Page 13 of Lies That Bleed
Leaning into my ear, she whispered, “Steer clear of Kohen Badshah,” and then released me.
I frowned, but gave her a nod and then we kept walking.
What did that mean?Had she already heard that we’d spoken on the bus, or did she just see that my alliance included some of his people and wanted to warn me that he was bad news? Or was she warning me that my father put a hit out on him and she didn’t want me hurt when that went down?
I eyed Kohen. He was walking with all the rejects from the bus. Small, lanky, and awkward candidates followed him like puppy dogs after their master. Kohen was pointing to trees and people and things on the ground, giving them some lessons on how to survive, I presumed.
“He’s not who you think he is,” Anika said, watching me study him.
I snort-laughed. “He’s probably worse.”
We stopped at a sign planted right in front of the road, the place where all of our packs had been lined up in a row.
You are entering The Wilds. Entrance without a bonded creature is forbidden unless you are a candidate.And if you are a candidate, good luck. May the stars guide your way.
“Bond or body bag. Let’s do this,” Roc said, rolling out his neck and hefting his pack.
“Need help?” I asked Tetra as she readjusted her pack, while trying to balance on her cane.
She shot me a glare. “Are you going to wipe my ass, too, Aisling?”
I swallowed hard. Point taken. I was babying her too much.
I backed off, tightening the straps of my own pack, and kept walking.
The imperial soldiers that we passed gave me a salute of respect.
“Make us proud,” one of them said.
No pressure.
If I came out bonded to a Labrador, my father would definitely be disowning me. And the people of Amersea right along with them. They expected a powerful creature to bond with me—but not too powerful so that I overshadowed my father.
I sighed. Everything was political when you were the emperor’s daughter.
I led my group past the sign and into The Wilds, peering up at the fire sky in awe. Little glowing specks rained down around us, almost too small for the eye to see. Still, there was value in them if you gathered enough. I’d been to the edge of The Wilds with myfather over a dozen times but never had I walked into the belly of the beast.
“I want hands on weapons. We could be attacked at any moment by an offended creature,” I snapped, after I noticed at least half of my group walked lazily and without a care. Tetra included.
They remedied the issue and I relaxed a little.
“Wouldn’t they only attack us if it was to bond?” Tetra asked.
She never paid attention in creature class. She assumed her entire life that she wouldn’t be getting one.
I opened my mouth to speak when Anika started talking: “Creatures in The Wilds will kill you because they don’t like the way you smell, or because you got close to their nest of eggs, or a hundred different reasons.”
I nodded in agreement with her. “And sometimes you can use the opportunity to submit that creature to your will and bond with them.”
“And others will kill you because your weakness offends them and they want to prove they are more dominant,” Anika added.
Dammit, I liked her the more I got to know her. She was smart, no nonsense, and knew her stuff. In another lifetime we might have been friends.
The deeper into the forest we walked, the more a supernatural darkness fell upon us. The temperaturedropped, and wide thin slices of ember floated from the sky like falling feathers.
Dev’s hand snaked out and grabbed one, only to drop it on the floor as he hissed in pain, retracting his fingers to his mouth. It was smoking.
Anika grinned. “The big pieces are hot as they fall. You have to wait a few minutes for them to cool off. You should see my father’s fingers, scarred from nail to wrist with burn marks.”
