Chapter 4

Chapter

Four

I didn’t expect anyone to be awake when I got to Tetra’s at 4 a.m. But I needed to see my sisters and make sure they were okay. I was beyond tired and had reached a point of heightened clarity where my brain felt like it was buzzing. The second I stepped off of Liana, a shadow moved on the porch. I held my hands up, ready to fight, and then Elaine walked out into the moonlight with Vespa at her side.

“You went to Imbria?” she scolded me.

Old Aisling would apologize, but I was empress now. “Yes.” I tipped my chin up. “They are my people, too.”

Elaine sighed, resigned. She looked exhausted. “I’ve been worried sick. Let’s get some rest. In the morning, we find a new house and move your sisters into it.”

I nodded, and then the door opened. Tetra, my best friend, stood there looking disheveled. Her eyes were a bit puffy, like she’d been crying, and her hair was a mess. Elaine stepped off the porch with Vespa trailing behind her before she slipped into an unfamiliar car. I knew she’d waited up to make sure I’d gotten home safe.

“I’ll see you in about three hours,” Elaine said.

Three hours? I was going to be a dead woman walking.

I spun back to Tetra, who leaned on her cane as she stood to the side and allowed me into the house. I stepped into her small living room and peered at my best friend in the low light. Her bonded wolf, Ariyel, was curled up asleep at her feet.

“Do I have to bow to you?” she asked.

I grinned. “Hell yeah. Or I’ll imprison you.”

That got a small smile to grace her lips. “Can I… hug you?”

My throat tightened and I nodded once, opening my arms as she hobbled over and crashed into them.

I wrapped my arms around her, squeezing tightly as she held me back.

“Just because I’m empress doesn’t change anything between us,” I told her. She was my best friend in the whole world, and I needed something normal in my life for once.

She nodded and then pulled back to look at me. “I’m so sorry about your dad. Do you know who did it? Can you tell me?”

“Luskins. I’m not sure who. Probably the breath-stealing witch who rode the red dragon. I’ll find out more when his bloodwork comes back. No poison in his stomach, so it wasn’t likely one of our own.”

She sighed in relief at that.

“How are my sisters?” I asked her.

She peered down the hallway to her house and winced. “Victory cried herself to sleep. Valor isn’t talking. Virtue is acting like an eight-year-old again. They’re scared you’re going to die next. They are sleeping with my mom. They didn’t want to be alone.”

My heart seized in my chest. Everyone thought that twins or triplets were the same person. They weren’t. My sisters might look identical, but they had very different personalities, and that evaluation Tetra had just given me was very accurate for each of them. Vic was my sweet one, so it made sense she’d be the first to cry. Valor was the heir, the one who thought she’d have to stay strong, so she was shutting down and not talking. And sweet Virtue probably didn’t know what to do, so she just retreated into being a kid again.

This was the one thing I was unprepared for. I knew how to take over as empress for my father—I’d attend war meetings and even fight on the front lines. I knew the political games and how to play them, and what the next few years would entail as I fought to show my people I was strong enough to lead. But nothing could have prepared me to be a mother to my three sisters—to raise three fragile and emotionally unstable teenagers into fierce young women.

“I can’t do this,” I said suddenly and fell back against the wall, the exhaustion pulling at my limbs.

Tetra reached out with her cane and swatted my thigh. “Yes you can, because you have to!”

That was the depressing truth. I had to . There was no other choice.

I sighed.

“Ash?” Victory’s singsong voice filtered through the room, and I looked up to see her at the end of the hallway. She wore her purple fuzzy pajamas and matching socks. She was so young, such a child still. I wanted her innocence to linger for another few years, but I knew it was already shattered.

“Is it true?” Her voice shook. “Is Father really dead? I mean, everyone is saying he is, but I thought that maybe…”

Oh no .

She was still in shock, in disbelief. I didn’t want to do this right now, but like Tetra said, I had to.

“He is. He was killed late last night.” Or was it the day before? Time was weird now that it was the middle of the night, and I hadn’t slept. I pushed off the wall and walked over to her.

My little sister’s sob ripped through Tetra’s small home and shook me into action. I crossed the room and pulled her into my arms as she shook with grief.

“He loved you,” I told her. “He just didn’t say it.” It was a nice thing to say. And I knew it was true. My father was a complicated man who just didn’t know how to express himself without feeling weak. Yes . That was the truth. He did love us.

