Page 5 of Lies That Bleed
My gaze flicked to his. He leaned forward in his seat as if anticipating. Would Lucinda read the real name? She glanced at my father and he gave her the smallest, barely perceptible nod.
“Kohen Badshah.” Her voice was flat, void of any excitement. The crowd gave a polite clap, nothing overly rambunctious like they had for Jace and I.
My father was allowing the ex-prince of Imbria to go into The Wilds and possibly bond with a creature and become more powerful? Why would he do that? My mind scrambled for a reason. My father didn’t do anything without thinking it through. Making the heir of Imbria more powerful so that he could possibly one day take back his country and go against us was stupid.
I eyed the Imperial Fleet officers, dressed in their black and gold uniforms, all stationed around the edges of the room, and noticed how their bodies tensed as Kohen walked across the front of the stage and towards the stairs that would bring him up here. As he got closer, I realized that he was massive, taller than I had previously thought, and more handsome too. He stepped right up next to me and peered down at me. “Am I allowed to stand next to you or should I go be with him?” He jerked his head towards Jace.
I clenched my jaw at the question, keeping my posture straight and erect. “Do whatever you want,” I growled under my breath.
He nodded, stepping up directly beside me, arms hooked behind his back in a posture that mimicked mine, and that’s when it hit me. My father was letting him in The Wilds because he was going to have him killed. If the prince of Imbria got taken out on the streets, there would be hell to pay, but in The Wilds, where ninety-five percent of us would die anyway, it would be considerednormal.
My father was a genius.
Lucinda called the next name, and the next. One by one, candidates made their way to the stage. Most of them were cheering and smiling, but every once in a while you got a crier. Someone who didn’t want to risk their life for their country was rare, but it happened. They were the first to die in The Wilds, too weak to even fend off a dog if it tried to bond with them. Their families were usually very poor and had begged them to enter for the money they might get if they made it out and survived boot camp. It was quite sad when you thought about it.
I began to drown out Lucinda’s voice. This ceremony was taking forever, and I’d been to every single one since I was six years old. It got monotonous. I was quite surprised by how many Imbrians were being called up, and I was trying and failing not to be attracted to the sandalwood and honey scent coming off of Kohen Badshah. I should have told him he couldn’t stand next to me. It was affecting my thoughts. Boys who smelled good were my weakness. I just wanted to stick my nose against his throat and inhale.
“Tetra Thindrel.” Lucinda’s voice snapped me back to the present and a collective gasp rang throughout the crowd.
I broke my military posture and dropped my arms, taking one step forward and out of the line. I glanced at Lucinda, who’d just read the name, and then at mybest friend in the crowd. Tetra was frowning in disbelief, eyes as wide as an owl’s.
I then looked back at my father. You put your name in the Lottery at the door. Tetra never would have put her name in there; she was given special permission to be here today just to support me. My father appeared alarmed, like some mistake had been made. People were watching, waiting to see what would happen. If anyone found out that these lotteries were rigged, it would start a civil war. By Tetra being here, they would assume she had put her name in, as family and friends were not permitted to come just to support each other, other than my sisters of course as they were future heirs. I wondered now if there had been a mix-up at the entrance and a guard had put her name in.
My father started to clap, smiling as if he had just heard the best news in the world, and my stomach sank. He was going to let it happen. He had to go along with it now that her name had been called or the Lottery would look suspect. Everyone else mirrored my father’s clapping, but in a lower tone much like they did for when the Imbrian names were called.
I peered at Tetra in fear as she struggled with her cane, trying to make her way out of the aisle. Her right foot dragged limply behind her as she slowly moved over to the stairs. Everyone fell silent as they watched her struggle to mount the steps, her shoe squeaking as it trailed behind her.
My breath came out in ragged gasps as I fought for control and slipped back into my line. Beside me, Kohen suddenly backed away and I snapped my head in his direction as he took a place at the back row of candidates, leaving the spot next to me open for Tetra to slide into.
I frowned in confusion, wondering why he would do that.
Tetra was shaking like a leaf by the time she reached me, so I slid my hand into hers and squeezed, trying to convey to her that it would be okay, that I would die in The Wilds protecting her before I let anything happen to her.
More names were read, until finally the stage was full. Four hundred of us in all, crammed like cattle in a kill pen.
Which was probably what we were now.
For tonight, we either lived or died in The Wilds. Nothing else mattered.
Chapter
Three
“You’re going to be okay,” I told Tetra as I paced the changing room. She was struggling to get her uniform over her twisted foot. I wanted to help her but I knew she hated that. She’d been painfully silent since the Lottery. I’d begged my father afterwards to reverse the decision, but he told me it was done, witnessed in front of so many people. It would cause a rebellion to show preference to his daughter’s best friend.
“I told my father to make sure the soldiers let you in as a visitor only, not to put your name in,” I mentioned under my breath. “He promised. Someone screwed up and they will pay with their life.”
She looked up at me then. Her deep brown eyes were in such contrast to her moonlight-colored hair. “Why should I get special treatment?” She shrugged and I frowned.
“Because you’re my bestdamnfriend and I won’t let anything happen to you,” I promised her.
She stared at the floor, avoiding my gaze. “I know how this works, Aisling. If you are distracted in The Wilds trying to keep me alive, you put yourself at risk. I won’t let that happen. Just… make sure my mom is taken care of when I die.”
I gasped at her resignation. “No!” I shoved her and she almost fell over. “Make sure yourself when we both walk out of The Wilds with creatures bound to us,” I shot back.
She stood in her underwear, one leg in her black, issued pants, glaring at me with anger.
“There’s the Tetra I know. The badass who won’t let anyone put her down,” I told her.
