inan realizes how wrong he has been about her. He now knows that whether he is in her head or not, he will never truly understand all of her pain.

#### Chapter 46

Amari gets a flashback, remembering a room in her house when she was very little. She remembers walking down the stairs out of curiosity because her father would go to it everyday at half past noon. She had thought the room would be full of food and toys but it was not at all what she had imagined. She had heard a little boy’s screams and saw Commander Kaea hit the servant with her sharp rings digging into his bloody face. Young Amari was so frightened she screamed, making her father come out to take her away saying, “Prisons are no place for a princess” (317). Once Amari comes back to the present, she realizes that they only have five days left until the centennial solstice and in that time, she needs to heal Tzain quickly, find the dagger and the scroll. Zu, a healer, comes into the tent where Amari and Tzain are currently staying and heals all of Tzain’s wounds. Zu explains to Amari what the raid had felt like to her when she was such a young girl. Whilst Zu is telling this to Amari, it reminds her of her best friend, Binta, and how she must have felt similar to Zu during the raid. After they speak to each other, Zu still does not believe that Amari is on their side and wants to help them. Kwame enters, another diviner, who agrees with Zu and still thinks Amari is lying about her wanting to help. Kwame instructs Zu to leave, pulls out a dagger and says to Amari, “I hope you’re ready to tell the truth” (320).

### Chapters 51-60

#### Chapter 51

After a battle outside, Zélie enters an encampment with Tzain and Amari, where she is surprised to see a thriving but hidden divîner community. Zélie starts to think about the reasoning behind Inan saving her. Zelie feels like she’s seeing him in a new light. Zélie finds Zu, where Zélie is healed of her wounds she got from the battle outside. Zu starts to explain how she and a few others escaped Saran's attack. Zu and her friends offer to help on Zélie's quest, but first Zu says that they should hold the Àyojo festival where each divîner can touch the scroll unleashing their powers. The suggestion makes Zélie hesitate, she worries that there may be potential violence if the sunstone falls into the wrong hands, but Zélie decides that she agrees with Zu’s recommendation. Later on, Tzain confronts Inan stating how she can never trust him again, telling Zélie that she is stupid for trusting someone who burned their village and tried to kill her. She explains that Zélie is always making mistakes.

#### Chapter 52

The chapter starts with Inan running after Zelie, watching her until she disappears into the crowd. When Amari calls his name he stops, but doesn’t turn around. Inan inspects Amari wrists and sees the red bruises and dry blood on her skin. He tells her she should go to Zulaikha, but Amari feels she shall leave her alone. Outside the tent Inan gives Amari her headdress, which he has been carrying with him since Sokoto. He can hardly breathe when looking at it, because he is expecting a death threat from his father. As Amari studies the white streak in Inan’s hair, she asks “Are you really a Maji?” Amari questions her trust in Iman after all of the fighting he has done against himself the entire time. He says she will have to earn his trust. Amari tells Inan she loves him, but she won’t let the Maji hurt her the way he has hurt her. Amari cannot begin to fathom what Zelie had done to change her brother’s mind. Inan has no room for mistakes, and if he does something wrong he will have to face Amari’s sword. Amari’s loyalties are with Zelie and her people now, she will fight with them if need be.

#### Chapter 53

In the morning Zu bounds into Zélie’s tent and urges her to follow her, saying there is something to show Zélie. Zelie wants to invite Tzain, too, but he says he needs rest, and warns Zélie to stay away from Inan. After they arrive at a festival where divîners get together to celebrate, she exclaims that she has not seen so many diviners not in stock and hard labor. Zu later invites Zélie to an opening procession, which she declined despite the fact that everybody wanted her to attend. Something on Zu’s body catches Zélie’s eyes, and it is a baaji. While Zu wants to show more to her, she bumps into a stranger, who calls himself Roën. In the conversation later she finds out that Inan is suppressing his magic; she offers help. They find a place close to Gombe river and Zélie asks when was the last time Inan uses his magic, and he responds Chândomblé, when he was trying to find her. He admits the strong feeling he felt when he searched her, “like a tsunami”. The chapter ends with Zélie teaching him the incantation, “Orí, bá mi sòrò”.