“What will we do!” Vic wailed into my shoulder.

I pulled her back and met her gaze. She looked like a tiny, frightened doe in the headlights of an oncoming train. “We will be strong. For Father. For each other. And for our country.”

And just like that, her tears stopped. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes. “I’m tired,” she said.

“Me too,” I told her.

“Me three.” Tetra yawned behind us.

We all walked down the hallway to Tetra’s room. Ariyel followed us and then curled into a ball on the floor. I crashed into Tetra’s bed first, Vic snuggled up into my arms, and then Tetra was last. Victory threaded her fingers through Tetra’s, and the sight warmed my heart. My sisters had grown up knowing Tetra almost their whole life, and if anything did happen to me, I knew she would be there for them. With that thought on my mind, I fell fast asleep.

I woke about three hours later with the sun filtering through Tetra’s window and anxious thoughts racing through my mind. I needed more sleep, but I wouldn’t get it. I was running a country now. My father rarely slept, and now, neither would I.

I slipped out of bed without disturbing Tetra or Victory and made my way to the kitchen, where Bethel was brewing coffee. Valor sat at the table staring at a cup of milk, seemingly in a catatonic state.

I gave Tetra’s mother, Bethel, a nervous glance, and she looked at me with all of the compassion and empathy of a mother who knew their child was hurting.

“Are you too important for a hug?” she asked, opening her arms. It occurred to me that everyone in my life that I cared about would now be scared to hug me or say something that they thought might upset me or even just be around me. I was empress now.

“Never,” I told her and fell into her arms.

She rubbed my back as she held me, one of my favorite things, something she’d done since I was little, and then she released me.

“I have faith that you will lead us into peace and end this war,” she told me boldly.

Peace? It wasn’t something I’d ever considered or my father ever spoke about.

End the war, yes, we wanted to conquer the Luskins and put an end to the bloodshed, but peace? I hadn’t ever thought about a peaceful end until now.

She went back into the kitchen, and I sat down next to Valor. My sister was rigid, face forward, and barely seemed aware of my presence.

“It’s okay to be scared, or sad, or whatever you are feeling,” I told her.

She didn’t look at me, just squeezed her hands together in her lap. “I’m oldest. I know what’s expected of me now, Aisling.” Her voice was monotone.

My heir. My successor. The one to run this country if I died. And she was all of fourteen. She’d barely just gotten her period last year. I couldn’t expect this of her. And yet, the same had been expected of me. I’d lived my whole life as my father’s successor. But I wanted more for her. I wanted her to have a carefree childhood before this crushing responsibility fell upon her.

I lowered my voice and leaned into her. “I can name Virtue my successor if you don’t want it.” We both knew Victory was too sweet and soft to rule the Imperial Fleet. Virtue was a blend of both of them.

Valor snapped her head in my direction, fire in her eyes. “I want it,” she growled.

I smirked. Stars, she was so much like me. How had I never seen it before?

“Okay, then,” I told her. “You will be my successor.”

She looked excited and terrified all at once and then profoundly sad. “Aisling?”

“Yes?”

She leaned into me. “I heard you last night talking to Vic. Father didn’t love us. He tolerated us because we fit into his plan, but he didn’t love us.” Her voice was laced with fury.

I nearly slapped her. “ Don’t speak like that,” I warned her.

How could she even think that?! She was always the rebellious one, like me. And here she was, going the anger route. Angry at a dead man. What good would that do?

There was a knock at the door, and I was grateful for the distraction. I stood to get it, but Bethel beat me to it. While she answered the door, I grabbed a cup of coffee and a thick slice of honeyed ham. This modest house in the suburbs was like a second home to me. These peach walls, the home-cooked food… it would always give me a warm feeling I would crave.

Elaine’s voice reached me from the doorway: “You’ll have to take that to go, Empress. There are urgent matters that require your attention.” I sighed, shoving the ham into my mouth and raising the mug to Bethel. “Can I borrow this?” I said between mouthfuls.

She gave me a sweet smile and nodded.

I peered at Valor. “Take care of your sisters. I’ll try to see you later this afternoon.” I needed to be at Sky Reach by nightfall to execute the new plan, but I would try to see them once more.

As I followed Elaine out the door, I noticed her face was pulled tight, lips pursed into a thin line.

“What is it?” I asked her.

