Page 6 of Lies That Bleed
Her glare turned to a smirk. “Push me again and I’ll punch you in the boob.”
I grinned. My bestie was back, aggressive sarcasm and all. She was going to be fine. She had to be. I couldn’t imagine a world without her in it.
“We’re a team, Tetra. You and me. We can do this.” She wasn’t good with hand-to-hand combat, but she aced archery, and you were allowed endless weapons, so if she could get a bow and arrows somehow, we had a shot at keeping her alive.
She relented, reaching out to use me to steady herself so she could get her pants on. Now she was dressed like everyone else, excluding me. I wore the black military jumpsuit everyone else had on, but thegolden puma emperor patch over my left breast signified my station as successor to my father’s rule.
“I didn’t pack a bag,” she informed me.
I nodded. “There’s time. You go out and keep your mother calm. Tell her I’m going to make sure you survive this and I’ll get you a three-day pack.”
She released the breath she’d been holding. “Aisling, even if you protect me from other candidates, you can’t keep me safe from the creatures.”
“Watch me,” I growled.
Her face softened as if she were talking to a child. “There are only two ways to leave The Wilds. In a body bag, or bonded to a creature.”
“I know that,” I said through clenched teeth. Why was she pushing this and being negative? I didn’t want to talk about this right now. I wanted to believe it was possible for both of us to get out of this alive and bonded.
“The second a creature sees my limp, they will take me out. Too weak to bond,” she said, and I reached up and plugged my ears like one of my little sisters.
Tears filled my eyes but I blinked them back. Everharts didn’t cry.
“It’s okay,” she said, as she pulled my hands away from my ears. “I just want you to know that whatever happens in The Wilds… I’m okay with it.”
“Stop,” I begged, my voice nearly a whimper. We were crammed in a small changing room and I knew the girls around us could probably hear at this point.How the hell had we gotten here? My best friend with the bum foot was going into The Wilds. It hurt worse than Jace’s cheating. It hurt worse than anything I could think of.
She changed the subject: “What did you want to tell me after? It was big news?”
Oh right. Maybe we needed a subject change.
“Jace cheated on me. We need to plot a big revenge.”
Her eyes flew wide. “That bastard. I’ll kill him in The Wilds myself.” She gripped her cane to illustrate her point.
I grinned. “Just keep that attitude and you’re going to do fine. All you need is one creature to see that fighting spirit and?—”
“Take pity on me?” she interrupted.
I shook my head. “See your true worth.”
I noticed that my words made a difference. Tetra stood a little taller then and I pulled back the curtain to exit the dressing room. “Finish getting ready and then go talk to your mom. I’ll be back with a three-day pack for you.”
She nodded and I slipped out of the dressing room. Sure enough, the other girls avoided my gaze as I passed, which told me that they were totally listening to the louder parts of our fragile conversation.
“If any of you tries to pick her off as an easy kill in The Wilds, I’ll have my father make sure your familieswork in the iron mines for the rest of their lives,” I said boldly.
All of the girls looked farther down at their feet, except for one. An Imbrian. She laughed.
“What’s so funny?” I stepped over to her, not in the mood for any crap right now.
“My family already works in the mines,” she said casually, and her friend chuckled. I recognized her; she had been sitting with Kohen Badshah earlier. She had four piercings in each ear, and the right side of her head was shaved. Her long brown hair was in a braid over one shoulder, and I couldn’t help but remark on her beauty. She must be in Kohen’s little Avasan gang.
I lowered my voice, knowing I had to stop this insubordination right now or it would grow. “Well, then, I’ll have to think up a special punishment for them. How does that sound?”
The grin was wiped from her face, and for a moment I felt bad for saying it, but I would do anything to keep Tetra safe. If people thought she was an easy target, they were going to be sorely mistaken.
“Relax, princess,” she said. “I don’t bite unless provoked.” She then gave me her back, a disrespectful move, but one I didn’t care about. I had more pressing matters at hand, like keeping my best friend alive.