#### Chapter 54

The chapter begins in Inan’s dreamscape with both Zélie and Inan swimming in the lake. Zélie feels relieved to have some stress lifted off of her while she is swimming, and to relax. Inan shows that he is attracted to Zélie, and joins her in the lake to swim. Zélie mentions Ibadan, and Inan immediately sees her memories from how great of a time she had, until the Raid. Inan feels and sees the destruction and guilt that he has on his hands. He realizes that Ilorin was her happy place and he burned it all down. Inan apologizes and says that he can rebuild Ilorin. When Inan asks what Tzain thinks of him, Zélie says that he is afraid that Inan might still turn on her.

#### Chapter 55

Zélie feels happy in the dreamscape with Inan. They have a deep conversation about their lives and what led them to hate each other for so long. Inan denounces his father and recognizes how terrible he has been to people unlike himself. This talk connects Zélie and Inan as they share a kiss Zélie is brought out of the dreamscape. In the real world Zélie and Tzain fight over her relationship with Inan. As they fight Zélie's anger boils over releasing a hot bolt of magic that injures Tzain. Tzain and Zélie argue more leaving each other angry and hurt.

#### Chapter 56

As Zélie gets back to camp, She is devastated and in a state of confusion. She finds her way to the tent where Amari is. As Amari gets Zélie ready for the celebration by applying makeup to Zélie’s face, they talk about Inan and his intentions. Amari believes although Inan seems to be very into Zélie, his loyalty to his father is stronger than his love for her. Despite the warning, Zélie still trusts Inan. As Amari and Zélie make their way out of the tent and into the festival, Amari asks why Zélie does not want to share the scroll. Zélie believes that sharing the scroll could lead to fighting, rather than peace. Zélie is blown away by the festival and it reminds her of her mother. Amari reminds Zélie that she is a part of this magic.

#### Chapter 57

Tzain finds Amari in the night after searching for a while. Amari is excited to see Tzain smiling for the first time in a while. Tzain then pulls Amari into a circle of dancers. A crowd hovers over them and Amari is happy to be in Tzain’s arms.

#### Chapter 58

Inan watches Zélie dance with a child, thinking that she looks beautiful. Inan grabs Zélie's hand and pulls her away from the party, where Tzain won’t see them. There is intense chemistry between them, but when he calls her “little Zél,” she pulls away sharply. That was the name her mother called her. Zélie says that this kind of community of divîners is what she’s always wanted, yet now she worries about what will happen if magic falls into the wrong hands. Zélie is full of fear, thinking about the violence inflicted by the monarchy and the potential for violence that she now contains. Thinking of Kaea, Inan says that he, too, lost control of his magic and hurt someone he cared about. He presses his lips to her neck and thinks that together, they don’t need to be afraid of each other.

#### Chapter 59

Zélie is hesitant to be in a relationship with Inan, she is aware that Tzain will not approve. Inan asks Zélie if she will return to Lagos with him. Zélie understands Inan’s reasoning, however, she is unsure of the safety of bringing magic back. Inan explains that if King Saran were to see the diviner camp and the person Zélie is, he would see how maji have changed. When magic is returned to Orïsha, Inan plans to unite the kingdom and have peace between kosidans and maji. Inan continues to imagine what Orïsha would be like with maji. Zélie realizes Inan’s seriousness and begins to agree with him.

#### Chapter 60

Tzain and Amari see Inan kiss Zélie and are shocked. Amari mentions that she always thought they liked each other but wasn’t certain. Tzain views Zélie kissing Inan as an act of betrayal and he becomes extremely angry. He thinks that this will be a huge mistake by Zélie, and it will eventually blow up in her face. Tzain thinks that Zélie needs to learn to take care of herself. Because of this Tzain decides to leave so Zélie will learn to live without him. Amari tries to stop Tzain from leaving but does not succeed.

