Stolen Lies (Fates of the Bound 2)

She vowed never to see the oracle again.

Lila scrolled to the next message on her palm. It was an update from Chef, saying that Mr. Norris had brought Alex back to the compound. They’d confined her to her room for the time being, not willing to give her the chance to assault Lila again.

Luckily, Reaper’s partner had not sent another message. Stalling seemed to be the best strategy for now, at least until she knew more.

Lila sent a quick message to Sutton, asking her to take the commanders’ meeting, as she’d be out all morning. Then she dried her hair, put a thick layer of concealer over her jaw, slipped on a formal militia uniform, and hurried downstairs.

Giggles erupted from the morning room. A deep answering rumble followed.

Good. They’d started without her.

“Lila girl,” her father said when she peeked into the morning room. “We were waiting.”

“Not so much that we didn’t start eating, though,” Pax said. “We know how you are.”

“Oh, how am I?” Lila hugged her father and Pax, happy that her brother seemed distracted from his troubles this morning. Her father had worked a bit of magic on him, and he had almost finished an entire plate of French toast and bacon.

“Unable to find an excuse to miss breakfast.”

Pax grinned proudly as the prime minister winked in agreement.

Lila sat across from her brother. “Sometimes I think you like my father more than you like your own.”

“Mine’s too serious. You have all the luck. Mine usually just rambles on and on about legislation.”

“Senator Blanc is an important man with important thoughts,” the chairwoman said.

“Boring thoughts.”

“He merely respects you enough to converse about adult matters,” Lemaire said. “He was better with you when you were a toddler. He knew what to talk about then.”

Pax shrugged and chewed on his French toast while Isabel put Lila’s plate down before her. True to her word, Chef had made a few pancakes and doused them in maple syrup.

The chairwoman clucked her tongue as soon as she saw it. “Was it too much to ask that you eat the same as the rest of the family?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Yes, we should be so honored.”

“Perhaps I’d join you for breakfast more often if you actually woke up early enough to have it. Usually you’re still snoring when I leave for the security office.”

“I do not snore.”

“You snore.”

The chairwoman sighed. “I have a condition, Lila.”

“Didn’t you just claim that you didn’t snore?”

“Ladies.” The prime minister cleared his throat.

“She started it.” Lila shrugged, nibbling her bacon, glad her mother had been too busy with her father last night to learn about Alex. Regardless, it would be one of those breakfasts. Since she couldn’t get out of it, she’d eat quickly and leave.

Not that she was all that hungry.

“Is that sausage on your plate, Father?”

The prime minister poked at a link and chewed heartily. “Of course it is. I can’t miss Chef’s best dish. I’ll do a bit of extra running later.”