Page 25 of Lies That Blemish
“Kohen told us to,” Tej said.
“Why? So that you could ask her things? Ferret out our secrets? Gain her trust?”
Tej glared at me, and Arjun looked hurt.
“You’re stupid, you know that?” Arjun said bluntly.
“Excuse me?”
“Yes. You heard me. You’re constantly thinking the worst of us, and all we were trying to do was protect Valor.”
“Which makes me stupid?” I asked. “We’re at war, Arjun! The enemy doesn’t just send over his brothers and crown princes tolook after my sister. That’s notnormalenemy behavior. What’s the catch?”
“You’re right.” Tej stepped closer to me, and my heart pinched—he looked so much like Kohen. “The enemy doesn’t send his heirs into enemy territory normally. That’s because Kohen isn’t your enemy, Aisling. You’ve been barking up the wrong tree this whole time.”
“He killed my father!”
“Who was trying to kill you!” Tej roared back at me. “My brother told me everything. You’re empress now. You could open a full investigation over who tried to kill you in boot camp, who attacked the train. Why haven’t you?”
Shock ripped through me at that assessment. Iwasempress now. I could command anything. Didn’t I want to know who was in charge of the attempt on my life? Who tried to kill us all by derailing the train and sending those Luskins to attack?
Deep down inside of me, among the darkest part of myself, I heard the answer.
No. I didn’t want to know. I was scared of the truth. I was scared itwasmy very own father.
My bottom lip shook, and Tej backed down, stepping away from me.
“My brother tells everyone you will be our future queen, that you will be our future sister-in-law.” Tej looked disgusted with me. “Stop bombing us and find out the truth for yourself.”
Kohen shouldn’t be telling people that.
“Have you ever thought that maybe your brother lies to you?” I snapped.
Tej leveled his gaze at me. “Ever thought your father lied to you?”
That one sentence ripped me open inside, and without another word, they got on their dragons and left, heading for Imbria.
The dam I had built around my emotions, around my sanity, fissured then. The harsh words of a seventeen-year-old boy had broken me. Tears leaked from my eyes, and a numb pain spread throughout my chest. I sank to my knees.
Liana walked closer to me until her head was nuzzled into my neck. A sob built in my throat. Emotional agony I hadn’t thought possible to hurt so much tore through my chest.
I grabbed my arms and rocked back and forth. Kohen, my father, Kohen, my father. Who to believe, who to trust? One of them was gaslighting me. I felt my mind fraying at the edges, as I feared losing myself to darkness.
‘Shhh, stay with me, young one. We will figure this out together,’ Liana told me.
‘What if Kohen was right, and I’ve lit half of his country on fire in anger?’
‘He killed your father and lied about it. Even if he was protecting you, he should have handled it differently. Call a ceasefire for a week. Let’s do an investigation and find the truth.’
It was good advice.‘What if he was wrong? What if Kohen has been playing a game with me this entire time?’
Liana stood to her full height.‘Then no more messing around. We send a letter to Kohen saying we believe him and want to meet him, then we gut him open like a fish.’
Considering he was impervious to my power, that was about our only option. I nodded and then wiped my eyes, sliding onto her back as we took to the skies. As I peered over my shoulder, I saw that most of Imbria was burning, and guilt sank into my stomach like a stone.
Chapter 11
Aisling