### Chapters 61-70

#### Chapter 61

The chapter begins with Inan and Zélie kissing each other from the last chapter. Then, a horn is heard around the camp. A fleet of royal guards storm into the center, and the commander asks aggressively for the possession of Zélie and the scroll. The commander gives the diviners a warning before they start tearing down the area. Then Zu comes from the crowd and says that they have neither. She also says that they were having a peaceful celebration. When she was about to raise her hand as a sign of peace, a soldier shoots an arrow into her chest, and she dies. The soldiers began to storm around the camp and murder every diviner in their path. Zélie tries to find Tzain but finds Salim, the boy she was dancing with, cut down by the royal guards. Kwame moves Zélie to the side and starts to cut his palm to summon blood magic. His body ignites, and he burns all of the guards in front of him. When Kwame fights off the soldiers, many diviners were escaping from the massacre. Zélie realizes that the only way to fight back against the soldiers is to use magic. While riding, Nailah, Amari, and Tzain try to find where Zélie is found. Amari and Tzain find her and start screaming her name to get her attention. Before Zélie can take another step, royal guards see Zélie and drag her away from the scene.

#### Chapter 62

Amari is crying in the morning, while thinking about her and Tzain dancing before. She tries to block out all of the painful sights but cannot. Tzain keeps on searching for Zélie but there has been no luck. Amari thinks that her father took Zélie. Tzain blames himself for loosing Zélie. He feels as if his mom and dad would be disappointed in him. Tzain starts crying heavily. Amari refuses to let her father win. She feels guilt for all the pain her father has caused people. She will be strong. She will be a lioness. She and Tzain make a plan to storm the fortress.

#### Chapter 63

Zelie is chained inside of an imperial prison after losing. Zelie reminances of everyone she thinks she has failed. She remembers Lekan, Mama Agba, Tzain, and Amari and the disappointed looks they would have on their faces. Inan then enters her cell with some soldier escorts. Inan sends his escorts away under the pretenses that he will interrogate Zelie alone. Inan quickly tells Zelie he can save her if they can destroy the scroll. Zelie asks Inan why he is acting like his older self. He says Kwame’s actions were scary, not only to him but to everyone in the military division at the camp. Zelie gets angry about it and starts to argue with Inan. Suddenly, King Saran enters the cell and Inan lies to his father that he was interrogating Zelie. Saran questions Zelie about Admiral Kaea’s fate. Inan reels in horror about the truth behind Kaea’s death right behind his father. Saran gets angry towards Zelie not answering and grabs her by her chains. Saran threatens Zelie with death and tells her he intends to commit genocide against the diviners. They start to violently argue over the Raid, and she starts to fight against Saran’s justification for the Raid. Zelie finishes by saying that Saran won’t be getting anything from the artifacts. Saran ends the fight by insinuating that Zelie should not be so certain.

#### Chapter 64

King Saran ordered a physician to inject a serum into Zélie’s neck in front of Inan. Horrified by this scene, Saran explained that the serum helps to keep her alive while they torture her. A soldier used a torch to heat a dagger and tore the back of Zélie’s dress. The dagger sears Zélie’s back with an intense pain that Inan could also feel. He ran towards the soldiers and tried to fight them off. Saran scoffs at Inan for his behavior for a dîviner. He feels his father's disappointment. The guards pulled Inan out while he saw a soldier carving the word “maggot” on Zélie’s back. Inan used his magic and went into his dreamscape. He wants to bring Zélie here so she won’t feel the pain. As Zélie appeared, she seemed not to know anything about where and who she was. She cried and said she can’t feel anything. Saran’s words “Duty before self” make Inan remember the scene when Kwame burst into flames to save other dîviners. Inan realized that he needed to take action now to prevent further destruction.

