She got to her feet, crossed the room, and circled her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Aren.”
He laughed as he embraced her. “You must have known I wasn’t going to fight you on Cas. I just went to Olso to rescue a warrior.”
She was smiling as she pulled away from him. “I hoped. But I also would have understood if you told me I had certain responsibilities as queen.”
“You do, but we’re about to upend the entire Lera government, and probably our own as well. I’ll fight for you to marry Cas in the meetings, if that’s what you want.”
“It is, thank you.”
THIRTY-NINE
A DOCTOR VISITED Iria and examined her foot. He said she was healing fine, but she needed to stay off of it as much as possible for the next few days. Apparently he relayed this information to Cas, because a staff member showed up in her room with a pile of books, a tray of snacks, and a bell. She told Iria to ring it whenever she needed something.
Iria had pushed the bell across the nightstand. Her new personal goal was to never ring it.
She lay back on the pillows. Her foot hurt a little, but it had healed a lot on the journey from Olso to Lera.
She’d asked the doctor how long it would hurt, and he said not much longer, provided she rested and took care of it. She supposed that was good news, but she was having a hard time getting excited about it.
If the journey from Olso to Lera had taught her anything, it was that she wasn’t nearly as strong as she used to be. She couldn’t walk without limping, and that wouldn’t change once her foot healed. Her balance was off without toes to steady her, and she frequently almost fell on her face just trying to move from one place to another. Aren was constantly catching her, and it was humiliating.
This could have been good timing—she was no longer a warrior anymore—but it didn’t really feel like it. She wasn’t sure what skill she had if she couldn’t fight. Her loyalty to Olso felt thin at best after her time in prison, but it wasn’t like she could offer to help Cas. What was she going to do in Lera?
A knock sounded on the bedroom door. She’d left the sitting room door open so she wouldn’t have to get up when Aren returned. She called for him to come in.
The door opened to reveal Em, and Iria sat up a little straighter, surprised.
“Hello,” Em said. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks,” Iria said dryly, even though she knew it was true. She’d caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror after bathing. The bruises on her face were an ugly shade of yellow and blue, and she was gaunt and pale.
Em shut the door behind her and crossed the room to perch on the edge of Iria’s bed. “Who did that to you?” she asked, gesturing to Iria’s face.
“Cellmate.”
Em glanced around the room. “This used to be my room, you know.”
“I remember. Where are you now?”
“With Cas.”
Iria smiled. “Of course.”
“You didn’t come out for dinner last night. Are you hiding from us?”
“Just from you, actually.”
Em gave her a mildly annoyed look, her lips twitching.
“I’m resting.” She pointed to her foot. “I’m injured.”
“I heard it’s healing very nicely.” Em walked closer to the bed. “Do you mind if I take a look?”
Iria threw the blankets off to reveal her feet, the right one bandaged. Em perched on the edge of the bed and examined her feet.
“It could have been much worse,” Em said.
“That doesn’t really make me feel better.”
“Sorry.”
A knock sounded on the door, and Aren stepped inside a moment later. He wore fresh clothes, all evidence of their journey gone. He looked relaxed and handsome, his eyes lighting up when he looked at her.
“How are you feeling?” Aren asked. He’d visited her last night when the doctor was there, and peppered him with so many questions that the man seemed a bit aggravated by the time he left.
“Fine,” she said.
“I was just making her feel worse,” Em said.
“She was,” Iria confirmed with a laugh. She actually hadn’t felt this good in weeks.
“I suspected as much.” Aren crossed the room and held out the measuring tape. “Do you mind if I measure your feet? A few staff members are going to help me build boots for you, but I need measurements first.”
She nodded, and Em moved away from the bed, letting Aren take her spot.
“We’re starting formal talks between the Lerans and the Ruined soon,” Em said as Aren held up the measuring tape to Iria’s good foot. “I wanted to check to see if there’s anything you want.”
“Anything I want?”
“In terms of your asylum here. I was thinking I could include you as part of the Ruined, because we’ll be asking for housing, reparations, things like that. But you’re welcome to negotiate on your own, if you want. Cas will be fair to you.”
