Finally.
She went to see Obiageli that evening, as the sun bled gold and crimson across a sky heavy with the coming storm.
The girl’s chambers were in the oldest part of the palace, a tower that had stood for centuries and would likely stand for centuries more.Guards flanked the door—not to keep anyone in, Azul knew, but to keep the curious out.Obiageli was valuable.Somadina hadn’t even made the move to kill her.
Azul stood at the window—a narrow slit in the stone, just wide enough to see through—and waited.
After a long moment, a figure appeared on the other side.Pale hair.Gold eyes, colder than Azul's own.A face that held no expression at all.
"Is anything wrong?"The girl asked.
"We plan to climb the gates for the night.Come with us."
Obiageli's expression became conflicted, and after careful deliberation, she relented.
Getting Obiageli out of the tower required Chidinma's help.
The new Ugoeze had resources the old one never dreamed of—guards who owed her loyalty, servants who feared her displeasure, and a network of informants that spanned the palace.Within hours, she had arranged for the Oracle's guards to be reassigned, for the doors to be left unlocked, and for a path to be cleared through the chaos of the siege.
The wall was easier to scale than Azul had expected—rope ladders hidden in advance, guards paid to look the other way.Azul couldn’t help but feel moved.
“Chidinma… you are truly a good woman.”
Her sister grimaced at her words, but Azul didn’t care.For once, someone was making allowance for her lack of strength and her even greater lack of motivation to exercise.
Within an hour, they were in the city, moving through streets that smelled of smoke and excrement.Obiageli pinched her nose beneath her plain cloak the entire time, clamping her mouth so she wouldn’t complain too much.
The city was alive, even in its suffering.Children played in the shadows, too young to understand the danger.Women huddled together, sharing what little food they had.Men stood guard on every corner, ready to defend their homes with whatever weapons they could find.
Obiageli drank it all in with hungry eyes.
The village square had been active, with many coming out to spend their nights together, for no one knew when their last night would be.
They arrived at the square where soldiers gathered around fires, their laughter rough but heart-warming.Azul wore a plain wooden mask herself, hiding her face from anyone who might recognise her.
"Dance," she said to Obiageli."Enjoy yourself.For one night, forget who you are."
Obiageli looked at the soldiers, at the fires, at the music that had begun to play from somewhere in the crowd.
“Can I really?”She asked
Azul nodded.
So the girl abandoned them, finding her curiosity earned her many curious glances and many more conversations.
Azul and Chidinma watched from the shadows.
“I can’t believe she’s older than me.”Chidinma couldn’t help but marvel.“I thought you would kill her when you left the courtyard, how did she manage to convince you to bring her out here?”
Azul declined to answer.She didn't come out here for Obiageli.
They were the same age, they looked the same, they were twins, and yet they had grown up so differently that Azul found Obiageli to be the Azul that could’ve been.
Even the worst husbands could be good fathers.Obiageli had a lack of killing intent; she was truly just a player, she wished not necessarily to kill, but she wanted to win.She was suited for a different game, not the game of politics and power.
"Will you use her?"Chidinma's question pulled Azul out of her trance.
Azul considered the question."No."