She held a clipboard and a piece of paper with many things written on it. I ducked into the family car, giving a greeting to Verik, and then stared at the seat my father always sat in with Zuri beside him. It was slightly baggy where his butt had carved a dent. Elaine cleared her throat behind me, and I stepped inside, sitting in my father’s seat, feeling like an imposter. Vespa jumped in next, taking the seat on the bench across from me as Elaine slid in next to him.

‘I’m right above you if you need me,’ Liana said.

‘Thanks,’ I told her.

“I’m going to give you a quick rundown of things, and I need you to give me fast answers or we will be doing this all day,” Elaine told me as the car took off.

I frowned. Straight to the point on three hours of sleep. That sounded like good ol’ Elaine. “Okay. Shoot.”

“Now that your father’s rule is over, it’s customary to switch out any staff you no longer feel would serve your best interests, and assign new staff in their place.”

Oh. Wow. Fire people?

Okay, I hadn’t been expecting that.

“First on the chopping block is Lucinda Lark,” she said, keeping her face calm and unbiased, which was an incredible feat since I knew for a fact we both couldn’t stand her.

“Oh my stars, can we fire her? I genuinely hate her,” I said, and Elaine’s lips curled into a smile.

“Done. Who would you put in her place? Someone who can be good at public speaking and note-taking, and all of the things an assistant to an important figure will be required to do.”

I chewed my lip. “Would it offend you if I offered you the position? Not because I want you to be my assistant, but Lucinda and my father spent a lot of time together, and I want you by my side as much as possible.”

“I will work in whatever position you ask of me,” she said with a small smile.

“Then I would like for you to replace Lucinda, but instead of assistant, let’s call you senior advisor because that’s what I really need.”

That brought a smile to her lips, and she jotted it down. “Done.”

She rattled off a dozen other staff members, and I chose to retain them all. Lucinda was the only one who bugged me. Her shrill voice and fake smile were grating, but the way she would stroke my father’s arm and bat her eyelashes at him made me want to vomit in my mouth.

This conversation about hiring and firing people caused something to suddenly dawn on me. I turned to Elaine.

“Hey, remember Charline Wells? The one who let Tetra use her pack?”

She nodded and peered up at me. Vespa cocked his head to the side as well. It seemed they were both curious why I was asking about Charline.

“I gave her my word that one day, when I was empress, I’d make her a member of my personal guard. I hadn’t expected to be empress so soon, but she’s smart and a fast learner.”

Elaine nodded. “If you gave her your word, you should honor it. I’ll make sure her training is fast-tracked, and she’s offered a nice position with a salary and benefits.”

I relaxed at that. It was important to me to be a woman of my word, and Charline deserved the job. After Fleet training, even without a creature, she would be valuable to me. I valued loyalty. Verik took a turn out of Tetra’s neighborhood and into a bit of a nicer area.

“Speaking of salaries, do you know how much we pay brand-new cadets like Anika and Tetra?” I asked.

“I can find the pay schedule somewhere for you. It’s decent, but nothing that will have them looking ahead to retirement anytime soon.”

“And they get paid the day they get back from the Wilds?” I asked her, slightly embarrassed I didn’t know this myself.

She nodded. “So that they can get properly outfitted for boot camp.”

I chewed my lip. I knew that allowing new candidates to get a chunk of ember in the Wilds was something we did to take the financial strain off, but what about those who couldn’t? Like Kohen.

“Could we offer a small sign-on bonus to new candidates when they graduate boot camp and head to their new posting?”

Elaine raised an eyebrow. “Your first big financial decision as empress. It will be in all of the papers by morning. Are you sure you want to do that?”

My stomach tightened at her assessment. Why was she saying it like that? I squirmed.

“What do you think?” I asked her.

She shrugged. “I want to know what you think.”

I sighed. “Why can’t you just tell me what to do?”

That got a smile out of her. “Because then you wouldn’t learn. Come on, you’ve trained for this. Do you think it’s a good idea on your first day in office to give hard-earned tax money to soldiers?”

I scoffed. “Soldiers that fight for the safety and lives of this country! Yes!”

She grinned as if I’d fallen into her trap. “Good. I agree. I’ll have the treasury department come up with some numbers, and you can choose.”

I relaxed at that. Thinking of Kohen’s brother Tej saying he could steal to get by caused a lump to form in my throat. I hadn’t expected what I’d found in Imbria last night; it conflicted with everything I’d been taught my entire life. The people were… kind to me… and the city of Sorak was beautiful and upscale, nothing like what my father told me, nothing like the pictures we saw in school. Not that being upscale mattered, but it kind of did. Our history books had painted a picture in my head of the Imbrians being unable to prosper without us. And now that I knew that wasn’t true, I wasn’t sure what to think.

