‘Will you help me save him?’ she asked, forcing herself to remember the reason she’d come to the arena in the first place. The whispers around her grew louder, but there was nothing she could do about the danger she’d put Command in now. She hoped that her commander’s position and lifelong allegiance to the crown would keep her safe from any real consequences. She couldn’t be sure, but first, she had to save Alawani.
He nodded. ‘I’ll ask my brother tomorrow.’
‘No,’ she said, pulling away. ‘We need to get to him before the first stripping.’
He frowned. ‘L’?r?, the first stripping was last night.’
‘What?’ L’?r? gasped. Those words somehow felt worse than every strike she’d taken in the pit. ‘How do you know?’
‘The Order doesn’t announce when they do the stripping ceremony, but they likely decided to do it yesterday because of the blood moon. I’m sure even Alawani didn’t know when the first stripping would be.’
‘So he could be dead?’
‘Maybe. But if he’s alive, he won’t be able to scale walls or run. Look, I want to help you, I’ll even go with you into the damn temple, but it can’t be tonight. We need a plan. You might be quick on your feet, but not when carrying a whole body on your back. Or are you ready to die for his freedom?’
He was right. She conceded. ‘Fine, tomorrow.’
‘Also, check your house, or ask Baba-Ìtàn. If anyone knows where the chosen ones are kept, it’ll be him.’
L’?r? rolled her eyes. ‘He won’t help me, and no way I’m going to tell him either. He’ll only try to stop me.’
They reached the top of the stairs, and just as she turned towards her home, Kyà called her back, ‘Wait.’
‘What is it?’
‘We can’t go tomorrow.’
‘Curse the sun, Kyà! I can’t keep doing this. Are you in or out?’
‘No, that’s not it. Tomorrow is Ogun. My Ogun.’
She stopped. He’d been waiting for his chance to fight for nearly twenty-six blood moons. He’d been passed over every time since he qualified to fight for a position. As he approached his twentieth first sun, he was getting nervous, and she’d completely forgotten that his turn had finally come around. It meant everything to him and his family, especially since they lost his younger brother to the burn – the disease that consumed people who burned out their energy cores by overexerting their agbára beyond the point their bodieswould cope. If Kyà and his older brother were paid a royal guard’s wage, his family could move into the capital. It’d change their lives.
She drew a deep breath. ‘You can try again in a few blood moons. But Alawani won’t make it that long.’
‘What?’
‘Please, I’m begging you.’
‘L’?r?,no. We can just go the day after.’
‘No! We don’t know when the next stripping will be. We need to get him out now.’
He frowned, and she looked away.
He clenched his teeth, ‘If I die as a victor of Ogun, my parents get more money than they would ever need. The third ring is not like here; they are just farmers, and they are struggling. When I become a royal guard, my brother and I will be able to relocate them to the inner rings. Maybe even here to the capital. But if I die before then, they get nothing. You know that, don’t you?’
‘You won’t die, Kyà, I will protect you. I promise.’ The corner of his lips lifted, but she couldn’t call it a smile. ‘I promise after we do this, I will train with you every day if I must until you are called again. I want this for you. I want you to win.’
Kyà stood still. His eyes grew glassy, and she cupped his face in her palms. ‘Please, Kyà.’ She hugged him so tight, the bruises on her body stung, but she didn’t let go. ‘Please help me, and I’ll owe you. Forever.’
He eventually peeled her hands off and said, ‘Yes, you will,’ and turned away from her, returning into the sunken pit of death.
On the continent that harbours the kingdom of Oru, there are two eras to remember:
The days before the day of the First Sun and the days after the day of the First Sun.
All of Oru lives to remember the day the gods placed a drop of sun in our cores.
