Page 54 of Lies That Bleed
He dragged me into an alcove and then released my mouth. I spun, with my shirt still bunched at my neck and glared him down. “You need to mind your own business,” I growled.
He frowned. “You looked like you were about to get yourself killed. I’m just trying to help you.”
Help me?
“I’m going to report them.” I moved to leave the alcove and Kohen yanked me back.
Oh this bastard was begging for a throat punch.
“Hear me out,” Kohen spoke softly, his body inches from mine, causing a delicious wave of heat to move through me, catching me off guard. “If you rat out these guys, it will stop them, but it won’t stop who hired them.”
His words stole my breath. Someone hired them?
“How do you know someone else is involved? It could just be them,” I told him, knowing that these precious seconds were costing me. I would soon lose my ability to identify these perpetrators.
He looked at me like I was stupid. “You think threewell-paid drill instructors would risk their careers trying to take out the emperor’s daughter of their own accord? Why? Because of some vengeance against the country? No. They are being paid, probably four times their salary to turn on you, by someone in a much higher position.”
His words struck fear into my heart because I knew they must be true. It made sense.
‘Everything okay?’ Liana’s voice shot through my mind.
‘Fine,’I lied. It wasn’t like I was in mortal danger right this second, but she must have felt that I was off.
“Like who?” I breathed to Kohen. “And why the hell do you care?”
His face clouded over. “I assume it’s whoever trapped Liana and tried to keep you from bonding with her. And I wish I didn’t care. Do whatever you want,” he snapped, walking away, back into the mess hall.
I stood there for a moment, processing what had just happened, and decided Kohen’s advice was good, but I still wanted these men arrested. I walked out of the alcove and into the hallway where the lieutenants had just been talking… but they were gone.
Not if we take care of her?I had no idea if they were talking about killing me, and now I had no idea who it was.
The second day of school was truly outshining the first.
Chapter
Fifteen
Ibarely slept. I woke up every hour, peering at the door and wondering if someone was going to come in and slit my throat in my sleep. I slept with a small dagger Elaine gave me, that the Fleet approved of, under my pillow with my fingers clutched tightly around it. I was still processing what I’d heard and hadn’t yet told Tetra about the possible plot to kill me. I had bigger things to worry about. Like the power display we were about to be forced to go through. Every cadet would have to stand before the Imperial Fleet admirals and give a display of power to be recorded in their file for future job assignments. This would also match you with which base you would be stationed at, and I was gunning for Sky Reach. It was the most notorious for attacks, but you learned the most there as well. The most powerfulsoldiers in my father’s fleet served at Sky Reach, and I wanted to be one of them.
It was barely light out, but I couldn’t sleep so I snuck out of our room and went down the hall to the girls’ bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. I showered with my dagger. The solid gold one-piece had an engraving along the entire blade that was reminiscent of the Cedar Creek countryside where Elaine was from. It was very special to me and it was very sharp, so I was keeping it with me at all times.
After lacing up my boots and tucking my cotton shirt into my Fleet-issued belt, I slicked my hair into a bun, still shocked at the red and black contrasting sides. Sometimes the bond between creature and human left a physical mark like a birthmark or scar, but I’d never seen hair change color.
I headed outside to look for Liana and found her in the woods behind a practice field. Something within me just guided me to look there. I assumed it was our bond. Some soldiers were out jogging, but otherwise the campus was pretty dead.
“Hey,” I greeted her, stepping over some fallen logs to walk up and stroke her neck. She leaned into my touch, using my fingers almost as a scratching post.
“Where’s Onyx?” I asked. She and the dragon were pretty inseparable.
She looked up at me with her purple eyes and I felt nervousness rush through me. As if she was preparing to tell me something I wouldn’t like.
‘I sent him away for the day,’she said.
Sent him away? Did Kohen know?
“Why? Today is really important. We need to show the admirals our powers so that we will be given important jobs within the Fleet and be stationed at good bases,” I told her.
She nodded.‘I know what today is. I overheard the lieutenants talking about it yesterday.’