We’d only been driving for a few minutes when the car stopped and the window rolled down. I found myself staring at a sizeable home for this area. It was set back a good way from the road, which afforded it privacy. It had a white picket fence and was painted a pretty blue. A huge willow tree marked the front yard and hid the garage and half the porch. It was nothing like my father’s, not even grand like Jace’s. It was still nice, though, and very private, which was important.

“This is a four-bedroom house, with an office, close to school for the girls, but also to Tetra’s. The triplets can see Bethel every week. She has promised to tutor them in math and writing.”

I nodded. Bethel was a smart woman and patient, too. She’d make a good tutor for the triplets, and they were already comfortable with her. It would also provide extra money for her. Elaine was sweet to offer her the position.

“It would fit you and the girls comfortably enough, but it’s understated for someone of your rank and what you are accustomed to. I fear if we move you into a giant mansion, it will be too obvious. This way, only a handful of people would know about it. The backyard is large and full of trees, so Liana can land without being seen, and I’ll have a guardhouse built by the end of the month for round-the-clock security.”

I nodded, seeing myself and my sisters here. It was a lovely little house, a modest home for an empress, which is why no one would look here.

‘I like the backyard. It has a pool, too,’ Liana said.

“Buy it,” I told her.

“Do you want to go inside? I got the key for a private viewing. I said it was for myself.”

I shook my head. “I’m sure we don’t have time. It looks private, which is the most important.” I just wanted to keep my sisters safe.

She nodded, scratching another thing off of her list. The car started up again, and we headed towards the center of the city as the sun fully rose.

“Have you found a replacement to train the girls and take care of their daily needs?” I asked her.

Elaine nodded once. “Sergeant Gwenivere Black. Goes by Gwen. Tetra is interviewing her later this morning.”

I raised one eyebrow, grinning. “You are allowing my savage bestie to interview the triplets’ new governess?”

Elaine shot me a half-cocked smile. “Who better to ferret out any weakness? I’ve already met with and approve of Gwen. Caruso has questioned her and her loyalty is with you. If Tetra approves, she’s got the job.”

Brilliant. I relaxed a little, knowing my sisters’ needs were being taken care of.

Verik pulled out of the residential area of Riverine and headed for the more industrial part of town.

“Speaking of Tetra…” Elaine said, and I went still. There was something in Elaine’s voice I didn’t like.

“What about her?”

“Do you still want her to be a drill instructor at the training campus that was just attacked? Or would you like to take her with you to Sky Reach, where you will now be posted five out of seven days a week, with weekends off to see your sisters?”

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It was an impossible choice. Take Tetra to Sky Reach? It was a death sentence. But the thought of keeping her here, without being able to keep an eye on her, killed me.

“Can we honorably discharge her from the Fleet?” I asked, and Elaine gave me that look. The look that said I was being crazy.

“She would kill you. And she’s not weak, so don’t treat her as such,” she scolded me.

I groaned, knowing she was right, and grateful she wasn’t sugarcoating the way she spoke to me now that I was empress. There was something comforting about a verbal lashing from Elaine. “But I want to keep her safe,” I protested.

Elaine nodded. “Then train her like I trained you. She’s got a creature and, from what I hear, a tremendous power. Mold her into an invaluable soldier, and maybe in ten years, she will be commanding your army instead of Jace’s father.”

Whoa .

It was such an Elaine thing to say. Leave it to her to see Tetra’s potential.

“Okay,” I said nervously. “But only if she wants to,” I added.

Elaine chuckled at that. “She already begged me to place her wherever you were going.”

Which was such a Tetra thing to say. It made me love my bestie all the more.

The car made its next stop, and I went to peer out the window to see where we were when Elaine gently grasped my face and averted my gaze.

Her eyes bore into mine. “I saved the worst news for last.”

My heart hammered in my chest. What news could this be? How much more could I take in my first few days as empress?

“The lab your father’s blood results were sent to was burned down late last night. Someone is trying to cover up the murder.”

I gasped, and she released my face. I tore away from her to see that the brick building that held our top medical lab filled with scientists and expensive equipment was a hollowed-out shell.

