Page 13 of Lies That Blemish
Okay. That was good. I felt my body relax. “Let’s camp at the northern entrance, then, and be ready to assess any injuries when she gets out.”
Elaine relayed that to the driver, and we set off that way. Liana flew above us as Vespa curled up on the seat in front of us. It was already near midnight. We wouldn’t reach the northernentrance to the Wilds for a few hours. I might as well sleep in the car.
Elaine lowered her voice: “Do you believe Kohen can see the future?”
I chewed my lip. “Yes.”
She sat back in her seat and relaxed.
“Why do you look relieved?” I asked her.
She snapped her head in my direction. “Did you read his letter?”
“Not the whole thing.”
Her eyes widened. “Aisling, he said at the very end not to worry about Valor, that she would bond a powerful creature and come out alive. That he’s made sure of her safety.”
Shock ripped through me, and I sat up straighter. “What?”
“Would he lie?” Elaine asked.
“Of course he would! He killed my father,” I snapped. But it didn’t seem like Kohen to randomly lie about my sister. Unless… I didn’t ever really know Kohen in the first place.
“Probably not about this,” I amended, feeling a little better myself. “What do you think he meant by him making sure of her safety?”
Elaine shook her head. “I don’t know, but we’ve sent seven firebombs over the border since Valor stepped into the Wilds, and Kohen hasn’t sent any back.”
I frowned. “Stop sending them until she makes it out. Maybe that’s what Kohen meant about keeping her safe. He’s not going to fight us until she gets out.”
Elaine looked honestly confused. “Why would he do that, Aisling?”
But she looked nowhere near as confused as I felt. If you were to look inside of me, I’d be twisted into knots. Nothing made sense anymore.
“I don’t know.”
‘Because he loves you.’
‘Funny way of showing his love,’I snapped back to Liana. I hated that we argued now.
“Can I ask you something, Elaine?” I peered at the woman who raised me.
She simply nodded. I glanced at the partition to make sure it was raised between us and Verik.
“Do you think my father would have hurt me? When I left for boot camp, you seemed like you wanted to tell me something. Like a warning.”
Elaine’s cheeks went pink, and she wrung her hands together. Even Vespa perked her head up and peered at me. “Yes, I think he would have hurt you to keep you from getting more powerful than him, but I don’t think he would have killed you like Kohen claims.”
I was completely thrown by her answer.
“I’m his heir,” I protested.
She nodded, meeting my eyes. “And there was nothing your father loved more than himself.”
Ouch. But was she wrong? Even I would admit I was terrified to get a creature more powerful than him going into the Wilds, because I knew it would be frowned on by him. I was terrified of a lot when it came to my father, and I was just now questioning how normal that was.
“Hurt me how?” I asked her.
Elaine flicked her gaze to me again, appearing more nervous than I’d ever seen her.
