Tomi Adeyemi

I look back, not recognizing the monster that wears Ojore’s face. We did this to him. We poisoned him with all our hate.

(Chapter Twenty-Three)

(Chapter Forty-Five)

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.

(Chapter Twenty-Eight )

(Chapter Eighty-Three )

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.”

(Chapter Thirty-Eight )

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.”

Magic slithers inside me. Venomous, like a thousand spiders crawling over my skin. It wants more of me.”

(Chapter Fifty-Nine)

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.”