Zélie gets herself captured and is chained by a maja site in a dark chamber. She begins to think of all those that died and her failures throughout her journey to bring magic back. She is horrified at the thought that Inan, the guy who she fell in love with all this time, would stab her in the back and go back to his dad’s side.  She sees Inan waking in with the guards and believes the reason was because of him. Inan makes the guards leave so he can talk to Zélie alone. He tells her why he is with guards so he did not betray her. He didn't have much time so he had to cut to the chase and Zélie tells him that he has to ruin the scroll.  If he didn’t King Saran would kill Zélie but, if they destroy the scroll it would not change anything. She tells Inan that she will die. She knows the soldiers killed all the children and believes that nothing else matters. Inan told Zélie that he  doesn't want to give people their powers back. Zélie was in shock to be hearing what he was saying. Saran comes in and memories of the raid come back to Zélie. She seeks vengeance and did not want King Saran to get in the way of oppression in Orïsha. King Saran asked Zélie who killed Kaea she wanted to rat out Inan but she didn’t. Zélie is in rage that King Saran murdered her people. King Saran goes on to tell Zélie about his life and how Maji is dangerous. He told her his own father fought for maji rights and burnt his whole family down. -Madison c

#### Chapter 65

Amari and Tzain travel into Gombe to find help. They arrive at a quiet bar and are asked for a password. When they do not have an answer, Tzain asks for Kenyon. After a moment, Kenyon comes to the door and happily greets Tzain. When they are admitted into the bar, Amari notices the amount of diviners that are in the bar. They approach a table and are greeted by Tzain’s rival agbon team. Although in a good moment, Tzain explains the current situation with Zélie. Amari asks for help, but they didn’t believe they could until Amari showed the scroll. The team’s mood changed and they tried to kick Tzain and Amari out. Amari explained that she was fighting to bring magic back and Zélie, as well. A diviner in the bar touched the scroll and his magic was sparked. After the sighting, Kenyon and his team decided to help break Zélie out; still a little worried about the strength of their powers. The worry vanished when Amari pulled out the sunstone.

#### Chapter 66

Inan feels pain due to Zélie's current state. He has a connection with her that is now taken a toll on himself. Inan is on his way to talk to his father, King Saran. He knocks and proceeds to enter his fathers room. His father has clearly marked the diviner valley with a red X. At this moment Inan realizes his father has no pity for maji, he feels no sympathy for them. Inan begins to think about what his father would think of him if he found out his own son was a maji. King Saran talks about how showing sympathy for one maji could potentially wreck his Kingdom. That and Zélie killing Kaea is the reason he shows Zélie no mercy. The King cannot forgive his own daughter, Amari, for what she did to Kaea and will let Zélie die once he gets what he needs out of her. Inan asks his father if there is any way he can come up with a new plan that does not involve killing all maji. His father explains that his father tried that, but he was killed by the maji, even though he just wanted to better the kingdom. King Saran explains how he is proud of his son for keeping the Kingdom safe. Inan doesn’t feel proud because of what is happening to Zélie.

#### Chapter 67

Inan waits until father falls asleep and the guards leave their post. Then she sneaks in, and unlocked Zélie's cell. Zélie's limp body is lifeless and her dress is torn and soared with blood. This is difficult for Inan to see. Inan unlocks the shackles and frees Zélie. Her stitches split and blood seeps out. The words Zélie says don't make sense. Zélie tells Inan to leave her because she is worried Inan will be caught and punished. Zélie believes she is going to die anyways. They hear guards and hide in an empty room. When the coast is clear they again try to escape, then they hear shouts and feel heat. They crash to the ground from a blast that shaders the fortress wall.

#### Chapter 68

The chapter begins with Amari seeing the fortress towers over the horizon. Troops are everywhere. She is thinking of the perfect time to escape. After the guards round the corner, Femi, Tzain, Imani, Kenyon, and Amari run across the wild grass. The 5 members of Kenyon’s team touch the scroll to awaken their magic. They then reach the “Southern Wall.” Then, the iron wall opens and they all enter quietly. Femi closes the opening that the group entered in. They sneak around and find themselves in the armory. Amari seeing the doorknob opening and makes a signal to everyone. Just then, a guard walks by. They all attack. They threaten him with his life to revealing where Zélie is. They discover that she is in the cell at the base and they knock out the guard. Then they wait for the next wave to hit. Then they sneak around the fortress walls. While they hide, they hear explosions and watch as the guards run towards the noise. The group starts creating their own firebombs and explosives. They run to a stairwell that leads to Zélie when they get surrounded by guards. Amari yells “Attack!” The group fights the guards with weapons and magic. Although more guards come, the group uses more magic and fights harder. King Saran appears and as Amari is about to fight him, Tzain grabs her attention and her Father gets away.

