Chapter Eighteen: Zélie

Lekan leads Zélie, Tzain, and Amari deep into Chândomblé, explaining his sênbaría and the sêntaro role. In a vast mural chamber, he animates the gods’ origin story, inviting Zélie to recount Oya and the Reapers, tying her lineage to death magic.

Lekan reveals King Saran discovered the binding ritual and massacred the sêntaros, severing Sky Mother’s connection and ending magic during the Raid. He explains that while the scroll can spark deity ties, only a sacred ritual with three artifacts—the scroll, the bone dagger, and the sunstone—performed at a temple on a solstice island can make magic permanent.

The deadline is less than one moon away; missing it would end magic forever. Lekan has the dagger and the scroll, but not the sunstone, which he last tracked toward Ibeji. He insists a maji tethered to the gods must perform the ritual and identifies Zélie as Sky Mother’s choice.

Despite her doubts, Zélie agrees if Lekan will awaken others. He prepares an awakening in a mountaintop steeple, allowing Tzain and Amari to witness under oath of secrecy. Using controlled blood magic in a boiling obsidian bath, Lekan re-tethers Zélie to Sky Mother, flooding her with power.

Drained but alive, Zélie learns she must rest before they depart to find the sunstone and reach the sacred island. As she plans their next steps, Lekan senses an approach and urgently orders them to flee.