“Cas won’t hold power for much longer, though,” Aren said, his eyes flicking to Iria’s. “It might be in your best interest to let us include you with the Ruined. We can request whatever you want.”
“What am I supposed to want?” Iria asked.
“I don’t know, honestly. Queen Fabiana asked to marry King Salomir when she defected from Olso, but I can’t imagine you want that.”
A laugh burst from her mouth so suddenly she clapped her hand over it to stifle it. Another one bubbled in her chest. Aren grinned.
“That’s a no to marrying Cas, then?” Aren asked.
She lowered her hand, giving in to the smile spreading across her face as she looked at Em. “No. In fact, I think I’ll go back to Olso if someone suggests me marrying Cas.”
“Hey!” Em exclaimed.
“I would pick prison over marrying Cas too,” Aren said.
Iria laughed again, realizing she hadn’t done that since last she’d seen him. A lot of people saw Aren as stoic and serious, and she’d always felt secretly smug that she knew the real him.
“You don’t need to know what you want right away,” Aren said. “Just think about if there’s anything you need. Maybe start with a document making you a citizen of Lera. Then Olso can’t ever demand your return, or legally take you again. You’ll belong to this country.”
“Will the Ruined be asking to be citizens of Lera as well?” she asked.
“I think so. We have no plans to go back to Ruina, so someone has to take us,” Em said. “I can just include you when we discuss housing and citizenship, and we’ll figure out the rest later, if you want.”
“Sure,” Iria said gratefully.
“Good.” Em walked to the door. “I’ll see you both later. Iria, you better start practicing with that boot when it’s ready, because I expect to start sparring with you again soon.”
The thought of sparring with Em was a little terrifying, considering she was often better than Iria, even when Iria was at her best.
“To the death, right?” Em said.
“What?” Iria asked with a short laugh.
“That’s what you always used to say when we sparred in the Ruina castle.” Em lifted her hand like she was holding a sword and tilted her head back dramatically. “To the death!”
“I did do that, didn’t I?”
“You were very intense.” She smiled at Iria. “To the death, then? Later?”
“I look forward to it,” she lied.
Em left, shutting the door behind her, leaving Iria alone with Aren. He’d finished measuring her foot but was still perched on the edge of the bed. They hadn’t really been alone since before he’d rescued her. She’d sent him away quickly yesterday, feigning exhaustion, when really, she just wanted to be left alone to feel sorry for herself.
They actually hadn’t had privacy since she’d deserted her fellow warriors and took off with him in the Lera jungle. If he’d stayed with her, and she hadn’t been taken back to Olso, they might already be sharing a bed by now.
She might have grabbed him by the collar and pulled him beneath the covers with her.
Instead, he was clasping and unclasping his hands, like she made him nervous. “I should get started on the boot,” he said, standing. “Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“If you wanted to go to dinner later, I’d be happy to help.”
“No, thanks. The doctor said I should stay off the foot for a few days.”
He nodded, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I’ll come check on you later, then.” He turned and walked out, leaving Iria alone again.
FORTY
EM MOVED INTO the royal suite with Cas. All of his parents’ belongings had been removed, and the room that used to be his father’s was mostly bare except for the bed Cas had brought in from his old room.
She woke up in that bed every day with him. In the mornings, he would roll over and wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her close, and the sun would be high in the sky by the time they emerged from the suite.
Today, she lightly kissed his forehead, then scooted out of bed. He caught her hand as her feet touched the floor.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“First Ruined negotiation today,” she said. “We have to get dressed.”
He let go of her hand and rolled over to look at her. He attempted a smile, but she could see the nerves all over his face. She probably looked the same way.
They’d spent the last week or so in a bubble—settling into the royal suite, spending every night together, and pretending that there weren’t several people who wanted to kill them. Em spent a lot of time trying to ignore the ache in her chest, the reminder that one of the people who wanted to kill her was her own sister. But today was a harsh dose of reality—the Ruined and the Lerans would decide if they could actually get married.
They’d handed the discussions over to other people after telling everyone their intentions. Aren spoke for the Ruined, and several of Cas’s advisers were making decisions for the Lerans. They’d yet to have formal discussions since Em had first brought up the idea of stripping the monarchy of some of its power. There was the possibility that everything could fall apart today.
