Legacy of Orïsha, #1
Children of Blood and Bone
by Tomi Adeyemi
Contents
Chapter Eighty-One: Inan
Overview
Inan flees Zélie’s raging shadow magic and decides the only way to end magic is to destroy the sacred scroll. He goads Zélie into striking it, and her attack obliterates the parchment. After Inan saves King Saran with his own magic, Saran recoils in hatred, stabs Inan, and disowns him, shattering their bond.
Summary
Inan faces Zélie transformed by grief into a relentless wielder of shadowy, killing magic. Realizing he cannot defeat her outright, he refocuses on preventing the ritual by eliminating the tools of magic. When smashing the sunstone fails, he targets the sacred scroll as the decisive threat.
Recalling that only magic can destroy the scroll, Inan tests his Connector power without effect. Seeing Zélie’s shadows reduce soldiers to ash, he devises a trap: provoke her fury so her attack hits the parchment. He taunts her with painful truths about Baba and their trust, drawing her lethal strike directly into the scroll.
Zélie’s shadows tear through the parchment, turning it to ash. As her magic falters, Inan believes he has ended magic and saved Orïsha. In the aftermath, a mercenary moves to kill King Saran. Inan taps the lingering sunstone surge to freeze the attacker, allowing a guard to finish him and saving Saran’s life.
The display of magic horrifies Saran. Recognizing the same turquoise crystals from past victims, he brands Inan a monster. Despite Inan’s plea that he has ended magic, Saran stabs him, then prepares a killing blow. Inan begs for acceptance, but Saran crushes his hand and disowns him, severing their relationship.
Who Appears
- InanPrince and Connector; destroys the scroll by baiting Zélie’s attack, saves Saran with magic, then is stabbed and disowned.
- ZélieRavaged by grief, unleashes deadly shadow magic; inadvertently obliterates the sacred scroll when provoked by Inan.
- King SaranArrives amid the battle; saved by Inan, then rejects his magical son, stabbing and disowning him.
- Unnamed mercenaryAttempts to kill King Saran; paralyzed by Inan’s magic and slain by a guard.