Page 75 of Lies That Bind
“I was with Anika when it all went down. Kohen showed up and just gave her a nod. Then she grabbed my shoulders and said some crazy stuff.”
I pursed my lips. “Like what?”
She shook her head. “It’s crazy, Aisling. Can’t be true.”
“Like what?” I pushed.
She chewed her lip, like even saying it would get her in trouble. “She said your dad was the terrorist, not Kohen’s. That he was behind the attacks on your life at school and the attack on the train station during the Blackout.”
I barked out in laughter, and Tetra seemed to relax.
“I know. It’s too wild to be believable,” she agreed.
I nodded. “And what an easy scapegoat for them to explain their behavior.” My father bombing his own people and trying to kill his own daughter? It was asinine. But for a split second, a darker part of me wondered if he would do such a thing?No. Kohen had put that in my head, and if I went down that path, he won.
“Doesn’t matter.” Tetra waved me off. “It was crazy, and I’m in shock. I can’t believe they all lied to us like that. I trusted them.”
“Me too. Every single one.” Even little Meera who blow-darted my neck!
She pulled me in for another hug. “I’m here if you want to talk,” she whispered in my ear, and I nodded.
Lastly, I walked over to Liana. She’d been waiting patiently off to the side for me. I wrapped my arms around her neck and snuggled into her feathers, letting her calming energy wash over me.
‘Kohen killed me,’I told her. Technically, it was probably Meera, but I knew she did nothing without his command.
‘Onyx took my life, too.’I could hear the hurt in her voice.
‘They have to pay,’I warned her. I would eventually find Kohen and kill him, and Onyx would die as a result of that.
‘I know that,’she said, but there was something else there, too. Confusion?
I pulled back and met her gaze.
“What?” I asked. I’d known her long enough now to know when something was bothering her.
‘What Anika told Tetra lines up with what Onyx told me,’she mused.
‘So what? They have all corroborated their insane story? It means nothing.’
‘Maybe,’ she said.
I growled, taking a step back from her.‘I don’t have time for this. The admirals want me to choose a husband, and I’m about to declare war on Imbria. I need to know you are with me one hundred percent.’
She bowed until her beak touched my feet.‘I am yours to command, Empress.’
Pride swelled in my chest at her loyalty. A loyalty I wasn’t sure I deserved.
‘Thank you.’I petted her neck feathers as she raised her head, and then I made my way to the war room.
I hated that being a woman not tied to a man made me look weak. At this point, I’d be fine never getting married or havingchildren and just letting the triplets have families of heirs and take over when I was too old. Between Kohen and Jace, I was done with love. This would be a marriage of convenience. No love involved. So, I just wanted to get it over with.
Chapter
Seventeen
When I entered the room, it was pandemonium, people running every which way, talking on radios and drawing on maps.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
