Page 7 of Lies That Blemish (The Ember War #3)

Valor

My watch beeped, and I pulled out another green flare. Tej reached out and stayed my hand. “I know you don’t want your sister to worry about you, but you’re telling her where we are going.”

I frowned. “So?”

Tej pointed to the map. “If she figures out you’re hunting Talanagi, she might come in and stop all of this.”

“Did your brother tell you that?” I asked.

“No, but it’s common sense. Your sister and my brother went where we’re going. If you keep sending flares so far north, she might figure it out—not to mention Luska might notice.”

With a groan, I stuck the green flare back into my pack. I was going out on a serious limb of trust here. “How do I know you’re not just here to take out the empress’ heir?” I asked Tej.

Arjun peered over his shoulder at me. “We could have done that by now. Besides, we’re heirs too.”

Technically, yes. I had heard that Kohen had officially been reinstated as king by his people. That would make them princes.

“I’m the heir. He’s the spare.” Tej elbowed Arjun, who scowled at him.

“Shut up!” he told his older brother.

Stars, they fought like cats and dogs, and they seemed so normal! If they were here to kill me, they were doing a poor job of it. They clearly weren’t professional assassins. And why would Kohen send his heirs into harm’s way? It didn’t make sense.

A chuff to my right, I froze, the hairs on my neck standing straight up.

We all spun just as a gorgeous and deadly lioness padded out of the woods, eyes on me. Her fur was cream, and her ember marks glowed bright yellowish orange, like fire.

Tej quickly stepped in front of me, pulling his blade. “That’s not who you bond,” he declared.

I shoved him out of the way, locking eyes with the magnificent creature. There was so much intelligence in her gaze. “I may never have another chance for a strong bond. She’s good enough,” I said.

The lioness roared, and Arjun hooked his hand under my armpit and dragged me away. “Come on. Kohen said not to let you challenge anything other than the small red dragon.”

I dug in my heels, but the bastard was strong, dragging me backward by the arm.

Tej was locked in a gaze with the lioness, speaking to her in low tones as if she could understand. Maybe she could.

“She was beautiful,” I whimpered. It wasn’t a Talanagi, but it was the next best thing.

“She’s not for you,” Arjun said as we followed the path around the corner and out of sight of the lion. She didn’t pursue me. When a creature wanted to bond, they pursued you at all costs.

Maybe Arjun was right. If the bonding wasn’t a good match—if she was too strong and dominant for me—I’d be dead. I relaxed in his grip, and he let go. But if I couldn’t bond a lioness, or even pull my blade from a dead fox, how was I going to fight off a Talanagi?

Arjun must have picked up on my thoughts. “The bonding is taught in a scientific way in Amersea, but in Imbria, it’s more spiritual. Their soul chooses yours, and it really isn’t about physical strength. It’s about spiritual strength. Your creature will see your soul, and the one you bond will choose you based on your spiritual strength.”

“That’s beautiful,” I told him honestly.

He shrugged. “That’s the way it is.” He peered over his shoulder, casting worried glances down the path, and I stopped walking.

“Okay, I won’t bond her. Let’s go back and make sure Tej is alright,” I told him. I could see he was worried for his brother.

But right as I said it, Tej turned the corner. I scanned his face, from his hands down his body to his feet, but not a hair was out of place. No blood or wounds, either.

“What happened?” I asked.

“I convinced her to move on.” He shrugged. “I didn’t want to kill her, but I would if she didn’t leave us alone.”

My eyebrows rose. “You what?”

“Tej is an animal whisperer.” Arjun nodded. “Always talking to the monkeys back home.” Arjun made monkey noises and began to dance around his big brother, imitating a monkey. I laughed, and Tej rolled his eyes and pushed his brother off to the side, sending Arjun laughing.

Before I knew it, we’d walked three more hours north, my movements sluggish as I fought fatigue. The sun was just rising. We had officially made it through our first night.

My watch beeped, and I heard a hawk shriek above. I cocked my head just as a dark brown bird dive-bombed downward.

“Turn that thing off!” Tej snapped at my watch, pulling his blade as Arjun did the same, holding it up to the hawk that was barreling down at us.

When it got within ten feet of us, I relaxed. “Iniki!” I screamed, holding out my arm. She landed on my outstretched arm and peered from Tej to Arjun as if determining if I were safe.

“It’s okay, they are with me,” I told her, knowing that my sister must have worried when I didn’t send the flares for the past few hours, and sent Iniki looking for me. Aisling was going to be pissed when she learned I was not sending them on purpose. Having Iniki check on me was illegal. If the admirals found out, they might say my sister tried to help me, and it would be bad.

Again, Iniki peered at Tej and Arjun, her beady eyes searing into them.

“Whose creature is that?” Tej asked.

“My sister’s fiancé,” I told them. I liked Alek. He was kind and loyal to the empire.

Tej and Arjun’s eyes both bugged out of their heads. “Your sister is engaged?”

I nodded.

Iniki bent down and nipped at my finger, then looked at the boys again.

“They were waiting for me when I got here. They won’t hurt me,” I told her. “We are going to stick together and all bond creatures.”

She squawked as if she hated that idea. Alek was no doubt relaying all of this to my sister, who was probably furious.

Iniki squinted at me with an angry glare, and I returned it. “Should you even be here? What if the admirals find out? I don’t want the people of Amersea to think I got help. Tell my sister I’m fine and I won’t be doing flares anymore. They are attracting creatures,” I lied. “I was almost attacked.”

Iniki cocked her head and peered back at the boys.

Tej held up his hands. “We are here to help.”

Iniki squawked at him, launching off my hand and opening her wings wide so that Tej and Arjun fell backward, afraid. Then she took to the sky, screeching loudly.

Okay, that was… embarrassing.

I gave a nervous laugh. “My sister is protective.”

Tej glanced up at the sky in annoyance. “Yeah, you can say that again.”

I took off my watch, pressed the buttons to cancel my hourly alarm, and placed it in my pack. I was going all-in on this.

“You better not be lying to me about bonding a Talanagi,” I told them.

Tej nodded. “Relax. Our brother knows what he’s doing.”

I couldn’t believe I was following two Badshahs into Luksa. My sister was going to kill me.