“I want to go down and see the Ruined before we start. Galo was going to stop by this morning,” she said. Cas had offered Galo the job of Ruined ambassador, and Galo had accepted. He’d spent the last couple of days discussing smaller things with them and preparing for the meeting.
They dressed mostly in silence, and Em gave Cas a quick kiss before stepping out of the suite. She headed downstairs, to where the Ruined were gathered in the guards’ common area. Galo sat with Aren, Mariana, and Davi, and he nodded as he stood. Aren smiled when he spotted Em and waved her over.
“We were just about to go up,” Aren said.
“It’s a bit early, isn’t it?” Em asked, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach.
“I want to introduce Aren to a few of the advisers. He’s never officially met a few of them.”
“Will you introduce me as the bad one?” Aren asked. “I have a reputation to maintain.”
“I’ll try to slip it into the conversation.” Galo laid a hand on Aren’s arm and steered him to the door. Aren laughed at something Galo said as they walked away. Mariana stopped next to Em, following her gaze to where Aren and Galo were disappearing through the door.
“I think they’ve become friends,” Em said.
“I should hope so,” Mariana said. “Otherwise I don’t know why that human would go to Olso with Aren.”
Still, Aren and Galo becoming friends was more than Em would have hoped for just a few weeks ago. Galo had never seemed to have much interest in the Ruined beyond obeying Cas’s wishes, and Aren wasn’t inclined to like any human, with the exception of Iria.
“How are things going down here?” Em asked.
“Not bad, actually. A few of the guards invited some of us to play cards last night.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. They looked very suspicious when I said I had the power to ruin the mind, like I was going to cheat, but they warmed up. Plus I told them I saved my power for things much worse than cheating at cards.”
“How did that go over?”
“Good, actually. I told them some of the things I could do, and we’re going to practice together later. They haven’t been great at integrating the mind power into the battle plans, so I’m trying to show them how it can help.”
Em felt a tiny burst of relief among her nerves. She’d stepped back from the Ruined on purpose lately, hoping they would find their own way in the castle. It appeared to be going better than expected.
Davi and Gisela joined them, and they headed upstairs to the Ocean Room for the meeting. Violet and Franco were already there, as well as Cas’s other advisers, Julieta and Danna, and three men who Em had met a few days ago. Aren and Galo were talking to one of them.
Cas was already seated, and he rose as Em entered the room. Everyone else followed suit. He extended his hand to her and she took it, letting him guide her to a spot next to his at the table.
Aren took a seat next to Galo, and Em watched as Mariana took the seat on the other side of Galo. Davi and Gisela sat on the opposite side of the table, next to Julieta. Em couldn’t help but think it was a good sign that the Ruined hadn’t all lined up on one side of the table, ready to fight the scary humans.
“Thank you for coming,” Cas said, addressing the Ruined.
“Thank you for having us, Your Majesty,” Aren said. Em didn’t think she’d ever heard Aren call Cas “Your Majesty.” It didn’t even sound like he was making a joke.
“Let’s get started, then,” Aren said. “We’re satisfied with the plan you’ve laid out for the Lera monarchy. We agree that King Casimir will still be the head of the government, and he will share power with elected representatives. He will still command the army, and will have the power to introduce and veto laws. All treaties with other kingdoms will have to be approved by both the monarchy and the representatives, and he will have to seek approval before declaring war on any other kingdom.” He slid a paper across the table to Franco. “We’d like to change the definition of war, though. King Salomir never officially declared war on the Ruined. Certain acts should be considered a declaration of war.”
Franco glanced at the other advisers, then nodded. “Agreed.”
“All the other powers you’ve laid out for the king are fine.” Aren looked at Cas. “You’ve seen this?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re fine with it? You understand that you’ll require approval from the elected representatives for almost everything? And they will have the power to abolish the monarchy entirely, if the issue is supported by enough citizens.”
“I understand.”
“Good. In terms of representatives, we don’t agree that the number of representatives be determined by the population of the province. That means the Ruined will have one representative to dozens of Lera representatives. Our vote will mean nothing. We need more than one.”
“How many more?” