Page 25 of Lies That Bleed
“I’ve run out of staples, Aisling. I’m tired and out of options. I’d rather die at the foot of a Talanagi than by an assassination attempt because of your father.”
I didn’t have anything to say to that. In fact, I was questioning why I didn’t kill him for my father right here.
Kohen kept walking and I had a moment of indecision.
Should I kill him and do the job I knew my father wanted done?
Should I just let him go?
Should I follow him?
He disappeared over the hill and I ran after him.
Damn my curiosity!
“The Talanagi are so powerful they will kill you just by staring at you,” I said.
Kohen laughed. “I don’t care. I’m going to find them and bond with one.”
I had to admit his confidence was sexy.
There was an Amersean man a hundred years ago that we had record of who’d bondedwith a griffin Talanagi, but none had been seen or bonded with in Amersea since.
“Besides, what do you care what happens to me?” Kohen asked as he peered sidelong at me.
I shifted my pack a little. “I don’t. I’m just curious.”
We walked in silence for another half hour with Kohen consulting his map every few minutes. I was beginning to regret my decision when we reached The Wall.
I swallowed hard, staring up at the giant thirty-foot stone structure.
“What now?” I asked as Kohen walked towards the river that split Imbria and Amersea.
“Now I swim to the Luska side. The Talanagi are said to be just on the other side of this wall.”
My eyes bugged and I reached out to grasp his arm, stopping him. “Dude, first of all, you could be eaten by a river shark… and secondly, you’re going intoLuska?” I widened my eyes.
If there was one thing Imbria and Amersea agreed on, it was our hatred of Luska. The war-hungry nation wanted our embers in their factories and our people in chains. Their strip of The Wilds, and therefore access to ember, was tiny compared to what Amersea and Imbria had. We were an unstoppable nation with that much ember.
His eyes practically glowed blue as he stepped closer to me and seemed to peer directly into the center of my soul. “If it means I have to swim throughshark-infested waters and over into enemy territory to survive, I’ll do it. I’ll do just about anything to survive, Aisling. Something I don’t think you know much about. So why don’t you wait here for me where it’s safe…”
He spun then, ripping his arm from my grasp, and waded into the river.
Bastard!Was he saying I didn’t know how to survive hard things? Or that I’d never had to? Did he have any idea what being the emperor’s daughter entailed? If we climbed The Wall we’d be killed by the guards up top. The only way over was in the river and around.
With a growl I took off after him, letting the cool water lap at my ankles as I held the pack over my head like he did.
He gave me a backward glance but said nothing.I should turn back. I could literally be killed if the Luskins found us in their territory. Or worse, kidnapped and tortured for days on end. But I did wonder, why did Kohen’s map show the Talanagi on the Luska side? It kind of made sense… because over twenty percent of the creatures the Luskins bonded to were Talanagi. That’s what made them such a formidable foe. Was it because the creatures bred there on the other side of the wall and we’d unknowingly blocked them out when we erected it? That would be very stupid if that was the case. My father would rip the wall down if he found it to be true.
I peered up at the top of the wall, looking for soldiers, but found none. Kohen reached the shore on the Luska side and scrambled up the steep embankment. Next it was my turn. I got one boot into the mud and slipped, swallowing a yelp as I sank into the river, drenching myself and my pack. When my head bobbed back up, Kohen was there, reaching down to haul me up out of the water as if I were made of air.
He steadied me, setting me on my feet, and I stared at him a little breathlessly as water rolled down my face and clothing. “Thanks,” I muttered.
He just nodded and continued walking, consulting his map, and I followed because I was a curious idiot.
There was no turning back now. I was either following Kohen into a trap where he killed me, or we really did find the Talanagi and we both died. Either way I didn’t see many options where we both made it out of enemy territory alive.
Suddenly his arm shot out and grasped my stomach, holding me back.
