Chapter 22 The Royal Palace, Royal Island, Kingdom of Oru #3
The Lord Regent slammed his staff on the ground and rose. The sound sent a wave of energy through the room. ‘As the words have left my mouth.’
Slowly, in unison, the room said the words in response. And finally, after a long moment of silence, àlùfáà-àgbà said, ‘So let it be done.’
‘The crown heir will wait until we have a location,’ the Lord Regent said, then walked through the curtains behind the throne.
The room bowed in unison as the Lord Regent disappeared from sight. The high council and the priests of the Holy Order filed out, leaving Tofa standing there before an empty throne. ‘Are you coming?’ K?ni asked.
‘Give me a moment,’ he said.
His sister nodded her understanding. ‘I’ll wait for you by the door.’ Leaving him alone was not an option.
As he stared at the throne, Tofa sighed in relief that his father wanted the prince alive.
Despite this declaration about Alawani’s family, Tofa knew it was just another of his father’s mistakes that he’d fix once he took the throne.
They shouldn’t have to suffer for Alawani’s folly.
Tofa wasn’t sure what kind of king he wanted to be but hunting down Alawani, someone he’d once called friend, wasn’t how he wanted to start.
Broken oaths or not, he wanted nothing to do with the death of the prince of Oru.
Tofa heard footsteps approaching and lifted his head, expecting K?ni, but instead noticed àlùfáà-àgbà walking back into the chamber, shooting K?ni an irritated glance as he passed.
His face softened as he set eyes on the crown heir.
Tofa felt a rush of warmth towards the old priest, although he disagreed with his tough approach to Alawani’s cowardice.
The old man had taught him things his father would never teach him; things like old magic, politics, and an understanding of the delicate balance that kept the kingdom together.
But it was more than that: the man had been there for Tofa in so many ways.
When he needed a father, and his own was too busy ruling the kingdom, it was àlùfáà-àgbà who heard his concerns and wiped his tears.
It was he who promised Tofa that he would be the greatest king who ever lived, and he’d always be there to show him the way.
Tofa moved closer to àlùfáà-àgbà and placed a hand on his arm. ‘It’s good to see you, Bàbá.’
Tofa didn’t know anyone else who called the old man Bàbá.
He wished that people saw the same nurturing and protective man he saw when he looked at the Elder Priest. Even the high council’s indifference towards their father was always uncomfortably obvious to Tofa.
He didn’t know what had happened between them, but he didn’t ask.
It was a shame that none of them could see the heart of the man who loved him so much.
‘Come here,’ the older man said with arms wide open, embracing Tofa in a tight hug. ‘It’s good to see you too,’ àlùfáà-àgbà said quietly, holding Tofa’s face in his palm. ‘Have you lost weight?’
Tofa smiled and moved out of his grasp. ‘I’m fine, Bàbá, you worry too much.’
From the corner of his eye Tofa noticed K?ni, her eyes like a hawk’s, watching the old man’s every move.
She had more reason than most to hate àlùfáà-àgbà: he’d been the one to insist on her taking on the title of Ab’bakú – the condition that whenever he died, so would she.
Tofa on the other hand was grateful for every moment his sister was alive and he had the Elder Priest to thank for that.
àlùfáà-àgbà’s voice dropped so low that Tofa had to lean in to hear his words.
‘Your father underestimates the powers this girl of òtútù has. You mustn’t.
He can afford to be careless with his reign as it draws to an end, but if this girl lives, the repercussions will be yours to bear. I don’t want that for you.’
‘My father has ruled on this, àlùfáà. There’s nothing I can do.’
The older man leaned in with intent. ‘I’m telling you, your father knows nothing.
This L’?r? of òtútù is a threat to your throne and our kingdom!
The guards have just brought in a battle rhino, frozen to death from the inside.
Crystals crawl over its body like a disease. She did this. She must die.’
Tofa shivered at the thought – but that didn’t change his orders. ‘I can’t disobey my father. He said to bring her back alive.’
‘I taught you better than this, Tofa. You need to stop thinking like a boy and think like a king.’ àlùfáà-àgbà leaned even closer.
‘It is you who will sit on that throne as king and Aláàfin. This is your kingdom, and there has never been a war in this land. Do you want to be the first Aláàfin in our history to change that?’
‘War?’ Tofa said. ‘She’s just a girl. Even if these powers she has are dangerous, she can’t be more powerful than I am. And nor can this kingdom of òtútù be as powerful as Oru.’
àlùfáà-àgbà did the thing he does where he thinks he’s smiling but instead looks like an animal ready to pounce.
‘Her kind are born of darkness, born of the void deep within the night sky. They move from shadow to shadow like ghosts. They drain the life of anyone they touch, channelling that life and power into themselves. The extent of their evil is unknown, but, Tofa, we don’t need to know any more.
We know enough to know that they can’t live on this continent with us. ’
Despite himself, Tofa felt a chill settle deep in his heart at this. ‘Why would they want war with us, anyway?’
‘They seek vengeance for the justified massacre of their people a thousand first suns ago,’ àlùfáà-àgbà said. ‘They are coming, Tofa. The girl will be the catalyst they need.’
Tofa’s eyes widened. ‘There’s no such thing as a justified massacre.’
‘There is, when they threatened to wipe us out. And by the gods we won that war.’
‘What are you not telling me about this girl, Bàbá?’ Tofa said. ‘Did you know that she was the one Alawani had been in love with and protecting all this time?’
‘I often wonder what I ever did for the gods to curse me with a grandson like Alawani. No, I did not know that he had allied himself with the enemy. I should not have let him stray so far from the island. I know now that ?niìtàn has filled his mind with lies. Even after all I told him about his purpose in this kingdom after the stripping, that he would do something as foolish as running from his destiny is beyond me.’
‘His purpose? Did you call him to the Order, Bàbá? Did you break the rules for him? Why?’
‘Do you trust me?’ àlùfáà-àgbà asked, placing a firm hand on Tofa’s shoulder. Tofa frowned, considering the question. The old man gripped his shoulder tightly, forcing him out of his thoughts. ‘Have I ever lied to you?’
Tofa shook his head slowly.
‘Then trust me when I say, if you want this throne,’ àlùfáà-àgbà pointed at the throne, ‘the daughter of the òtútù needs to die by your hand.’
Tofa stared at the gilded throne, surrounded by fire torches even in the light of day.
No one had ever asked him if he wanted the throne before.
He’d never considered the option of not wanting it.
In truth, there was no choice to make. Nothing to decide.
He was oathbound to do all within his power to protect his kingdom from anything that threatened it.
Unlike the king before him, he was no oath-breaker.
If the girl had to die? Then the girl had to die.