Poison
Ojore, Inan’s best friend and protector, discovers that it was Nehanda who caused the Raid and the death of his parents and the unending war in Orïsha. Determined to kill her, he calls Inan and his family a poison to the land-something which Inan will accept to be the truth at the end as well, seeing the lack of empathy and regret in his mother and discovering that Amari succumbed to the ways of their family as well.
Heart in hands
At the start of the novel, Zélie feels crushed by their defeat by Nehanda and just wants to run away from it all. She desperately tries to convince Tzain and Amari to leave with her, but Amari feels chained with her obligation despite Zélie’s desperate look that shows her that she Zélie’s heart in her hands.
“She looks at me, and it’s as if I have her heart in my hands. All I want to do is heal it. To take away her pain. But it’s not just her pain I must erase.”
Goddess and bug
The shift in the atmosphere as they join Iyika takes Amari by surprise. Being treated as the future queen, a hope for her people, she is confused by the disdain the members of the resistance look at her, compared to how they treat Zélie. It seems as if it’s not only Amari’s desire for peace that drives her to become an Elder and be directly involved with Iyika.
“People stare at her as if she were a goddess. They look at me like I’m a bug.”
Like home
Zélie immediately feels a deep connection with the members of Iyika, led by Mama Agba. She is taken in as their hope, their leader, the Soldier of Death. Just as they are strengthened by her presence, she also gains a sense of home and purpose with them. It is this purpose that keeps her going even when she feels like giving up.
“Though I’ve only known them for a few hours, they already feel like blood. Like home.”
