Page 28 of Lies That Bind
We landed in the middle of the base next to Onyx just as Admiral Caruso grabbed Kohen by the upper arm and hauledhim away, her creature trotting alongside them. The admiral’s face wore signs of recently being mauled by a bear or something. Her left eye was swollen shut, her lip was split, and her cheeks were a sickly shade of greenish purple, marred with bruises.
My heart stopped in my chest, and my gaze flew to Elaine. Vespa stood tall beside her, the electric pink ember marks on her russet fur pulsing. A light rain began to fall as I slid off of Liana and walked briskly over to Elaine, my gaze tracking Kohen and the admiral as they stepped into a nondescript building at the back of the campus.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked, eyeing the place Kohen had just been dragged to in a manner that suggested he was in trouble.
Elaine peered at me like I was simpleminded. “You think I trust him around you and on this mission without clearing him of any wrongdoing with your father’s death first?”
My heart restarted but thumped faster than ever before. If I was being honest, a very small part of me thought Kohen could have killed my father. He had motive, and he was there that night.
“He wouldn’t do that,” I said lamely because I wanted it to be true, especially after kissing just now. I wanted more kisses.
Elaine pinned me with a pointed look. “You don’t know that, Aisling.” There was suspicion in her gaze as if she were wondering why I would stick up for the Imbrian.
I glanced down at Elaine’s knuckles to see they were purple and swollen.
“Did you do that to Caruso’s face?” I asked, putting two and two together.
Pain crossed Elaine’s features momentarily. “She’s been cleared of any suspicion surrounding your father’s death,” was all she said. I knew then how hard that must have been for her,but it was good to know I was in the company of those I could trust.
She then inclined her head to the main war room building. “You have a lot of people waiting for you,” she said and walked towards the building. I followed her with dread in my stomach.
Night had fallen. It was time to pay back Luska for what they did to Riverine. But my mind was scattered now. What if Kohendidkill my father? What if this entire time, he’d wormed his way into my life just to get close to my father and take him down—and I was next? What if he wanted to take over all of Amersea and Imbria and rule both as king?
‘If Kohen wanted you dead, you’d be dead by now. He’s had many chances,’Liana said, and I took in a deep, cleansing breath. She was right. I hated myself for how quickly I mistrusted people now. Food tasters and round-the-clock security were making me paranoid.
My gaze flicked to the blue steel door Caruso had pulled Kohen into. I prayed to every star in the sky that he be cleared of any involvement. I couldn’t handle that kind of betrayal—especially after Jace. I’d never trust a man again.
I stepped into the war room, and everyone saluted me. I strode over to the table, and we dove right into the plan. I was listening, but I was also eyeing the war room door. Why wasn’t Kohen back yet with the admiral? How long did it take to ask one question?Were you in any way involved in the death of the emperor?Unless he was… and she was arresting him right now…
“My men spent all night building the payload,” Commander Ledger said, pulling me back to reality. “It’s big enough to take out the Red Palace but not too big that it will hurt any surrounding civilian buildings.”
I nodded. “That’s good.” The War Code was important to me. Without them, we were monsters. Innocent casualtiessometimes happened, but we did our best to avoid them at all costs. Although the Luskin people would probably slit my throat given the chance, I didn’t blame them for the actions of their leader.
Some newcomers joined the meeting, and I was introduced to the other soldiers who would be riding with us on the mission. Lieutenant Colt, a tall and handsome twenty-five-year-old, would be going with me. The two that would be with Kohen were Sergeant Finn and Captain Jade. The female, Jade, who had long red hair, was bound to a wolf. Finn, a stocky, short-haired guy in his twenties, was bonded to a tiger. They were all a part of the elite squadron known as the Shadow Blades, named as such because they were rarely seen or heard until their blade was at your throat. These two men and one woman were the best assassins we had, and would be accompanying us in the off chance we made landfall, and I needed extraction. We were hoping to keep this all in the air, though, especially since only Colt had a creature of the air, a hawk. The other creatures obviously wouldn’t be going with us on the mission.
Liana would fly us over the building, we would drop the payload, and fly home. That was the plan.
Five more minutes went by, and my palms started to sweat. Where was Kohen? He wouldn’t kill my father… would he?
Of course he would!My father killed his dad—granted, that was in retaliation for the train attack, but Kohen had motive for such a thing. My heart started to beat so quickly that I felt a little dizzy. He said he loved me. I kissed him. Did I kiss my father’s murderer? Nausea rolled through my gut. My gaze flicked to Elaine, who was watching the door as much as I was. What was taking them so long?
Elaine must have read my mind because she moved from the corner of the room to the door, probably to go check on him, just as it opened.
I nearly sagged against the wall when Kohen and Caruso stepped inside, chatting easily. She laughed at something he said, and I exhaled all the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
Holy crap. I couldn’t believe I had actually thought Kohen would kiss me one second and murder my father the next.
I gave a small laugh, and everyone looked at me, so I turned it into a throat-clearing.
“Shall we recap for Specialist Badshah so he is brought up to speed?” I asked. I was sure to use his newly minted rank, which hopefully sent a message to everyone in the room. He’d graduated, the same as I had. He was one of us. We were no longer cadets.
The high-ranking military officials in the room watched Kohen walk to the center of the table like they were watching a poisonous snake. Their eyes never left him as if they expected him to attack them all at any moment. I observed him with a different eye. My gaze ran the length of his tight t-shirt as I dreamed about touching what was under it. Knowing that Caruso had cleared him of any involvement with my father’s death made something click inside of me.
I trusted him, and I could count on two hands how many people in this world I trusted.
Trust was sexy, I had decided.
Kohen flicked me a little glance and came to join us at the war table. He stood next to me and moved his leg in such a way that it lay against mine as he leaned over the table to peer at the map and hear the game plan. We were all crammed in this room, over fifteen of us, so no one looking might think anything of it, but I felt the intention behind his touch. His deliberate way of touching me made me also harken to the words he’d uttered to me.
