Page 82 of Lies That Blemish
“Flying?” I asked.
She pointed to the sky, where I saw a blue griffin carrying a large box hanging from a rope in its claws.
“Lieutenant Colt will be going with you. Recently bonded to a Talanagi. He will be leading the mission since he’s the only one of you who is actually in the Fleet and has gone through military training.”
Ouch. Okay, that was true, though.
Colt landed, and then one by one, so did Charlene and the other newly bonded, fresh-out-of-the Wilds cadets.
Everyone looked at me as if expecting a speech, and I paled. I hadn’t prepared anything, and honestly, I had no idea what tosay. That was my sister’s thing. I peered at Elaine in panic, and she nodded once.
Elaine cleared her throat. “Thank you all for answering the call in Amersea’s greatest time of need. Our empress and one of her heirs has been taken captive by Luska…”
The dozen or so people surrounding us growled their indignation.
“…but you are not yet trained, and this will be a dangerous mission, so I know Aisling would not want this to be forced upon you. If any of you feel that you do not want to participate, there is no shame in flying on to Imbria and helping the evacuation.”
No one said a word, and pride swelled in my chest.
Elaine nodded. “Very well, then. Here’s what I think you should do.”
Thirty minutes later, we had a solid plan. Elaine had two Luskin uniforms that were pulled off the dead bodies from our car attack. Two of the people in our group would wear them and fly ahead, tricking the initial spotters. We would trail behind with the payload, with Tetra protecting us, and drop it as close as we could to their base. Elaine emphasized that we weren’t actually trying to take out their base. We were trying to make the capital city think an all-out attack was happening and draw them east to give Kohen time to sneak into Luska from the west. If we did hit their base dead-on, great, but the object was to just get close while also staying safe.
Some in our group had discovered fire-throwing powers and wind control, and others didn’t know what they had. We were all bringing bolt shooters and hoping for the best in an air assault with the Luskin army.
Tetra wanted us to fly in close formation, as her shield power could only stretch so far. She’d ride with me on Liana.
By the time we’d run over the plan at least ten times and accounted for every possibility, it was lunchtime, and Kohen wasready to begin his journey to the Wilds. We would be leaving shortly after, with the aim of dropping the bomb at sundown. He decided to have Onyx fly him to the Wall, and then they would both go on foot through the Wilds, avoiding the skies, so he was leaving early.
I could tell he was nervous. He got quiet and kept fiddling with something at his waist. When it was time for him to head out, he called me over to talk privately.
“I’ve never done something big like this without seeing the outcome. If I die trying to rescue Aisling, I can think of no greater way to go.”
My heart twisted in my chest. It was the most romantic thing I’d ever heard.
I grasped his shoulders and looked him in the eye. “I have faith in you, Kohen. Bring my sisters home.” I pulled him in for a hug.
His arms wrapped around me, and he squeezed tightly before pulling away. Something about my words seemed to have an effect on him because he looked more confident. He nodded and slipped onto Onyx’s back.
“You make a great little empress,” he said.
“Little?” I scoffed with one hand on my hip, and he grinned, kicking off the ground and heading for the sky.
I never thought I would say it, but I loved a Badshah—not in the romantic way, but in the brotherly way. I mean, my sister technically married him, so he was my brother now, right? Something about Kohen Badshah and his unyielding loyalty to my sister’s happiness had won me over. He could do no wrong in my eyes at this point.
I turned and walked over to the small group of newly minted, untrained soldiers that I hoped were going to help save my sister’s life.
Stars have mercy on us.
Chapter 29
Aisling
I wasawoken by a banging on the door. Sitting bolt upright, I forgot where I was for a second until I saw Maxim traipse across the bedroom and open it. Then, the horror of my reality came rushing back to me. I had meant to stay awake all night and make sure Maxim didn’t come near me, but I’d fallen asleep.
“What is it?!” he snapped. The sky was still dark, the sun just barely coming up.
“Ricov is dead. His body is cold. Whitney and the two girls are missing. I estimate she has a five-to-seven-hour lead,” a male voice I didn’t recognize informed Maxim.
