Page 59 of Lies That Bind
Kohen.Maybe I’d live for Kohen.
Those thoughts scared me. It made me vulnerable. Already, I loved too many people. Too many weak points.
Valor, Victory, Virtue, Elaine, Tetra, and now Kohen. Six people I would do anything for.
‘Your father was wrong, you know,’Liana said as she landed on the front lawn of our new home.‘Loving isn’t a weakness. It keeps you human, so you don’t turn into a monster.’
Was she calling my father a monster?
I didn’t care because the second she hit the ground, I burst from her back and ran up the steps of the giant porch, nearly colliding with a guard on duty.
“Empress!” he shouted, looking like I’d just woken him from drowsing on duty. It would be sunrise soon. Another sleepless night.
“Where are my sisters?!” I screamed, sidestepping him.
“They should be?—”
I threw open the door, horrified to find it unlocked.
“Val, Vic, Virtue!” I bellowed deep into the house.
There was movement in the back rooms, and I prayed it was one of them. All of them. A shadow passed across the space in advance of their new governess running out from the hallway. She was in sleep clothes, hair a mess, and holding two bladesaloft. I had a split second of approval at her warrior-ready stance.
“Are they alive?” I whimpered.
She looked confused, half-lidded eyes with sleep marks on her face. Gwen was in her late twenties, a great pick for the girls’ new governess, but I just needed her to speak. Why wasn’t she speaking?
“Aisling?” Victory’s voice came from behind Gwen, and the governess lowered her swords.
“Empress? What’s wrong?” Gwen said, obviously trying to understand why I was there.
“Aisling’s home!” Virtue shouted, stumbling out into the hallway next.
My bottom lip shook with relief as tears welled in my eyes.
Where’s Val? My heir, the eldest. No, stars, no.
Gwen seemed to finally have gotten her wits about her and had the same thought as me. She spun, kicking in Valor’s door while keeping her swords out, and I barreled in after her. Victory and Virtue also caught on that something was wrong and ran into Valor’s room after me.
I tore back the blankets, and Valor’s eyes snapped open as a scream flew from her throat.
“Aisling, you scared the life out of me!” she said when she recognized me.
I fell on top of her, hugging her tightly as she loosely hugged me back, clearly in shock. A small sob ripped from my throat, and I squeezed her.
“What’s going on, Ash?” Victory asked behind me.
I turned, clicking on the light so that I could see them all, appreciating that Gwen still hadn’t stowed her blades. She was ready for anything.
“I got a note from… a bad person with a threat to you girls, with this inside.” I pulled their three purple bows out, and they all gasped at the same time, which was really eerie.
Victory fingered the bow. “We haven’t worn these since your Lottery. They’ve been missing.”
My heart was finally slowing, and Gwen slowly lowered her swords.
“What do you mean? Missing since we moved here or…?” I asked them.
They shook their heads. “Missing since we were at the old house with Father.”
