Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Four days later, back at the maji camp, the elders seek advice from Mama Agba, who reads the new tattoo script on Zélie’s body. She reveals that the markings relate to the moonstone, a power given by the gods to Zélie during the ritual at the solstice. It gives Zélie the power to create cênters. Mama Agba reasons that because becoming a cênter requires a great sacrifice, it happened to Nehanda and Amari because of the death of the king during the ritual.

The council considers whether such a sacrifice would be worth it to create more cênters—or even turning themselves into them—to defeat the nobles. Again, Amari intervenes and suggests peace with Inan, but they ignore her. Instead, the elders listen to Zélie, who suggests that they use the new scrolls to see if they give them the ability to fight back.

The next morning, Zélie wakes to the sound of new chimes, which signal the beginning of training for the maji. She has doubts about her ability to lead the other Reapers after she abandoned Mâzeli at the temple to seek revenge on Inan. However, Mama Agba comes to her room and assures her that the gods have chosen her to lead and that she is strong enough to do so.