Page 4 of Lies That Bind
Admiral Caruso stood, toe to toe with Elaine. The admiral’s wolf creature began to circle Vespa, and I really just wanted to shovel potatoes and chicken into my mouth, but instead, I stood as well. This was one of many scenarios I was sure I would find myself in where I needed to de-escalate. Elaine, ironically, taught me all the de-escalation scenarios.
“Lieutenant Steele.” I wasn’t sure what was with the uniform—she hadn’t been active in the Fleet in forever—but I was going to assume she was wearing it for a reason, so I’d refer to her as such. “You were smart to think of my meal being poisoned. Can we get someone to taste it so I can eat before I start gnawing on my own arm?”
That caused the corner of her lips to quirk into a smile and she reached down and shoved a chunk of potato from my plate into her mouth and began to chew without taking her eyes off of Caruso. I didn’t meanher! If anything happened to that woman, I would never forgive myself.
In exasperation, I faced Admiral Caruso. “Forgive Lieutenant Steele for overstepping, but like she said, she’s kept me alive andtrained me for this very job my entire life. I trust her more than I trust any of you.”
Hurt flashed across the admiral’s face, but she swallowed hard and nodded. The point had been taken. If Elaine wanted extra steps taken to ensure my safety, I wanted that respected.
Elaine ripped off a hunk of chicken and then popped a candied green bean in her mouth, chewing as she stared down the admiral.
Caruso finally rolled her eyes and sat down, breaking the stare. “Okay, Lieutenant, you are right. I should assume all assassination attempts are going to be coming at our new empress. I’ll interview food tasters this week?—”
“No,” Elaine said, sitting as well and seemingly forgetting their tense argument now that she’d won. “I don’t trust anyone. I’ll do it.”
I sat down and faced her. “No way. I need you alive.”
Elaine turned to me, and there was so much pain in her eyes. We hadn’t talked about my father’s death, about me being sworn in, about anything.
“And I needyoualive, Empress.” Her voice shook.
The wordempresson her lips held so much more meaning. She’d literally educated me my entire life for this. I swallowed multiple times to try to dislodge the lump in my throat. Her hand squeezed mine under the table, and I squeezed back. It was probably the most emotion we would show over this whole thing.
“Fine,” I told her. “For now.” She let go of my hand and nodded.
Elaine looked under our table. “Has this area been scanned for explosives?”
“Of course it has! I’m not an idiot,” Admiral Caruso admonished.
“That’s debatable,” Elaine said, but there was a smirk on her lips.
The admiral shook her head, smiling a little too now. “What’s up with the uniform, Elaine?” She used her first name. I knew the two were close, but not surehowclose. Being on a first-name basis was rare in the Fleet.
“The second I got back to Riverine with the triplets, I reenlisted and followed Aisling’s flyover to here,” she told us.
“You what?” I screeched. “Where are my sisters?” She was supposed to train them to be my replacement and keep them safe. How could she do that if she was back in the Fleet?
“They’re safe. I stashed them away where no one would think to look—at Tetra’s house. I will start interviewing a replacement for my position tomorrow,” she said in a low voice only Admiral Caruso and I could hear.
Replace Elaine? Impossible.
“But… they need you.” She was the only mother figure we had.
“You need me more, and I won’t have close access to you as a civilian,” Elaine said.
It took every ounce of self-control I had not to cry right then. Even now she was protecting me like she always had. She’d been inactive for so long, but I never really saw her as a civilian. She was right, though—she wouldn’t have clearance to join me in meetings or on base without being a soldier.
“I’m starving. When can I eat?” I asked her, resting my cast on the edge of the table. I wondered when I could take this thing off. It didn’t hurt anymore, but I didn’t want it to heal wrong.
She consulted her watch. “Two more minutes. Get used to cold food.”
I groaned. Over the next half hour, Elaine and Admiral Caruso talked about safety plans for my life going forward. The admiral got annoyed when Elaine found holes in her ideas. Inthe end, it was decided that the home I had grown up in was now a giant target. Everyone knew we lived there, and now that attacks on Riverine were possible, my sisters and I would be moving to a new, more modest home in an undisclosed location that only a handful of people would know about. The emperor’s home would still be a base of operations for meetings and some training for my sisters, but we would not sleep there.
The chicken and potatoes were cold, but no one died eating them, so I wasn’t going to complain about dinner. After finishing the food, I bid Elaine and Caruso farewell and told them I would meet them at the next stop before jumping on Liana and taking to the skies.
My last stop was the one I was dreading the most: Sky Reach. It was the most formidable of all the bases we had, and in control of it on a day-to-day basis was Jace’s father, Commander Ledger.
Sky Reach was now where I would be posted. My father used to travel there daily because he had the ability to create portals, but I would now have to live there, visiting Riverine and my sisters on weekends and the occasional holiday. To make things more awkward, I was the empress of the entire nation and leader of the Imperial Fleet, but I would still be undergoing training. I was skilled, but not yet at the level of these men and women. I’d never seen real battle. So they would have to train me by day and take my orders at night. Orders that would be given to me by a council of over a dozen hardened military leaders and advisors.