#### Chapter 69

The fight was gruesome. Inan watched as bodies dropped to the floor because of magic. He realizes that King Saran was right. The kingdom will perish if magic is brought back and they will lose control of the kingdom. He believed that it is necessary to join the fight against magic but know he also needs to save Zélie from her cell. On his way there he stopped because he saw Princess Amari. He got Zélie out and gave her to Tzain, who is shocked at the slur that was written on her back. As they are leaving, Inan says that he needs to stay and help them, whilst being a traitor to the monarchy. King Saran doesn’t know that Inan is now against him.

### Chapters 71-80

#### Chapter 71

Zélie thought to show again that violence leaves scars beyond her. The girl who healed entered smiling very brightly. She said that she healed her but she couldn’t make the scars disappear. Tzain enters very quietly and says that he promises to protect her. He takes blame on her scars but she tries to convince him otherwise. Zélie also can’t seem to access or use magic. She won’t be able to perform the ceremony. Tzain says that they have to find Baba and escape Orisha. They will have to find another way to regroup and fight off the others. But now is not the time to give up, said by one of the boys. If they go to Jimeta and take a boat to the island they will be able to make the deadline for the ceremony. It is very dangerous to go there and take a risk because it is a city full of thieves and outlaws. Well Zélie wants to keep fighting, so she told the others they’re going and they are going to win.

#### Chapter 72

The entire Chapter 72 is based on Zélie’s perspective. At the beginning of the chapter, Zélie, Amari and Tzain arrived at Jimeta, where there are no guards and laws. At the entrance of the cave, one of the masked boys told them that there is one person who owns a ship and can bring them to the island. Only one person could get into the cave, Zélie was elected because of her power of magic. After entering the cave, Zélie saw a group of people with masks on their face. Zélie said to the leader Roën that they need people to help them sail to the island to restore magic. A mercenary put his hand on Zélie’s back to move her, but was flipped on the ground. Zélie promised to Roën that they would realize the will of the gods and let his men be employed by the future queen. Roën was quite interested in and agreed to the deal.

#### Chapter 73

Zélie gets on Roen’s boat with Amari, Tzain, and Roen’s crew. From there, they ride across the Lokoja Sea. As they near the solstice, Zélie still cannot feel any magic. She is very worried and prays on the boat to the gods, telling them she trusts them and hoping they can help her. Right after she prays, they spot numerous warships across the horizon. When Amari looks into the telescope to observe them, she notices there are about a dozen of her father’s warships. Roen believes that they should take the nearest warship, and Zélie agrees. As Zélie gets her staff ready, Roen tells her that he and his crew can handle the warship, and that she should relax. Roen signals to two of his crewmates and they take out a crossbow with a hook and a rope. Roen then asks Zélie what her limit is, basically asking if they are allowed to kill the people on the other warship. She says no and they do as she says. Roen and his crewmates go on to the warship, and in about six minutes they have taken out all of the crew on the warships. They then resume their journey of arriving on the island. They believe that they can get to the island before daybreak.

#### Chapter 74

Inan is devastated that Zélie is gone Inan looks to the sky in hopes the gods will give him guidance. While Inan is wavering, Saran approaches him and tells him he has once felt this was as well. The monarchy had set a proposal to question the maji. Saran’s father wished for peace along with Saran’s wife. After his wife died, Saran fought for her beliefs in honor of her. He chose love over duty. Saran soon realized the magi were just seeking power at any cost. This was a big character change for Saran. Inan thinks about the fighting and the loss of Zélie. While he wants to honor Zélie, Saran advises him to choose duty over love. Saran gives Inan his sword and he will be a noble king. Inan secretly knows what is right, to save the kingdom.

