The older man leaned in with intent. ‘I’m telling you, your father knows nothing. This L’?r? of Òtútù is a threat to your throne and our kingdom! The guards have just brought in a battle rhino, frozen to death from the inside. Crystals crawl over its body like a disease. She did this. She must die.’
Tofa shivered at the thought – but that didn’t change his orders. ‘I can’t disobey my father. He said to bring her back alive.’
‘I taught you better than this, Tofa. You need to stop thinking like a boy and think like a king.’ Àlùfáà-Àgbà leaned even closer. ‘It is you who will sit on that throne as king and Aláàfin. This is your kingdom, and there has never been a war in this land. Do you want to be the first Aláàfin in our history to change that?’
‘War?’ Tofa said. ‘She’s just a girl. Even if these powers she has are dangerous, she can’t be more powerful than I am. And nor can this kingdom of Òtútù be as powerful as Oru.’
Àlùfáà-Àgbà did the thing he does where he thinks he’s smiling but instead looks like an animal ready to pounce. ‘Her kind are born of darkness, born of the void deep within the night sky. They move from shadow to shadow like ghosts. They drain the life of anyone they touch, channelling that life and power into themselves. The extent of their evil is unknown, but, Tofa, we don’t need to know any more. We know enough to know that they can’t live on this continent with us.’
Despite himself, Tofa felt a chill settle deep in his heart at this. ‘Why would they want war with us, anyway?’
‘They seek vengeance for the justified massacre of their people a thousand first suns ago,’ Àlùfáà-Àgbà said. ‘They are coming, Tofa. The girl will be the catalyst they need.’
Tofa’s eyes widened. ‘There’s no such thing as a justified massacre.’
‘There is, when they threatened to wipe us out. And by the gods we won that war.’
‘What are you not telling me about this girl, Bàbá?’ Tofa said. ‘Did you know that she was the one Alawani had been in love with and protecting all this time?’
‘I often wonder what I ever did for the gods to curse me with a grandson like Alawani. No, I did not know that he had allied himself with the enemy. I should not have let him stray so far from the island. I know now that ?niìtàn has filled his mind with lies. Even after all I told him about his purpose in this kingdom after the stripping, that he would do something as foolish as running from his destiny is beyond me.’
‘His purpose? Did you call him to the Order, Bàbá? Did you break the rules for him? Why?’
‘Do you trust me?’ Àlùfáà-Àgbà asked, placing a firm hand on Tofa’s shoulder. Tofa frowned, considering the question. The old man gripped his shoulder tightly, forcing him out of his thoughts. ‘Have I ever lied to you?’
Tofa shook his head slowly.
‘Then trust me when I say, if you want this throne,’ Àlùfáà-Àgbà pointed at the throne, ‘the daughter of the Òtútù needs to die by your hand.’
Tofa stared at the gilded throne, surrounded by fire torches even in the light of day. No one had ever asked him if he wanted the throne before. He’d never considered the option of not wanting it. In truth, there was no choice to make.Nothing to decide. He was oathbound to do all within his power to protect his kingdom from anything that threatened it. Unlike the king before him, he was no oath-breaker.
If the girl had to die? Then the girl had to die.
Àwòdì n fò f?r?r?, ó l’óun f m’Olúwa. Ibi tí yóó fò dé, kò yé mi
Àwòdì (a species of eagle that flies high) says it wants to meet the Most High. It has no idea the heights it will have to reach
23
Ìlú-p?, Third Ring, Kingdom of Oru
L’?R?
L’?r? sat across from Alawani in the inn they’d stopped at when the rain got too heavy. She was glad of the chaotic energy in the farm bar. In the corner, a man drummed while a few women danced in front of him, singing above the cheers of the drunk audience. Between them and the gambling table in the corner, L’?r? hoped she and Alawani were invisible. As soon as the storm cleared, they’d leave. They were only a few miles from the border of the third ring and she wanted to put as much distance as possible between her and whoever the Holy Order had sent after her.
L’?r? felt Alawani’s lingering gaze, but she ignored him. Àmàlà and gbgìri were staple meals for farm hands to build up strength or recover from a full day’s work, so when the serving girl offered it to L’?r?, she took it gratefully, unsure when she’d have her next full meal. Alawani opted for a light, peppery soup with goat meat and a small mound of bread instead. He finished his meal first, and washed his hands in the bowl underneath their table, then slowly moved to stand.
L’?r? slammed her hand on his. ‘Where are you going?’ she whispered.
‘I’ll be right back. The storm is getting worse. We mightneed to stay the night.’ Just then, the winds crashed the door shut as someone ran out of the bar.
‘Baba-Ìtàn had told me about the rainstorms in the third ring, but I never imagined anything like this could happen in a desert kingdom with nothing but cracked earth and dry harmattan. Not one drop of this gets to Ìlú-Ìm and we’re just one ring over,’ L’?r? said.
Alawani shrugged. ‘Old magic. Without Ìlú-p?, Oru would starve.’
‘Yes, but how is it done?’ L’?r? said.
‘Shh … not here,’ Alawani said, pulling out his seat. ‘I need to pay for a room upstairs before this place gets booked out. I think the owner’s just walked out.’
