Page 33 of Lies That Blemish (The Ember War #3)

Four-ish years later

Aisling

I couldn’t believe the triplets were nineteen today. It felt like a lifetime ago that I made the decision to send Valor into the Wilds to bond a Talanagi. Now both of my remaining sisters would go next month when the Lottery took place. We still held the Lottery even though the peace between Luska was strong. We never knew when war would come knocking at our door, and an heir of the empress must have a creature.

“Mama.” Little Liana tugged at my jacket, and I peered down at her. She had bright blue eyes like her father, and dark hair, with a feisty personality that I’m pretty sure she got from me. I scooped her up into my arms and kissed her nose.

“Are you excited for the party?” I asked her.

“Yes. I want cake!” she screamed in my face, and I laughed.

“Someone called for cake?” Kohen walked into the kitchen, where I’d been setting up for the party, and my husband had never looked sexier. He was holding a cake and wearing our one-year-old son, Ravi, in a baby carrier on his chest.

Yum .

“Cake!” Liana screamed and bucked so ferociously from my arms that I nearly dropped her. I let her wriggle down from me; she ran to her father and nearly knocked him over. He was an expert at holding two bucking wild children. Setting the cake down, he picked her up, propping her on one hip as her brother snoozed in the baby carrier. We could afford a governess, and stars knew I considered it daily, but Kohen and I agreed we wanted to be the ones to raise our children. When we had state matters to attend to at the same time, with him being king of Imbria and me being empress of Amersea, we left the kids with Tetra or Elaine or one of their aunts and uncles. It truly took a village, but it worked out.

“Guess what?” Kohen told little Liana.

“What?” She leaned in conspiratorially.

“Aunt Tetra is outside and said if you ask her reallllly nicely, she will let you ride Ariyel.”

Liana’s eyes widened. She squirmed out of Kohen’s grasp and went to the back door, flinging it wide open before running out to where Tetra and Elaine were hanging decorations outside with Alek. I always thought Tetra would end up with Dev, but they broke up not soon after the war ended. About two years ago, Alek and Tetra were both given positions in the same building, and something naturally blossomed between them. She tried to fight it on account of him once being into me, but I told her I didn’t care, and I didn’t. There was no one I’d rather my bestie be with. Alek was an amazing guy. The way he looked at her now as she scooped little Liana into her arms and spun on her feet made my heart sing.

Kohen grinned. Walking over to the couch, he set Ravi down and took off the baby carrier while I strode over and shut the back door so the bugs didn’t get in. We both met each other halfway in the kitchen, and he pulled me into his arms, planting a sexy smooch on my mouth that made my toes curl.

“Kohen Badshah, are you asking for a third?” I teased him.

His eyes went half-lidded. “Maybe I am.” He kissed my ear and trailed his lips down my neck. Kohen and I took a while to shift from being leaders of a war-torn country to leaders of nations that were at peace. Commander Ledger was still a commander, but he was all but retired now. We retained our military but cut way back, putting fifty percent of the Fleet in reserve status. Now Kohen and I mostly focused on rebuilding, and mostly on the Imbrian side. We had social programs and schooling and worked to lead our society on a better path than it was before. But it was hard to believe we’d both been flying our creatures into battle a little over four years ago.

I pulled back and grasped the sides of Kohen’s face, peering into his deep blue eyes. He was right. Our love had changed history. The uniting of our family houses brought peace between all peoples. Now, when you went to Emberlane Park, there were just as many Imbrians as Amerseans and the same with Nimra. My food spice tolerance was rising, and I even spoke Imbrian now. I remembered being on the bus after the Lottery all those years ago and judging Kohen for his family name.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” I told him. Pure joy filled my heart until the point of bursting. A huge grin broke out on Kohen’s face. “Remember that time in the closet in the underground base at Sky Reach? When I said I’d had the best vision of us?”

I remembered. I nodded.

Kohen smiled. “It just happened. It was this moment. Little Liana and Ravi, you saying you love me. This beautiful life we have built. Peace between all nations. This is… perfect .”

I smiled. “Maybe I do want a third.”

Kohen grasped my lower back and tucked me into him, lowering his voice. “I only need five minutes.”

I burst into laughter, letting him kiss my neck.

Valor’s voice came from behind me. “Eww, gross, get a room!”

Virtue was next. “Remind me to knock next time. I need to wash my eyes out.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Victory trilled.

Kohen and I broke apart, smiling as the triplets filed into the living room and immediately went to the couch to coo over a sleeping Ravi.

I peered outside, where little Liana was riding Ariyel, and then my gaze flicked to Clary. My new dragon creature was lovely, but she wasn’t Liana. She had given me the power over the wind, which was nice. I hadn’t heard from Liana since she left, though even now when I got really quiet and focused on my breathing, she was there inside of me.

Sometimes I went to the Wilds and looked up into the sky and thought I saw a flash of her feathers through the fire sky. Was she alive? Was she alone? Did she need me? I felt like she’d sacrificed so much to help me, and I’d just abandoned her.

One day, I hoped we’d meet again. Until then, I was focusing on being happy, which is what she’d want.

THE END