The Blood Gift, page 42
He shrugs. “We’re about to go track down and kill some gods; I’ve got the time to wear you down.” I get a winning Rossi grin.
Greysen, Dane, and Liim laugh at our antics.
So do I. This time, I’m heading Invictus on an op to kill numerous terrible gods, but an easiness and a comfort settle over me as our camaraderie and bonds present strong. It’s what got us through Nkosi and Krashna alive. It will get us through the rest of the Pantheon alive. And while we’re doing it, I decide I can have both. I can go to war again and still claim my peace while I kick godly ass because what I have with Reed and Invictus is my peace.
Amaris are as strong as Khanaian steel, I remind myself. It has never been truer because I find that I am not so afraid of this next battle, after all.
I am forged by adversity. I am tempered in perseverance. I will not bend. I will not break. I will not bow. I will not yield.
Once the mantra I have proven many times over is finished, Grandfather’s voice adds: Not even to gods, Kenna.
Give the Pantheon hell too.
I will, Grandfather. When they come, I will be ready.
Dramatis Personae
Players in the Republic of Mareen
Ikenna Amari: a warrior with elite Praetorian rank; mixed Mareenian, Khanaian, and Accacian heritage; former Gamma Cohort squad mate; granddaughter and sole surviving kin of Mareen’s murdered Legatus Commander The child of an unknown Accacian father, Ikenna is infamously blood-gifted and her illegal magic has been exposed. She’s become the leader of a rogue Praetorian cohort whose members broke from the Republic alongside her. Ikenna aims to assassinate the tyrannical Blood Emperor of Accacia, end the war with him that Mareen’s government instigated, then return to Mareen to execute its Tribunal Council, getting justice for her grandfather and overthrowing her country’s own despots.
If that isn’t enough—the goddess of blood rites, which Ikenna’s magic stems from, has taken a keen, shadowy interest in aiding our beloved Murder Girl.
*Verne Amari: Ikenna’s half-Khanaian and half-Mareenian grandfather, former Legatus Commander of Mareen (44th), war hero who wounded Accacia’s near-immortal Blood Emperor to end the first war between Accacia and Mareen, a Xzana combat arts master and strategy genius, the most brilliant combat mind the Republic has ever seen. Verne raised Ikenna from birth and kept her blood-gift a secret from his government, which would execute her for it.
*Maiika Amari: the daughter of Verne Amari, a woman who had an affair with an enemy Accacian and was subsequently killed by Accacian warlords while pregnant. The baby, Ikenna, survived the execution after being cut from Maiika’s womb due to Ikenna’s blood-gift sustaining her newborn life.
Darius Reed: a half-Khanaian/half-Mareenian orphan from eastern Rykos, graduated first in his cadet class, top-tier Praetorian, former Gamma Cohort squad leader, transition officer and co-lead of the Praetorian Trials, Verne Amari’s Xzana student and protégé, Ikenna’s co-general in their rogue Praetorian cohort
KaDiya Dannica: a Praetorian from eastern Mareen, traces of Khanaian ancestry in her lineage, formerly Gamma Cohort’s third-in-command, transition officer of the Praetorian Trials, fiercely loyal to Ikenna and a member of Ikenna’s rogue cohort
Haynes: a Praetorian from western Mareen, formerly Gamma Cohort’s second-in-command, member of Ikenna’s rogue cohort
Caiman Rossi: a northerner born in the mighty capital of Krashen City, “Golden Boy” of the Republic, heir to Mareen’s most powerful and venerated war house, formerly a Praetorian in Alpha Cohort, fights alongside Ikenna in her rogue cohort
Greysen Hunt: a legacy Praetorian, formerly served in Alpha Cohort, Caiman’s best friend, a squad mate of Ikenna’s rogue cohort
Liim: former Alpha Praetorian and trials transition officer, loyal to Caiman and Rossi War House, a rogue cohort member
Dane: former Alpha Praetorian, loyal to Caiman Rossi, a rogue as well
*Zayne Drake: Ikenna’s and Selene’s best friend, who died in the Praetorian Trials, born of labourri parents from the Southern Isles
Selene Rhysien: Ikenna’s former best friend, war house scion, duplicitous
Sutton Rhysien: Selene’s father, head of the war house that developed a way to neutralize magic use in warfare, the Tribune General who convinced the rest of the Council to sanction the assassination of Ikenna’s grandfather
*Haymus Rossi: Caiman’s father, a Tribune General and former head of Rossi War House, the 45th Legatus Commander, murdered by Ikenna in vengeance
*Rudyard Brock: Verne’s brother-in-arms, helped raise Ikenna, a Tribune General and head of Brock War House, the Tribunal Council’s former spymaster, murdered by Ikenna in vengeance
*Zephyr Caan: a young, newly minted Tribune General and war house head, murdered by Ikenna
