Page 29 of Lies That Blemish (The Ember War #3)

Aisling

I was awoken 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.

“WHAT!?” Maxim roared in the scariest timbre I’d ever heard from a human. My legs involuntarily launched me out of bed. I was standing before him as he breathed down my face.

“Do you know anything about this?” he said.

I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my lips. My sister was gone. Safe . It was game over. Maxim wasn’t getting nice, play-by-the-rules-Aisling anymore.

He slapped me hard across the face but kept my body frozen to the spot so I couldn’t even shy away from the hit. I just took it full-on. Pain exploded behind my eyes as they instantly watered, and for some crazy reason, I laughed.

Maxim’s eyes widened in fury. “What’s so funny?” he roared.

“You hit like my little sister,” I taunted, no longer caring about pleasing him. Now that I knew Whitney had gotten my sister out, I’d spend the rest of my life messing with Maxim.

I had about two seconds to regret that choice of words before he balled his hand into a fist and cracked me on the side of the head so hard that everything went black.

I came to shortly after with a screaming Maxim and a headache. He was now fully dressed, and I was in his bed with a maid of some sort, looking fearfully at me. From the doorway, Maxim was barking orders for Whitney and my sister to be found. When he was done, he glared at the maid.

“Get her ready. Our wedding is in three hours. Set up in my office. I have to get work done. And bring our lunch there.” All of a sudden, I was getting out of bed. My head screamed when Maxim forced me to stand, but I ignored it. As I passed a mirror, I was startled by the black eye and cut above my cheek. Lunch? How long was I out?

Maxim was very telling by having me come to his office to get ready for our sham wedding so that he could get work done. It told me there were limits to his power, and that was close proximity. How close? I had no idea. Was it ten feet? A hundred? How fast could I run so that I could take back my power and then use it on him to make him cut his own throat? Only one way to find out. And with my sister gone, I had nothing to lose.

The second we reached the hallway and Maxim went left, I went right, bolting into the fastest run of my life. I got about four feet when my legs froze, and I came tumbling down to the floor, landing hard on my shoulder. I lay on my side as the eerily slow footsteps of Maxim came nearer. He loomed over me, saying nothing for a terrifying amount of time. Finally, he crouched down, cocking his head to the side. “I’ve heard the rumors. I know you can be reborn if you die, but if you continue to disobey me, I will make sure to keep you alive and in just enough pain to wish you were dead.”

My heart sank. Maxim was slowly breaking my fiery spirit. I wasn’t scared of pain. I was an Everhart. But continued torture would eventually break me, no matter how strong I was. Was it even worth the fight? Maxim hauled me up by the armpit and then animated my legs to follow him.

As we walked, Maxim leaned into my ear. “Now that you’ve shown me this side of you, I’ll have to make sure you never run again, little pet. I hope you like living on a leash.”

Liana was right. He was evil.

As I had that thought, I was reminded that Ricov was dead and so my thoughts were truly my own again. Opening the bond, I felt Liana burst into my mind. ‘Tell me how you are!’ she said.

‘A Luskin defector named Whitney broke free with Victory and her sister,’ I told her quickly. ‘They should be in Amersea soon. They’ve been traveling on foot all night. She has an eagle creature. Make sure she is treated with trust and respect. Give them both asylum.’

I could feel her excitement at the news. ‘I will make sure the admirals know and have soldiers on the lookout. We have a plan to get you back, Aisling. Just hold on.’

I said nothing. Hope was a dangerous thing in my situation. ‘I have to go,’ I lied. ‘But I’ll keep the bond open if I can.’ I had no idea if Maxim had anyone else around who could read minds. ‘Don’t tell me anything specific. Maxim could be listening. I have no idea.’

‘I love you, young one. We will get through this.’ I could physically feel her heartache through our bond.

‘ As long as my sisters are safe, I can get through anything.’

‘Just hold on a little longer,’ she repeated.

‘I gotta go,’ I said again, and then Maxim opened the door to his office.

I sat in a chair off to the side, and over the next hour, I was dolled up with makeup to cover my bruises, curls in my hair, and all the fake things to trick people into thinking I was willingly about to marry Maxim.

The entire time, only one man was on my mind, one pair of lips, one heart, one soul.

Kohen Badshah.