Page 25 of Lies That Bind
I faced my creature as the crowd parted, and she stepped closer to me.
‘I know your custom. Take one of my feathers for him,’she said.
My heart pinched at her offer. The feather of a firebird would surely get any soul into the afterlife.
I reached out and grasped one of her purple feathers that faded to orange at the tip and plucked it out. Kissing my fingers, I touched the feather and dropped it into Nikhil’s grave. As it fell, it smoked and then turned to flames, eliciting a gasp from onlookers, including myself. By the time it touched his casket, it was powdery ash.
‘May his soul live forever,’Liana said.
‘Thank you,’I told her.
I peered over at Kohen. He gave me a thankful smile and a nod.
I wanted to tell him I was sorry like I had everyone else who was grieving their lost loved ones, but I felt if I said anything to him, I might crack. Meeting his brothers, hearing him tell me he loved me and that I’d one day be his wife… it changed things between us. I felt like I was walking a path I could no longer turn back from, and it scared me.
I nodded back at him. Keeping things professional.
When I glanced back at the casket a final time, I noticed the ash pile where the feather had landed was shimmering purple and orange as it regrew. An eternal feather. Liana had given Nikhil something that would last forever, and it touched my heart.
I spied Anika off in the distance, and as the priest began his final prayers, I slipped away from the crowd and went over to her. She leaned against a tree, silent tears streaming down her face. I stood in front of her, saying nothing for a few moments. She was stuck in the throes of grief and probably survivor’s guilt. They taught us about it in my training at the Imperial Academy. Experiencing war and having friends die left and right when only you remained wore on you after a while.
“It’s not your fault,” I said, and her face contorted into agony.
“It should have been me,” she growled. I liked Anika. I’d tried not to, but the woman had grown on me. It killed me to see her like this.
I shook my head. “No. It should have been no one, but fate took him, and we have to live on and do good things in his name.”
Anika’s tears evaporated in an instant, and her face drew into a snarl. “Tell me you’re planning revenge on Luska for this attack?”
I gave her a small nod. “I am.” I liked that Anika was treating me the same as any other day. She hadn’t bowed or called me Empress or made me feel any different. She stepped away from the tree and closed the distance to within a foot of me. The guards to my left and right inched closer, but I put out my hand to stay them. Anika was no threat to me.
“Take me with you. Whenever the attack is, I want in.” She lowered her voice. The wind stirred around us, and I knew it was a demonstration of her power. My gaze flicked to the woods at the edge of the cemetery to see her lioness lying in the grass, tail swishing as she watched me carefully.
I knew how Anika felt. I did. I wanted my own revenge for my father, and I wanted it firsthand. But the admirals would never approve her to go on the mission. She was a rookie and an Imbrian—two strikes against her. I had barely convinced them to allow Kohen.
“I can’t do that. But I can promise you that justice for Nikhil will be dealt by the hand of an Imbrian.” My gaze flicked to Kohen, and she relaxed a little, giving me a curt nod. That seemed good enough for her.
“Are you going to be posted at Sky Reach from now on?” she asked me.
Unease rolled down my spine. Why did she want to know? It was just like Elaine said. Until people were questioned by Admiral Caruso, I would trust no one.
I hated it when Elaine was right.
Anika must have taken my hesitation for what it was, mistrust, because she rolled her eyes.
“I didn’t kill your father, Aisling. I’m only asking because I want to be posted there, too. We all do. Dev, Meera, Kian, Tetra. Even Alek and Roc. The alliance should stay together now more than ever.” She seemed determined.
They had talked about staying together? Staying with me? That touched me.
Her words brought me back to my conversation with Elaine in the car. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt.” I shook my head, and Anika growled, causing my security detail to take another two steps forward, but I waved them off again.
Anika met my gaze. “I’m not a delicate flower,Empress.” She said the word like it was dirty. “Your father was sending Meera, Kian, Dev, and I to be glorified security guards at the mines. Is that what you think of me? Of my potential?”
He was? I… hadn’t known that. I should have asked him, but I had only been worried about Tetra and Kohen.
All of them had incredible powers. Why would he send them to keep the mines secure? Any old Fleet soldier could do that. One with a creature belonged at an army base. It was disrespectful. It was because they were Imbrian. It was wrong.
My father wasn’t perfect; I knew that. He grew up in a time when Imbria was plotting takeovers and bombing our train stations. It was hard to breed that kind of thing out of someone. But times had changed.
