Page 1 of Lies That Blemish
Chapter 1
Valor
Two months had passedsince my sister, Aisling, the empress, declared war on Imbria. Now I stood at the mouth of the Wilds, staring at the smoke in the distance. The smoke of Imbria. Our country was burning. Theirs was, too. For every bomb they sent, we sent three more.
The only saving grace was that the war with Luska seemed to have turned cold now that Aisling had killed Prime Leader Vlek. But I knew that wouldn’t last. My sister might be next, and as the heir, I had to bond a powerful creature today, or I was dead. And Virtue and Victory were right behind me.
A lump formed in my throat, but I swallowed it down. Everharts didn’t cry.
Elaine swam into view, all hard lines on her face, but her eyes told the true story. She was worried for me. As she should be. Aisling trained her whole life to enter the Wilds, and to a certain degree, so did my sisters and I, but not as hard as she did, nor as ruthlessly. Elaine had been softer on us. She probably assumed we’d have time for a childhood. An assumption dashed the nightKohen Badshah killed our father. He was a cold and unforgiving man, yes, but the only parent we had—except for the woman standing before me.
“Green flares every hour to tell us you are alive. Red flare for evacuation.” Elaine’s voice shook as she reminded me of the rules the admirals had set forth. Bonding a creature at fourteen was unheard of, and they didn’t want me getting any help from my sister or some security detail. If I did, then no one would follow me one day if I became empress. I had to prove I was strong enough on my own.
“Except when I’m sleeping?—”
“You’renotsleeping.” Aisling stepped up and shoved a small satchel at me. If Elaine looked scared, Aisling appeared terrified. She cast frantic glances at our family car as if imagining sneaking me to safety.
“Not for the first forty-eight hours, obviously,” I said, reciting her advice back to her, “but if I go into day three?—”
“Stars, don’t let her go into day three.” My eldest sister looked up at the fire sky as if begging the stars to have mercy on me.
I’d overheard her talking to Elaine a few weeks ago. They said at first they’d wanted me to bond in order to keep me safe, but now they thought it was a good idea because there was a very real chance Aisling would die before I turned nineteen, the age of the Lottery, and being bonded would make me look fit to rule. I’d overheard conversations in the last two months that had aged me ten years. Aisling died two months ago when Kohen killed her and was able to be reborn because of her creature’s powers, but she and Elaine weren’t sure she would come back again.
“…if I go into day three, I take a small nap to make sure that my fighting accuracy is still good,” I finished reciting and then held the satchel up to my nose and inhaled.
Coffee.
Yuck.
I wasn’t allowed coffee normally. I tasted Father’s one time and spit it out onto the table. Elaine had made me clean it up myself, even though our maid was standing right there. My sisters had laughed the entire time.
I felt empty without Victory and Virtue beside me. I’d never slept a single night away from them in my entire fourteen years. We’d left my little sisters at home. They’d both been crying messes, and it would have broken me to have them here to say goodbye. This was bad enough… but better.
“She’s going to be fine!” Tetra snapped, walking over to where I stood as she leaned on her cane for support. Her stunning wolf creature, Ariyel, strode alongside her. “Remember when you thought the Wilds would eatmealive?” she asked my sister.
Aisling didn’t look like that comment made her feel any better, but it made me grin. Tetra pulled me into a hug, and I squeezed her back. She was like a second older sister to me. I had no memories without her in my life.
Tetra pressed her lips against my ear. “Don’t go for anything crazy. A fox or wolf is good enough. Get in, get out, get home alive,” she told me and then backed away.
I nodded to her. It was solid advice, but also… was it enough? It used to be. But now Aisling had a Talanagi. Would my people now expect that of all empresses and emperors to come?
It didn’t matter. It wasn’t like finding a Talanagi was easy.
“I’m ready,” I declared, my hand resting on the custom serrated blade Aisling had given me. I felt like I was going to throw up, but I kept my chin held high.
“No,” Aisling said suddenly, and then looked at Elaine. “We didn’t train her long enough. I was busy with the Imbrian war. Let’s wait.”
Aisling reached out and grasped my shoulders, looking me dead in the eyes. “I’m calling this off.”
I growled in her face, an animalistic sound. “Don’t you dare!” I snapped.
Tetra and Elaine walked away to where two Fleet guards were standing near the entrance, giving us privacy. “This is the only thing giving me peace, Aisling,” I told her. “You’re never around anymore. Gwen is great, but what if something happens? What if Vic or Virtue is taken? I can protect them with a creature.”
She had no idea the nightmares that tormented me since that freak Maxim had mailed our hair ribbons to her. I heard Elaine say he was probably stalking us. No way was I leaving without a creature!
Aisling released a shaky breath and met my gaze. I didn’t remember anything about my mother, but I’d seen pictures, and staring at my sister now, I could see my mother’s face in Aisling. She was beautiful and sad.
“If you die, I’ll die,” she croaked.
