# Children of Virtue and Vengeance - Author: [Tomi Adeyemi](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi.md) - Quotes: 48 - Book page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance ## Quotes > (Chapter Eighty-Five ) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-eighty-five.md) > Yoruba is sacred to our people. It’s not just something you can learn.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/yoruba-is-sacred.md) > After the Raid, practicing these incantations was the only part of him I had left.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/after-the-raid.md) > But the return of magic and the birth of tîtáns are living proof that we are finally returning to the Orïsha the gods have always wanted for us! We’re so full of hatred and fear, we’ve forgotten what blessings these abilities are. For centuries these powers have been the source of our strife, but the gods ordained us with magic so the people of Orïsha could thrive!” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/but-the-return.md) > No one ever asks, but you’re here. You’re here when so many people aren’t!” Roën grabs his head as if he could pull out his hair. “You survived the Raid. The guards. You survived the wrath of a king. You’re not a victim, Zélie. You’re a survivor! Stop running away!” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/no-one-ever.md) > Everyone, fill the bags with as many scrolls as you can. Kenyon, burn the rest.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/everyone-fill-the.md) > (Chapter Sixty-Four) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-sixty-four.md) > This war didn’t start when magic came back, Inan. You are only seeing the end of a battle countless have given their lives for. By winter’s dawn, we will have wiped the scourge of maji from this land. Even your wretched father couldn’t achieve that.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/this-war-didnt.md) > (Chapter Twenty-Seven ) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-twenty-seven.md) > I do not think you’ve gone far enough,” she says. “You speak of this war as if it is the start, but the maji and the monarchy have been fighting for decades. Centuries. Both sides have inflicted great pain on each other. Both sides are filled with mistrust.” [...] “You cannot blame Zélie for her actions any more than you can blame Inan for his past mistakes. You have to look beyond the surface if you truly want to achieve the peace you seek.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/i-do-not.md) > (Chapter Twenty-Four) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-twenty-four.md) > No!” I jerk up, wincing at the pain that shoots up my side. “This temple may be the oldest Orïsha has. It holds the stories of our past!” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/no-i-jerk.md) > I tuck away my white streak, wishing I could just chop the lock from my hair. Tzain may not notice the way Zélie looks at it, but I always catch the snarl it brings to her face. For so long, she had to suffer because of her gift. Now those that hurt her the most wield that magic themselves. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/i-tuck-away.md) > Even before Mother interrupted my rally, the support of the Orïshans didn’t touch the boundless joy of these maji. I wonder what it would be like to be embraced like that. To actually have a place where you belong. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/even-before-mother.md) > (Chapter Forty-Two ) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-forty-two.md) > (Chapter Seventy-One) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-seventy-one.md) > My chest falls as Mother marches forward with her tîtáns that still stand. As she walks past the carnage in her path, I know she’s right. Our enemies are gaining ground. We need to eliminate every asset they have. But how long can both sides keep going like this before we destroy Orïsha? [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/my-chest-falls.md) > These rebels burned your city to the ground. They wanted you and your people to starve. They are the poison of Orïsha! If you do not cut off the hand now, eventually you will be forced to sever the entire limb.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/these-rebels-burned.md) > (Chapter Sixty-Nine) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-sixty-nine.md) > Even from afar, I see the blackened corpses that lie in the streets. Corpses that lie there because of me. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/even-from-afar.md) > For years he forced Inan and me to trade blows and bruises under his watchful eye, never relenting, no matter how hard we cried. Every battle was a chance to correct his mistakes, to bring his first family back to life. If we got strong enough, no sword could take us down, no maji could burn our flesh. We fought for his approval, stuck in a battle for his love neither of us would ever win. We raised our swords against each other because neither of us had the courage to raise one against him.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/for-years-he-forced.md) > “I see the truth now. We pretend that magic is the root of our pain when everything rotten in this kingdom begins and ends with us. There’s no helping it.” I clench my fist. “Amari proved that in Ibadan. This throne corrupts even the purest of hearts. As long as it exists, people will continue to tear this kingdom apart.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/i-see-the.md) > Over generations, love of the maji turned into fear. Fear turned into hate. Hate transformed into violence, a desire to wipe the maji away.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/over-generations-love.md) > (Chapter Eighty-One) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-eighty-one.md) > Our lack of power and our oppression are one and the same, Inan. Without power we’re maggots. Without power the monarchy treats us like scum!” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/our-lack-of-power.md) > The moment magic breathes under my skin, I can’t find my voice. The purple light of my ashê glows around my hands, the divine power that fuels our sacred gifts. I haven’t felt its heat since the ritual that brought magic back to Orïsha. Since Baba’s spirit tore through my veins. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/the-moment-magic.md) > It’s like seeing her for the first time: the human behind the maji. Fear embedded in the pain. Tragedy caused in Father’s name.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/its-like-seeing.md) > For so long we’ve been defenseless against the havoc the maji wreak, but now the gods have blessed us as well. We’re powerful enough to annihilate them, Inan. The only way to achieve lasting peace is to cleanse the maggots from this land.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/for-so-long.md) > Do you accept these people as your own? [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/do-you-accept.md) > (Chapter Twenty-Five) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-twenty-five.md) > “I can’t be expected to carry the plight of my people forever.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/i-cant-be-expected.md) > (Chapter Seventy-Eight) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-seventy-eight.md) > All these years I thought Father was a monster, but what if ruling this kingdom forced him to act that way? [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/all-these-years.md) > (Chapter Thirty-Four) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-thirty-four.md) > He wants to believe that playing by the monarchy’s rules will keep us safe, but nothing can protect us when those rules are rooted in hate." [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/he-wants-to-believe.md) > On earth, Sky Mother created humans, her children of blood and bone. In the heavens she gave birth to the gods and goddesses. Each would come to embody a different fragment of her soul.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/on-earth-sky.md) > I look back, not recognizing the monster that wears Ojore’s face. We did this to him. We poisoned him with all our hate. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/i-look-back.md) > (Chapter Twenty-Three) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-twenty-three.md) > (Chapter Forty-Five) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-forty-five.md) > I feel the most sacred gift of Oya beneath my hands, the holy magic of life and death. When the last body breathes again, I stare at the glowing tattoos on my hands. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/i-feel-the.md) > (Chapter Twenty-Eight ) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-twenty-eight.md) > (Chapter Eighty-Three ) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-eighty-three.md) > For the first time since the torture, I feel a hint of the old fire that used to roar louder than my fear. But its flame is weak now; as soon as it flickers, it’s blown out by the wind.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/for-the-first.md) > (Chapter Thirty-Eight ) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-thirty-eight.md) > In death, the other spirits of the arena passed on their pain. Their hate. In their memories I felt the sting of the guards’ whips. I tasted the salt of fallen tears on my tongue. But Minoli brought me to the dirt fields of Minna, where she and her sharp-nosed siblings worked the land for autumn’s corn crop. Though the sun shone brutal and the work was hard, each moment passed with a smile, with song.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/in-death-the.md) > Magic slithers inside me. Venomous, like a thousand spiders crawling over my skin. It wants more of me.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/magic-slithers-inside.md) > (Chapter Fifty-Nine) [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/chapter-fifty-nine.md) > If you’re going to be an elder, you need to understand that true magic isn’t about power,” I explain. “It’s something that’s a part of us, something that’s literally in our blood. Our people have suffered for this. Died for this. It’s not something you can just learn. You may have helped us get it back, but right now we’re still being hunted and killed for the very magic tîtáns like you use against us.” [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/tomi-adeyemi/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance/if-youre-going.md)