Page 6 of Lies That Blemish
Arjun took another step closer to me, rubbing the spot where I’d cut a hole in his shirt. Was he bleeding? Kohen killed Father to protect Aisling? That made no sense. Except it might… if Father was going to kill her first.
Nausea roiled into me. “You’re a liar,” I told him, taking a step back. “He isn’t in love with Aisling. He killed her, too!”
Arjun nodded. “To buy himself time to get to us, to get us into an underground bunker before she started bombing.”
That made no sense. Why kill the one you love—? Then I remembered Aisling’s confession to me. That she was basically immortal. Did Kohen know? Did he know she would rebirth?
My hand shook. “My father would never hurt Aisling.” The lie tasted like poison on my lips.
Arjun frowned. “Okay… let’s focus on the future, not the past. I have a map. It leads to where all the Talanagi are. Where your sister and my brother bonded Onyx and Liana.”
Talanagi? Was he trying to get me killed?
“I don’t have a death wish,” I told him.
“You won’t die. Not if you travel with us and we become one pack. Just for the next two days.”
He spoke with so much confidence it was unnerving. “Two days?” I asked. “Why not three?” Three was standard.
“Because on the night of the second day, you will bond a red dragon and fly yourself home. Safe. Alive. Powerful,” Arjun said.
Shock. Greed. Desire. They all rolled through me in equal measure. A red dragon? It was my dream creature. He was lying. Playing on my desires. This was all a trap.
“What’s in it for you?” I asked them.
Taj scoffed. “You’re not the only one bonding Talanagi. We go together, we watch each others’ backs, and we all go home bonded.”
“You realize this sounds like a trap, and I’m not an idiot, right?”
Arjun nodded, pulling out a folded letter and handing it to me.
I opened it, scanning the contents.
Valor,
One day soon, you will be empress?—
The first line took my breath away, and my heart skipped a beat.No. Aisling…I kept reading.
—for a short time while Aisling is… gone.
If you do not bond a Talanagi, your people will say you are too young and weak to lead. They will revolt, and the empire will fall. They will demand an elected leader, and your family’s legacy will be over.
Holy crap. My heart hammered in my chest.
I know Aisling babies you, but I won’t do that. The truth is, your father tried to kill Aisling at boot camp and had planned to do it again shortly after she would get her posting. I ended his reign to save her life, and I would do it again a hundred times over.
I love her, and by extension, that means I love you. You are important to her, so you’re important to me. I need you to trust me. I’ve sent my most precious cargo to assist you. If you work together, I promise you all make it out bonded to Talanagi.
In the coming days, this will all make more sense.
Kohen
I stared at the letter in a complete stupor. Kohen Badshah just said he loved me. Not in a weird romantic way, but it was still weird and gushy and… what the hell! Father had plans to killAisling? Could that be true? I hated the fact that it made sense, that I could see him doing it…
“You okay?” Arjun asked.
I didn’t want to think about this anymore. I warred with the decision. Go off on my own or team up with them? The chance to bond a Talanagi was too alluring.