#### Chapter 75

Zélie tries to sleep in the captain’s area on the warship, but she starts to be reminded of terrible memories of previous torture. She runs to find Roën, who has beaten the crew of the ship; Zélie turns toward the sea. Roën shows her scars on his arm from when his men were killed in front of him, and he got a new line carved in his skin for each death. Roën claims that Zélie’s scars are “fresh”, and he asks her if she can do the ceremony. Despite the fact that everything in her is saying not to, she says the ones who caused her scars are in other warships. Now, her focus is stopping Saran from destroying the other people. Roën jokes about being chosen by the gods, but there’s some seriousness in his jokes. He claims it seemed like too much of a coincidence that he and Zélie met twice and are now working together. He also says that talking to someone else is the best way to help her scars heal, and Zélie listens to his advice and enters Amari’s room.

#### Chapter 76

Amari combs and braids Zélie’s hair as they talk. Zélie explains how her hair used to be smooth as silk before magic went away. Now it is more coarse and thick. Amari elucidates to Zélie that she can tell her anything. Zélie used to think Amari was weak for her fear of King Saran, but Zélie feels that fear as well now. Zélie cannot get him out of her head. They begin to cry. Amari is sorry that it took her and Inan so long to try to right her father’s wrongs. Amari explains how she could not close her eyes the first night they escaped due to her fear of her father. When Amari saw Saran in the fortress, she almost ran after him. Zélie tells Amari she can no longer do magic. Amari is shocked. When they cut her, she lost her magic. Without it, she cannot do the ritual. Amari tells Zélie how strong she is, she tells her she can do this. Gods do not make mistakes. They must find a way to do the ceremony.

#### Chapter 77

The ship gets to the island in the morning. By interrogating the guards, they learned where the soldiers were located. Then they sneaked onto the island in stolen uniforms. Hoping to keep an element of surprise. Zélie talks to the group now. She tells them that their reason for fighting is stronger than their fear and that they have all been wronged by the monarchy and guards. Everyone cheers and is ready to go.

#### Chapter 78

Once Zélie crosses the eastern shoreline and goes onto the island, she can feel very strong energy going through her body. Everyone that is with her can. They know that it is the gods that are among them that's why they feel the energy. While they are trying to approach the temple in the center of the island they realize that there are thousands of guards that are all surrounding the temple. This is very challenging for them but not for some people. Roen has an idea to get past them. Some of Roens men are sent into the back of the temple because the guards will be distracted by them and go after them so it is easier for Zélie and the rest of the crew to move forward to the temple. Orisha is a very heavily guarded temple and it is a huge plus for Zélie and her crew that are on the journey for the guards to get distracted and move onto the back of the temple. Zélie and the crew enter the temple and go to the sunstone, where they start to pray. She and the rest of the group are performing a ceremony because Zélie wants the gods to return her magic because she knows that she is going to need it throughout the journey. Zélie is at peace with herself because she knows that she is going to get her magic back. This is super important to her and crew because they are going to need it.

#### Chapter 79

Chapter 79 starts with Zélie, falling apart. She admits to them that her powers are gone, they haven't come back, and they have to surrender. Zélie is very angry especially with the gods. She thinks of everyone who has died for her and she knows that Baba cannot be one of them. Inan steps in and trades Baba for the artifacts. Zélie drops the scroll and the sunstone. She realizes that Inan has never seen the real bone dagger. Zélie sees her father, and he asks her why she gave up. She says she had to. Then suddenly an arrow is shot through Baba’s chest.

#### Chapter 80

Zélie has a flashback of her mothers death and remembers when she swore she wouldn’t let this type of event happen again. However, it is now happening to her father Baba. As the guards go to Zélie, she throws her magic arrows at them for “ blood and death” to avenge her fallen family. She then can hear her father Baba’s voice telling her that revenge is not the path and that the right path is to restore magic to gain respect for the Maji.

Zélie remembers how her mother was murdered, she believed nothing like that will ever happen to her family again. As she walks she approaches her father Baba body. She is shocked. As the guards approach her she is filled with rage and points her arrow at the guards. She says to them that she wants death upon them for her family who has passed.

