Page 57 of Lies That Bleed
“At ease. What’s the problem, Lieutenant?” the admiral asked.
Lieutenant Ashendell relaxed a little. “Two of the cadets’ creatures didn’t show up, sir.”
She answered just as Sahiri dropped on all fours and walked over to me, sniffing my boot. A wave of dizziness washed over me. I felt so exposed, so fragile. Her magic was terrifying.
“And why is that, Aisling Everhart?” He directedhis next question to me and I felt the color leach from my cheeks.
“I informed her she needed to be here, sir. She chose not to,” I told him, looking straight ahead. No way would I look him in the eye if I didn’t have to. This man was in my father’s monthly war council meetings and he scared the life out of me.
“Your creature suggested it but you had to have agreed with her. Otherwise, you would have just forced her to be here.”
I felt physically nauseated from being interrogated like this. Maybe if I threw up they would send me to the infirmary. I said nothing, hoping he would drop it and just test everyone else here.
“What are you hiding?” he then asked.
Don’t embarrass me. My father’s words flushed through me and I knew whatever I did now would get back to him.
No human should know what the Talanagi can do.Liana’s words rushed over me as well.
I said nothing. I had nothing to say.
“Sahiri, reveal her power,” Admiral Blade ordered his creature.
Panic rose up inside of me. Would I burst into flames and wake up in a body bag again? Or worse, not at all? Or did I have some other power yet to be uncovered? Something like what Kohen was hiding.
“No,” I said as sharp intakes of breath came from all around me.
“Excuse me, Cadet?” The admiral got up in my face, and this time I did look at him, regretting it instantly. He was in his late forties with a black buzzcut and an absolutely feral gaze. There was something inherently evil about him and it gave me the chills.
“No,” I repeated. “I do not consent to having my powers forced on display, SIR!” I screamed in his face. He reached up then, lightning-quick, and grabbed my lower jaw,hard, surprising me, and that’s when chaos erupted. I hissed at the pain his forceful grip had caused, and then Tetra stepped forward, holding her cane up in the air like she was going to strike the admiral. He looked over at her and burst out laughing. That’s when there was a blur of tan skin and black hair. Kohen came out of nowhere and cracked the admiral in the side of the temple, knocking him out cold.
Holy crap.
Just when I thought I had a moment to process what the hell was going on… Sahiri attacked. She stood on her hind legs and barreled over to Kohen, taking him down to the ground with one yank of her meaty hands. She was pummeling him, her fists smashing into his face and arms as he brought them up to protect himself.
It felt like time had stopped. My breathing came out in ragged waves as I reacted without thinking.Grabbing my dagger from my boot, I threw myself onto Sahiri’s back, holding the blade to her throat.
She froze.
“I will bleed you out right here and now if you don’t get off of him,” I told her.
The whole room was in an uproar.
Lieutenant Ashendell was trying to rouse the admiral. The soldiers flanking the walls stepped closer but were waiting for commands. The other admirals who had been sitting on the dais were now rushing towards us with angry strides.
This entire thing had gone to crap.
‘You have no idea how bad this is.’ I reached for Liana with my mental communication and felt her close by.
‘Not as bad as it would be if they knew what you both were capable of. Some people are too powerful to be kept alive.’
Her words sent chills down my arms. What was Kohen hiding? What did she know about me?
‘What do I do?’I asked Liana.
‘You are the future empress. Handle it.’
I wasn’t empress here though. I was a cadet like everyone else.
