Page 7 of Lies That Blemish
“Just lead the way. I’m not sleeping, so if either of you comes for me, I won’t hesitate to kill you,” I said.
“Awesome,” Tej mumbled.
I yanked out my med-pack and threw it at his chest. “You’re welcome.” But even as I said it, I felt bad. It was weird to have feelings that went against what you were taught. I was taught to hate the Badshah family, even more so lately after hearing my sister do nothing but speak day and night about how she was going to kill Kohen and avenge Father. Now, I was supposed to team up with his brothers? This was absolutely crazy. But also, if they wanted to kill me, they could have overpowered me by now. They hadn’t even pulled their swords. Still, it felt like I was betraying Aisling. But I needed the most powerful creature possible… so I was doing it.
After patching up Tej’s ear, Arjun handed me back the kit.
“Where are the Talanagi?” I asked him.
Arjun flicked his gaze to his brother and then back to me. “Luska.”
“Luska! Are you mad?”
“Scared?” Tej asked with a taunt.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m smart. I’m not going to enemy territory to bond a creature that might not even be there.”
“Your sister did,” Tej said.
Aisling went to Luska to bond Liana?No way.
“Enough talking. If we don’t start now, we won’t make it by the second night.” Arjun waved us off and started walking.
Tej and I stared each other down. There was no way I was letting this guy have my back. We waited an agonizingly long moment before Tej groaned and then started to follow his brother. I pulled up the rear, telling myself this was an absolutely stupid plan and that I should turn back right now before I got in too deep with these two. Their extravagant lies were beginning to work on me because I was replaying every time I’d ever heard my father make a jealous remark at Aisling. Or the time I heard him tell Elaine she should have known better than to bond a Talanagi. Like, what did that mean? Why wouldn’t he be proud of that?
Before I knew it, we’d been walking for an hour, and I had convinced myself they were right about Father. If there was a chance to bond a Talanagi and keep my sisters safe, I was taking it. No matter the risk.
Chapter 4
Aisling
Alek leanedin to hug me and whispered into my ear. “You look stunning.”
I wore an emerald-green dress that hugged my hips and was embellished with crystals along the neckline.
“Thanks,” I told him as the attendant finished curling my hair and then left my dressing room. We were at the emperor’s palace, my father’s old place, where I grew up. We were about to take a car to a nice dining hall, where our engagement party was being held.
“Are you worried about Valor?” Alek asked. He was easy to talk to. We’d become close friends over the past two months.
I nodded. “But my hands are tied. The second our party is over, I’m going back there to wait at the edge of the woods for her to come out,” I told him.
“I can go with you. We could camp. Might be fun.” He offered a handsome smile.
He was good-looking, sincere, sweet, loyal, and yet… I didn’t have a burning fire for him inside of me like I had Kohen. I wasashamed of how deeply I’d allowed Kohen to infiltrate my heart. It felt like any “romance” that came after him would pale in comparison. And Alek kept hinting at wanting to go deeper with me, which I understood since, technically, we were engaged. But he knew this was a business arrangement.
I flicked my gaze to the tasteful gold band on my left hand, something small I could still fight with.
“Maybe,” I told him. “You’d have to have your own tent,” I added. We weren’t married yet, and guards would be there. People would talk.
“Of course,” he said, again eyeing my dress. “Aisling, I wanted to talk to you about something… delicate.”
My gaze flicked up to his, roaming the strong lines of his face. His bright blond hair and blue eyes made him literally the opposite of Kohen in every way.
That should be a green flag right there.
“What is it?”
He cleared his throat. “Some rumors have started that our engagement is… a sham.”