### Chapters 81-Epilogue

#### Chapter 81

Zélie, in a blind rage after Baba’s death, is targeting Inan. She makes her way to Inan by killing guards with her magic. Shadows emerge from Zélie's hands to go to Inan, but a guard lunges in front of him, saving Inan’s life. Inan can feel how much pain Zélie is going through and decides that he must end magic to save them both. He tries to destroy the sunstone by smashing it one the ground but nothing happens to it. Zélie is making her way to Inan, killing one soldier after the other. He realizes that Zelie’s power will be able to destroy the scroll, so he brings up all of the horrible things in her life making her more and more furious with him. Once Zélie reaches her breaking point, she flashes her powers towards Inan, but he holds the scroll in front of his chest, saving his life but destroying the scroll and all power. King Saran sees what his son has done and runs over to him with glee. Inan sees a guard about to kill his father and kills the guard with his magic. All of the pride and proudness in King Saran’s face suddenly leaves. He sees blue stones on the dead guard that Inan has killed and recognizes them from what was on Kaea’s dead body. King Saran, in disbelief that his son has powers, plunges his sword into Inan’s chest. Inan lying on the ground, reaches out with his bloody hand to his father, fighting for his life because he does not believe that this can be the end. King Saran stomps on his hand and says, “You are no son of mine.” (Adeyemi 509)

#### Chapter 82

Amari, no longer fearful of using her blade, continues to strike down soldiers with Tzain by her side. She and Tzain both fight through their pain, and for all of the people who have died because of King Saran. As the fighting continues, Amari finds it ironic that the guards vow to protect the royal family, and yet, they are coming after the princess with their blades. Amari then hears Zélie scream, and watches as Zélie desperately tries to put pieces of ash back together. As Amari starts to head towards Zélie, out of the corner of her eye she sees King Saran strike one of his own soldiers. It is only when the soldier’s helmet falls off does Amari realize he has struck Inan. Amari is temporarily shocked at this sight, and can not believe it. Here is her father striking his son that does everything to try and please him. As Inan bleeds, Amari feels as if her own blood is spilling too. Just as King Saran is about to deliver a final deadly blow, Amari’s shock turns to anger, and she calls out to him. This outburst stops King Saran from killing Inan, and he then quickly diverts his attention to Amari. However, Amari is no longer afraid of him. She is ready to fight.

#### Chapter 83

Amari starts to think about all the fighting her and Inan were forced to do as children. Her father would pin them against each other so they would fight to be the stronger of the two. Amari was raised to fight monsters, but she was just now realizing he is the real monster. She starts to fight him with her sword feeling more powerful than ever before, but she holds back on killing him knowing she would be no better than him. She stumbles past him and he slashes her in the back. Not only did she realize he was a monster, but also that he doesn’t care about his own children’s blood. She plunges her sword into his chest, tears filled in her eyes, she knew it was for the better and she would be a far greater queen without him.

#### Chapter 84

After Inan tricked her to destroy the scroll with her own power, Zélie loses hope. She is distracted by her father Baba's death as well. However, she pushes past this and realizes that blood magic coupled with her maji and kosidan ancestors could allow her to connect to the Sky Mother. After cutting her palms and using the sunstone, she is able to channel the energy of her ancestors. However, the sunstone breaks while the energy is still flowing through it, and the energy disperses throughout the world around them, affecting every human.

#### Chapter 85

After performing her own new version of the ritual using blood magic Zélie feels herself dying and enters a world between life and death. Once she enters this world she hears familiar chanting and humming of a song. As the song grows louder a figure begins to appear and Zélie believes it is Oya who is the goddess of life and death. But once Zélie's vision becomes clear she realizes the figure she sees is her mother’s spirit. Zélie begins to cry as the two of them embrace and Zélie's mother reassures her and informs her that Baba is safe and Baba and she are proud of Zélie. Desperate to stay with her mother Zélie clings to her as she begins to fade away while informing Zélie it is not her time to be with the other spirits yet.

#### Epilogue

After performing the ritual to bring magic back and talking to her mother(who is deceased) in the afterlife, Zélie wakes up on a rowboat in the sea after passing out. She is surrounded by Tzain, Roen, and Amari. Zélie asks Tzain if she successfully brought magic back but Tzain doesn’t respond. Zélie starts to assume the worst when she sees Amari who has a blue swirl coming out of her hand and a white streak in her hair. It is then implied everyone in Orisha now has magic.