Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Amari, Tzain, and Zélie return to their ship, where they have been living for weeks since the ritual at the temple. They have sold almost everything on board to survive and have very few rations left. Roën joins them and explains that no one has heard from the queen of Orïsha in weeks. After magic returned, a group of maji who call themselves the Iyika stormed Lagos to take the capital; they have been assassinating nobles across Orïsha.

Amari decides that she needs to make her presence known to the people to gain support for the throne. She asks for Roën’s help setting up a rally, but he declines. He tells her that without the queen’s money, they are already in debt to him for all he has done.

Zélie goes with her lionaire, Nailah, and rides into the town of Jimeta. She comes across a young girl with a white streak in her hair. Like Amari, this girl is a tîtán—a member of the noble class who gained their magical abilities after Zélie’s ritual. Unlike Zélie and the other maji, they do not need to perform any incantations to draw on their magic.

Zélie travels to the cave where Roën and his men have their headquarters. She is angrily greeted by his men, who inform her that there is a bounty on her head. However, Roën intervenes and takes Zélie to his living quarters.

At first, Zélie attempts to tell Roën that he should help for the betterment of the kingdom. However, she realizes that she does not know if Amari being on the throne would help. She thinks of all the people who are fleeing Orïsha and everyone who has died and tells Roën that it “feels like magic’s destroyed the entire kingdom” (18). She admits that she wants to be “free” and remembers how happy she was when she was able to embrace Mama in death.

When Roën asks her why she keeps fighting, Zélie admits that she does not want all the death to be for nothing. She promises to pay Roën double what they had originally offered, and he begrudgingly agrees to help.

The next morning, as the ship arrives in Zaria, Amari practices her speech. As she looks at the scar on her shoulder from her father, the magic inside her sparks to life. Unable to control it, it brings her intense pain, and she cries out and collapses on the floor.

Tzain rushes to her side and comforts her, insisting that she talk with Zélie about her magic since this keeps happening. However, Amari resists, knowing that the thought of the tîtáns bothers Zélie.

Zélie departs the warship with Amari. She is bothered by the fact that, even with their powers back, the maji still hide their hair and cower.

Amari is hesitant to speak, unsure of what to say or how the crowd will react. Zélie assures her that the gods chose her for this moment and that it is her destiny to lead the people.

The group enters a large sand dome where a crowd has gathered to hear Amari speak. She ascends the stage and begins by telling the story of Binta and her death, saying that she wants to end Orïsha’s “story of divide” (31).

As Amari speaks, she sees a member of the Iyika in the crowd. She considers how the Iyika do not hide who they are and feels as though she should not hide who she is, either. She then removes her helmet, shocking the crowd as they see that she is a tîtán. Amari continues to speak, telling them that she wants everyone to be open and proud of their abilities and to work with them to make Orïsha a better place.

Just as the crowd begins to chant “Long live the Queen” (33), filling Amari with hope, a woman makes her way down the aisle, interrupting the cheers. Amari realizes that it is her mother. This makes her happy, until she sees the hatred in her mother’s eyes.

Queen Nehanda makes her way to the front of the crowd, which has become entirely focused on her. She accuses Amari of lying and being a “power-hungry tyrant” (35). She tells the crowd that Amari murdered the king and was complicit in the prince’s death, causing the crowd to turn on Amari. As the queen tells Amari that she will be arrested along with her accomplices, Zélie watches as guards come down the aisle carrying orbs containing a black liquid. Before Zélie and Tzain can react, the queen places a golden mask on her face as the guards break their orbs on the sand.

As the black liquid from the orbs turns into a gas, Zélie realizes that the queen has found a way to turn majacite into gas to be used as a weapon. She watches as the maji in the room scream in pain.

Tzain grabs Amari, and they begin to run. Zélie stops when she sees that the queen’s guards are also wearing masks. She watches as they use magic, revealing that they are made up of tîtáns. However, she also sees that they have little control over their magic and that many are consumed by the ashê they are trying to wield. As she turns to flee, she is separated from Tzain and Amari just as the majacite in the air catches up to her.