“Why? Why would Luska do this?” I asked as I felt an uneasiness churn in my stomach.

“Luska wouldn’t,” Elaine said. “They wouldn’t care if we knew it was them.”

No . It felt like the ground had opened up and swallowed me whole. The car spun as I tried to grapple with what this meant. If Luska didn’t kill my father… it meant someone in the Imperial Fleet did.

Something in the blood results would point to them. My heart stopped when I realized that my father was scheduled to be cremated today. “Can we get more blood?” I asked Elaine quickly.

She nodded. “I’ve already ordered that his body be protected under constant guard and not cremated until you give word. We will get to the bottom of this.”

Anger roiled through me. One of our own? Someone within these walls thought they could take my father out and live with it?

“I’ll burn whoever did this to the ground,” I growled and was surprised to see smoke rising off of my skin for a split second before vanishing out the open window.

Elaine placed a hand over mine, a rare show of affection from my mentor and now senior advisor.

“We have to prepare for the fact that you could be next,” she said. “I want every single person you come into close contact with interrogated by Admiral Caruso. Everyone. Including me and Tetra.”

I recoiled at that. “No way. The day I can’t trust my own best friend and you is the day I don’t want to live.”

Elaine shook her head. “I want you to know for sure. This kind of thing can mess with you mentally. I want you to know Tetra and I are people you can trust because that list is going to grow very small, Aisling.”

Her certainty scared me.

“I do know that I can trust you,” I told her. Admiral Caruso was a human lie detector. It was her power and would be very valuable if someone in the Fleet killed my father, but I couldn’t fathom Tetra or Elaine doing such a thing. My gaze went to Vespa, who sat next to Elaine. He did have poison fangs—no, I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t suspect family!

“Will you know that in two weeks’ time when someone else is assassinated? Or there are a string of murders around you? We don’t know how far this will go. This could be a coup to take the empire down.”

Chills rose on my arms. I thought of last night when I’d gone to Imbria, and that man had told Kohen that the people wanted to be free again and have him lead them.

Could Imbria have done this somehow? My mind raced with different possibilities.

It would take Caruso months to sweep through the entire Imperial Fleet. Maybe even the better part of a year.

“Okay,” I conceded. Elaine was smart; she would make a good advisor. I hadn’t thought of using Caruso. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

“And I’ll interrogate Caruso myself,” Elaine added.

My eyebrows rose at that. “Interrogating an admiral? Is that smart?”

“Can you afford to spend time with someone on a daily basis that we aren’t sure about? If you mandate the interrogation, I’m well within my right to do it.” Her face betrayed something then like maybe it made her a little sick to do such a thing because she was close to Caruso.

I nodded. “But we will have someone else do it. I know you two are close.”

“Interrogating” an admiral to ferret out the truth, involved some mild torture, I was quite sure. But who made sure that the person who could smell a lie wasn’t telling lies themselves? For all we knew, Caruso wanted my father dead, then me, and she’d rule Amersea herself. I had to detach from the emotional aspect of all of this and just carry out the plans, even if it was hard.

Elaine shook her head. “I don’t trust anyone else not to lie to me about the results, Aisling. You are my priority now.”

I swallowed hard, hating that it had come to this. Elaine was going to torture Caruso to make sure she was loyal to the empire? Then Caruso was going to question all my friends? What would they think of me?

“Fine,” I croaked.

With that, the car took off, and we were heading to a familiar spot. My father’s house. My childhood home. The emperor’s palace.

“This will be a front for Riverine. We’ll keep the lawn maintained. You and your sisters can make sparse appearances. Let people think you still live here. I’ll have you and your sisters’ rooms packed up and transferred to the new house, as well as your father’s office. I’ll do it in the dead of night so no one sees. Is there anything else you want specifically from here for the time being?”

This was all happening too fast. I just wanted everything to slow down a little so I could think. I had to be at Sky Reach by tonight to make a retaliatory attack on Luska. I’d be living and training there during the week and then flying back here on the weekends. I just wanted a break.

“No,” I said finally and sat back against the seat.

This house was never really a home to me anyway. It was my father’s, and I’d walked on eggshells here around him my entire life. It was for the best that we moved into this new place. Better to look forward instead of back.

“There’s one more stop we have to make,” Elaine told me. “Change into this while we drive there.”

She pulled a knee-length black dress from a garment bag, and my stomach sank. It was a funeral dress, and suddenly, I knew where we were going.