Lykas Chance: skilled Praetorian, Alpha Cohort’s leader, former transition officer and co-lead of the Praetorian Trials, sadistic and hates Ikenna
Players in the Empire of Accacia
Nkosi: the Empire’s feared Blood Emperor, purportedly godlike, has conquered most of the planet and vastly expanded Empire territory, a bloodthirsty warmonger who seeks to conquer Mareen and the rest of the Minor Continent nations that held out against his former expansion campaign
Ajani: one of the Red Order warlords, a member of the Blood Emperor’s inner circle of men whose power is only a step below their liege’s
Rigaud: a Red Order warlord
Iyko: Ajani’s second-in-command for the unit of legionnaires he leads
Odion: a gentle Accacian holy man with the gift of augury
Players in the Kingdom of Khanai
Mustaph Gyidi: Grand Monarch of prosperous Khanai, Verne’s good friend, an uncle figure to Ikenna who becomes estranged from her following her assassination attempt on his life
Enoch Gyidi: Crown Prince of Khanai, childhood friend of Ikenna, enemy to Ikenna after his father’s attempted murder
Akasha Gyidi: Queen of Khanai
Princess Nishia Gyidi: Enoch’s younger sister
Players in the Free Microstates
Tariyal: Queen-Sovereign of Ska’kesh, former lover to Verne Amari, confidante and friend to Maiika Amari
Edryssa Cyphir: Lady of Lusian, Cyphir Syndicate crime boss, reigns over the City of Thugs, ally to Ikenna
The Iludu Pantheon
Krashna: god of war, created the lands of Mareen and its martial-minded people, once handed down war gifts in the population along with ruinous ideas about purity
Amaka: goddess of blood rites, created the lands of Accacia and proliferated blood magic in her devoted flock, preached similar ideas of superiority
Kissa: goddess of arts, riches, and wisdom, Khanai’s beloved patron goddess, the sole benevolent entity among the Pantheon, twin sister to Krashna, creator of sacred blue steel—a metal Khanaian blades are forged from that is unshatterable
Hasani: god of the After, legend purports he’s served by twin hellserpents who collect recently deceased souls and drag them into the After Hasani buried the entire civilization he created alive under ice in a fit of rage at his flock daring to rise up against him. This gave rise to the notorious Ice Waste that encompasses the harsh mountain range known as Hasani’s Wrath.
Onei: goddess of the hunt, creator of Onei’s Expanse—a Pantheon-cursed, hellish forest prowled by undead cannibals and myriad other magical predators
Va’ia: goddess of beauty and love, used both to trap the unwise into eternal servitude
Nanwi: god of trickery and illusions, a penchant for cruel games and crueler jokes
Imu: goddess of chaos and the crossroads, sower of discord
Daja: god of the sea, populated the Tumultuous Sea, which stretches between the Minor Continent and Principal Continent and is filled with an array of monsters
Maliya: goddess of fire, history recalls her engulfing whole cities in flame on occasion
*Deceased
Acknowledgments
Drafting a sophomore novel is brutal. Drafting a finale to a series is harder. I had to do both with The Blood Gift, and there are so many individuals whom I’d like to express my infinite thanks to for keeping me grounded and confident I could pull this sequel off. As always, Caitie Flum, you are a rock-star agent. I couldn’t have brought Ikenna’s story to life from the very beginning without you championing it, reading countless drafts, and chatting with me about the myriad ideas I had for the potential directions the story could go. Likewise, David Pomerico, you are an exceptional editor, and I am continuously in awe of your skills. You have a gift for being able to cut to the core of the narrative I am attempting to tell when I hand in an initial draft and provide incredible insight as to how I might enhance the story to really make what I most want to relay shine. You’re proof that great editors are worth their weight in gold. Vicky Leech Mateos, the same sentiment one thousand percent extends to you as well. Thank you for seeing something special in Ikenna and her world and working to bring The Blood Gift duology to a wider audience.
To Mireya and the entire HarperCollins team, who have displayed tons of support for this series since the beginning, the biggest THANK-YOU. Julie Paulauski and Emily Goulding, you’ve been phenomenal publicists to work with. Your high energies, warmth, and dedication to helping boost this series and increase its visibility has been super heartening and exceptional. Deanna Bailey, I really appreciate all the work you’ve poured into things on the marketing side. You’re amazing and your ideas are always just so brilliant and spot-on. Raymond Sebastien, you are a gem of a talent. Your cover art on both books helped bring Ikenna to life in a way that still leaves me breathless. You rendered her exactly how I imagined her and made her even cooler!
