Page 69 of Lies That Bind
‘Thank you.’I could hear the respect in her voice.
Part of me couldn’t believe I was casually thinking about killing Kohen, a man I had just been going to say I love you to. But the other part of me, the part that was raised to be ruthless and not taken advantage of, was ready to cleave his head from his shoulders and light him on fire.
How dare he console me after my father’s death and tell me I’d be his wife and kiss me like I was the only woman alive—meanwhile, he harbored this lie.
How fucking dare he!
He was no doubt going back to Imbria to claim his title as king and lead a rebellion against Amersea. I’d been so stupid to entertain the fact that he actually cared for me! I fell right into his trap!
‘Stay calm, young one, or you’ll explode before we even get there,’Liana advised.
I peered down to see that I was smoking, sending a plume of gray streaking across the sky.
‘They are up ahead. I am shielding myself from Onyx. I’ll stay back until they hit the Wilds, and then I’ll pounce on Onyx from above. He is carrying Anika, Dev, Kian, and Meera as well. I smell them all.’
Of course he was. The bastard. They were all traitors, and if they tried to intervene in justice for my father, I’d kill every single one of them.
‘You keep Onyx out of the way, and I’ll take care of Kohen,’I told her.
She nodded as she slowed, staying high in the sky, almost in the clouds. The Wilds came into view at the same time thelarge black dragon did. As Liana gained on them, increasing her speed, my ears popped as she began to descend.
They were lowering, landing in the Wilds!
‘What are they doing? They should fly over it and into Imbria,’I said.
Liana was silent for a moment, as if thinking.
‘Kohen must have seen this moment. He will be ready. You should be, too.’
She was right. I couldn’t discount his gift. I pulled my blade, scanning the trees as Liana lowered over the place they had just been.
When she sank to the ground, I leaped off of her.
‘I’m going for Onyx. I smell him near. They split up,’she said.
I nodded, scanning the purple-hued trees. It was ironic that Kohen and I would end where we began. In these very woods, I killed a soldier of my father’s Fleet just to save his life. Had I not done that, had I let them end his life, my father would still be here.
A twig snapped behind me, and I spun. Kohen was there, hands out in a gesture of peace, carrying no weapon.
Bad idea.
Kneel, I thought and lashed out with my mind control power before he could try anything.
The silver cord flew towards him, but it bounced off of his chest and hit the ground.
He kept walking towards me, and I backed up in shock.It didn’t work. My power didn’t work on him.
“I have another power I’ve kept secret from you,” he confessed. “Something I only recently discovered.”
My heart hammered in my chest. My skin smoked as I built the fire in my chest.
“I am not only impervious to flame, but if I concentrate really hard, I can block other’s powers so they don’t work on me. Such as Admiral Caruso’s.”
My mouth dropped open. That was how he’d been able to lie to her.
“And I’m guessing yours, too?” he asked.
I threw my knife quickly, aiming right for his heart, but he dodged it easily, shaking his head. “I’ve seen this, Aisling.” He tapped the side of his skull. “I can’t let you hurt my friends because of my actions.”
