Chapter 6 The Fire Beneath the Crown

The morning after the feast was quiet. Not the kind of quiet that brings peace, but the kind that follows noise too loud to forget. The sun rose slowly over the kingdom of Akun, casting long shadows across the palace walls. The scent of roasted meat still lingered in the courtyard, mixed with the faint smell of burnt palm oil and incense.

1st Prince Adebayo stood alone near the carved lion statue in the palace garden. He wore a simple wrapper, the morning breeze lifting its edge. His sword, though no longer needed, rested by his side. His eyes were fixed on the distant gate, where the world outside waited like a beast.

He had not slept.

The words of the High Ogboni still echoed in his ears: "If none return, the royal line ends." And behind those words, he heard something else. A warning. A dare. A pronouncement masked as prophecy.

He remembered the silence that followed that night's announcement. How even the drummers stopped. How Princess Adepeju's eyes welled with tears but did not fall. How 2nd Prince Adeola quietly left the table, and how 4th Prince Adesola smiled like the whole kingdom was a game.

Adebayo closed his eyes. There's something more to all this, he thought. The kingdom, the throne, the quest-they were pieces on a board. And someone, somewhere, was moving them.

Inside the palace, Queen Morounkeji - mother to the 3rd prince, 5th prince, and Princess Adepeju - walked into Kabiyesi's private chamber. She had not entered the room since his death. It smelled of old perfume, dried herbs, and something bitter - something not right.

The room was dim. Sunlight crept in through carved windows, landing softly on the large royal bed where he had once rested. The walls still held his presence, though his voice was gone.

She moved carefully, her fingers brushing against the bedspread. As she adjusted the pillow, her hand touched something hard underneath.

It was a folded letter. Sealed with the old royal emblem - not the new one used by the Ogboni council.

She paused. Her breath caught. This letter was hidden. Hidden for a reason.

Her hands trembled slightly as she tucked it into her wrapper and slipped out of the room.

Elsewhere in the palace, the Ogboni council gathered in the upper chambers. The doors were closed. Guards stood outside, but they heard nothing.

"Have we gone too far?" one elder whispered.

High Ogboni Salako looked at him sharply. "We've done what the kingdom needed."

"But we stripped the crown prince without his knowledge," another muttered.

"It was the will of the spirits," said Salako.

"Or your will?" someone asked quietly.

The room grew tense. The Ogboni were not always united. Some believed Adebayo still deserved the throne. Others feared his strength and loyalty to the old ways. And some... some just wanted power.

Salako stood. "Let the princes play their game. Only the strongest will return. And if none do... we already have our choice."

"You mean the one we've groomed in silence," someone said.

Salako's silence was answer enough.

In the hallway outside the chamber, 5th Prince Adeoye leaned against the wall. He had not meant to eavesdrop. But he heard enough to feel cold all over.

He turned and walked quickly toward the garden. He needed to tell someone. But who could he trust? His mother? His sister? Or... his brother, Adebayo?

He found the 1st prince still standing beneath the lion statue.

"Adebayo," he said.

Adebayo looked at him, surprised. "You're up early."

"I heard something," Adeoye whispered. "The Ogboni... they don't all want us to return."

Adebayo's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"They said... they already have a choice. If none of us come back, they'll still crown someone."

Adebayo felt his stomach twist. "Who?"

Adeoye shook his head. "They didn't say. But I think this quest... it's not just about finding treasures. It's a trap for some of us."

Adebayo reached forward and gripped his brother's shoulder. "Then we walk carefully. Trust no one. Stay close to faith."

Adeoye nodded. "I will."

Later that day, in the royal chambers, the queens met in secret. Queen Akerele, Queen Morounkeji, and a few trusted maids sat quietly around a low table. Between them lay the letter Queen Morounkeji had found.

She opened it.

It was from Kabiyesi - written in his final days.

"I know I do not have many sunsets left. I have made mistakes. My first son, Adebayo, carries more than I gave him credit for. If the Ogboni twist my words, know this: he has my blessing. Let no man remove what was given by blood and battle."

Queen Akerele pressed a hand to her chest. "He did want Adebayo."

"But they changed it," Morounkeji said. "They made all the princes equal."

"And now they send them out to die," Akerele whispered. "We must protect them."

"But how?" asked one of the maids.

Morounkeji looked at the candle burning beside them. "We pray. We plan. We prepare."

That night, as the moon rose over Akun, Adebayo stood once more at the palace gates. He watched the guards, the torches, the distant hills.

In eleven days, they would leave.

He did not yet know what each brother planned. He did not know what the Ogboni truly wanted. But he knew one thing:

If the crown must be earned through fire, he would walk through it.

Not for himself.

But for Akun.

And as he turned toward the inner chambers, the flame from the torch beside him flickered wildly-as if something unseen had just passed through.

He would not fear.

He would rise.