To my husband, Courtney, and oldest daughters, Carmen and Cydney, you three were LIFESAVERS while I drafted and revised this book. I owe you an entire galaxy’s worth of praises for pitching in to help with the babies and keep them entertained while Mom worked. Janee, Elana, and Lauren—you are the greatest sisters a girl could have. If I don’t say it enough, I feel immensely blessed to have you in my life as women who are always there for me in any way I need. Mommy, you have been amazing since the day I was born and continue to be. Thank you for helping out with the babies too, hanging with the older girls, and taking shifts for school pickup and ballet drop-off while I drafted this book.
Dhonielle Clayton, Tracy Deonn, Roseanne A. Brown, J. Elle, and Ronica Davis—all of the publishing advice and experience you’ve generously lent has been invaluable and so very appreciated. Susan Dennard, Hannah Whitten, and Kalynn Bayron—I super appreciate you three agreeing to participate in my launch events for The Blood Trials. Our chats truly made launch week magical! Dhonielle, our in-person conversation at Kindred Stories on release day was more than I ever could’ve asked for! Mark Oshiro, Julian Winters, and Saraciea Fennell—a big thank-you for rolling with Dhonielle to my release day event. It was such a delightful surprise to see you.
I saved this for last, but it is certainly not of the least importance. It’s simply because I am going to cry while typing this next thing. To my writing fam—Traci, Jonathan, Shari, Kwame, Brent, DaVaun, Alaysia, Liz, and Jamar—you all have been along for Ikenna’s journey and my larger writing journey for so long now. When I’ve needed advice, cheerleaders, a kick to get to work, peeps to talk plot and story with, or a second opinion/read on pages, y’all have been there every time. Traci-Anne, you are my sister. You’re family family; you’re stuck with me—and all my writerly chaos—legitimately forever. Sorry! Jamar, the same goes for you! We’ve been friends for many years now and it means so much to always have you there no matter if it’s to squee over something good, gripe about something not so great, or just talk through whatever I need to.
Finally, I can’t end these acknowledgments without taking a moment to humbly say thank you to the readers who found the Blood Gift Duology, fell as hugely in love with Ikenna as I have been since I first conceived her, and helped shout about her and her story to the world. Thank you for all the cool pics and words of excitement that I was tagged in on Instagram and Twitter. You all made the weeks leading up to The Blood Trials’s launch, launch week, and the months following launch something that was joy-filled, magical, and really freaking cool, while keeping the usual angst of releasing a book into the world at bay. To B2Weird Bookclub, chatting with you all during release week was so amazing and wonderful. It was a literal dream come true to have the opportunity to talk with readers who enjoyed The Blood Trials and came READY to discuss the shenanigans, the bloodshed, the spice, and the heavier issues woven between its pages. Briana and Dani—our chance meeting at Politics & Prose was a highlight of debuting! We must meet for shots again sometime soon! Your hype for Ikenna and the world of Iludu starting even before publication made release day immensely less scary. It boosted my confidence that The Blood Trials would find its readership, and the individuals I wrote it for would love it, see Ikenna, and get what I was trying to accomplish! Veena, you, too, have been so generous and kind with your support for this series. I can’t express how much I appreciate it. To Kindred Stories and the Book Bar—Black-owned indie bookshops—I admire the hell out of your work. THANK YOU A BILLION for existing within the book community, supporting Black authors, and championing stories reflective of the diaspora and our multitude of experiences.
About the Author
NIA “N. E.” DAVENPORT is a science-fiction/fantasy author who has a penchant for blending science and magic. She possesses undergraduate degrees in biology and theatre, as well as master of arts degrees in secondary education and public health. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys vacationing with her family, skiing, and being a huge foodie. You can find her online at nedavenport.com, on Twitter @nia_davenport, or on Instagram @nia.davenport, where she talks about bingeworthy TV, fun movies, and great books. She lives in Texas with her husband and kids.
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The Blood Trials
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
the blood gift. Copyright © 2023 by Enishia Davenport. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Harper Voyager and design are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers LLC.
first edition
Title page background image © Vidady/abode.stock.com
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Map illustration by Nick Springer
Cover design by Richard L. Aquan
Cover illustration © Raymond Sebast
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.
Digital Edition APRIL 2023 ISBN: 978-0-06-305855-2
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-305853-8
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N. E. Davenport, The Blood Gift
