Chapter Forty-Two: Amari

Amari regains consciousness in a forest tent, blindfolded, gagged, and bound to a tree. She recalls a surprise ambush: nets, acrid fumes, and masked attackers who seized her and Tzain. When the bag is ripped off, she faces Kwame and Folake, divîner captors who already possess her bone dagger and the sacred scroll.

Kwame interrogates Amari about the scroll’s origin and their numbers, dismissing her claim that she seeks to restore magic. Realizing the captors have handled the scroll before, Amari deduces they are after it. To force answers, Kwame unveils a battered Tzain and holds the dagger to his throat, escalating the threat.

Zu, a young divîner leader, enters and immediately commands deference from Kwame and Folake. On learning two companions escaped and a comrade, Jailin, is missing, Zu rebukes Kwame for acting without her and risking their people. She emphasizes their mission to protect others, not act as guards.

Zu takes the scroll, confirming familiarity, then restores order: she orders Folake to treat Tzain’s head wound and leaves Amari restrained, declaring Amari won’t escape. The vigilantes’ internal tensions, their knowledge of the scroll, and the missing Jailin set stakes for whether they become allies or further obstacles.