The majacite burns Zélie’s skin and lungs as she struggles to escape. She sees Nehanda coming toward her and is shocked to learn that Nehanda also has a white streak in her hair, revealing her status as a tîtán.

Zélie sees Nehanda draw ashê from her guards, leaving her men collapsed on the ground. Zélie is unable to understand Nehanda’s power, but she sees it grow as more ashê is added. Nehanda punches the ground, causing the earth to split open. However, she is also overwhelmed by her power, losing control as it splits the dome across the ceiling.

Zélie looks up as pieces of the dome begin to fall. She is overwhelmed by her own fear of failure, recognizing that they cannot win and are unable to flee. Roën shoves her aside just as a piece of the dome falls. He forces a mask over her face to protect her from the gas, and the two hide under a fallen slab.

Tzain shouts to Zélie, and she spots him riding Nailah with Amari. Zélie and Roën climb onto Nailah’s back as they flee the dome.

The group gets to a safe spot in the forest. Tzain comforts Zélie, who is still struggling from the majacite.

Roën confronts Amari about his payment. She challenges him, saying that she will pay him eventually; she even draws on her magic when he threatens her. He informs her that even if he waits, he cannot promise that his men will.

Their argument is interrupted when Roën’s men return. They threaten to turn Amari in to collect the bounty and then angrily turn to leave. Zélie tries to stop them but collapses onto the ground. To Amari’s surprise, Roën returns and helps her up. Zélie tearfully apologizes, and Roën looks sympathetic. However, he simply wipes Zélie’s tears and then turns and leaves with his men.

After Roën leaves, Amari considers their options now that they have the threat of his men as well as her mother. She tries to talk to Zélie, but Zélie tells her that they need to flee the country. Amari tries to convince her that there is still a chance, but Zélie angrily brings up the damage that Amari’s father, brother, and mother have done. Amari tries to defend herself and get Zélie to understand her suffering, but instead, Zélie angrily gets on Nailah to leave. When Tzain tries to stop her, she accuses him of caring more about Amari than her and leaves.

Zélie rides through the forest, angry and in tears. She curses the gods, who gave stronger magic than the maji’s to the nobles, and then prays to Mama to “take” her.

Eventually, she calms down and considers how to apologize to Tzain and Amari. However, as they leave the forest, Nailah is forced to abruptly stop, throwing Zélie from her back. She blacks out and wakes up in Inan’s dream.

Zélie is stunned to be in Inan’s dream—having thought he was dead—and finds him lying on the ground. He spots Zélie and tries to apologize, telling her that he did not know they would kill Baba. Zélie has a flashback to the temple and Baba’s death. She angrily tells Inan that she trusted him as she feels the magic growing inside her. As he continues to apologize, she releases her magic, changing his dreamscape by causing trees and black, twisted roots to grow from the ground. The roots grab Inan and slam him into a tree, pinning and choking him as he gasps for air. She tells him to “run” just as he passes out and the dreamscape collapses.

Inan awakens in a bed but has no memory of where he is. He remembers being stabbed by his father and has since been in his dreams. As an alarm begins sounding around him, he realizes that he is in the palace.

Soldiers enter the bedroom, and Inan is surprised to see his mother. The soldiers lift him and drag him from the room, insisting that he and his mother go into the basement. In the hallway, however, he breaks free, unable to believe that the palace is under attack.

Inan gets to a balcony and looks out, only to see that the capital city of Lagos has been destroyed. As he struggles to comprehend what has happened, fire begins to rain from the sky. One of the guards grabs him and shields him from the explosions.

Inan realizes that the soldier who covers him is his cousin Ojore. Ojore tells him that it is the Iyika attacking.

Zélie awakens to the sight of Tzain over her. He brought a maji Healer, who works to fix her broken ribs. However, the Healer and her friends are rushed, as they can see the queen’s guards approaching in the distance. The Healer finishes and tells Zélie that it is “an honor to heal the Soldier of Death” (69), a nickname that surprises Zélie.

After the Healer and her friends go, Zélie attempts to apologize to Tzain and Amari. Tzain informs her that they have agreed to go with Zélie if she truly wants to flee Orïsha. However, she tells them that she has changed her mind; she wants to stay because Inan is still alive and she needs to kill him.