Page 60 of Lies That Blemish
“I know.” He rubbed small circles on my back.
“And Victory, she’s the sweetest of all of them. This will change her forever, even if I get her back.”
“You’ll get her back,” he said confidently, and I pulled back, my heart lifting for the first time in days.
“Have you seen that?”
His face fell. “I don’t know anymore. Everything is so… converged.”
I frowned. “Converged?”
“I don’t know which path leads to what anymore, but I do know that I will never let anything bad happen to you, okay?” He took my face in his hands. “No matter what that letter says, no matter what you have to do, you’ll always bemywife.”
You’ll always be my wife.
At that moment, I was sure that Kohen did know something awful, and he just didn’t want to tell me. Maybe it was better that way.
“Let me clean up real fast,” I told him and walked over to the creek, plunging my hands into the cool water and scrubbing off Elaine’s blood. As the creek ran red, I steeled myself to open the letter. When I was done, I walked back over to Kohen, who patiently waited for me, and then, without wasting another second, I ripped the letter open.
Beloved Aisling,
I’ve decided I’m done playing games. You deprived me of my sister, so now I’m taking yours. Come to Luska and become my wife, and I’ll keep her alive. Surrender your country to me and join our lands, and there will be peace. If you do not immediately do this, I’ll skin your sister alive and drop the biggest bomb you’ve ever seen on Riverine. I will have Amersea either by force or marriage. Your choice.
Maxim
I looked over at Kohen,who had been reading over my shoulder, and though his jaw muscle was ticcing, he didn’t look too surprised. I remembered then something he had said.It ends with you married to Maxim.
“Was it always going to end like this? Me with Maxim? Is that how Virtue and my people stay safe?”
Kohen’s fists clenched. He looked tortured by whatever visions he must have seen.
“Kohen, just tell me what you’ve seen. I can handle it. I’m a big girl.” Though my heart was breaking at the idea of surrendering to Maxim, signing over my lands and my body to him—forever—I would do it in a second to save my sister.
Kohen’s voice was hollow. “I’ve seen many outcomes. In some, Amersea is a crater with no life. In others, it thrives.”
It was hard to hear, but I had to. “In the one where it thrives?”
Kohen sighed. “You marry Maxim. I don’t know for how long, but there is a wedding.” He sounded so pained that I knew this must be tearing him apart.
“And if we fight? Rally our army and storm the wall?”
Kohen swallowed hard. “Virtue dies, and Maxim makes good on the bomb threat. It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen. Riverine is no longer on maps in the future after that.”
I gasped at his comment. No longer on maps! How big was this bomb?
“So I have to marry him?” I felt like a child with the way my voice cracked. “That’s the only way?”
Kohen looked like he was going to explode with rage and punch a tree, but he just gritted his jaw, chest heaving. “Right now, they have every flying creature in their army in the sky. If you try to sneak even one assassin in, they kill Victory. If you try to kill Maxim before the wedding, they kill Victory. Aisling, I’veseen a dozen scenarios, and as much as it pains me to say this… you… have to marry him.”
Tears filled my eyes. Having my will taken from me, which is exactly what this was, was my worst nightmare. That’s why I didn’t like using my power on others. I would hate for the same to be done to me.
Kohen leaned his head against my forehead. “Just know that it won’t be real. Because we married first, it won’t be legitimate.”
That didn’t mean I wanted to do it. A tear slipped down my cheek, and Kohen grasped my chin, tilting my face up to meet his eyes. “I won’t let him hurt you or Victory, do you understand?”
“You can’t say that,” I told him.
He grasped my chin a little tighter, lacing a finality in his words. “I. Won’t. Let. You. Be. Harmed,” he growled out.
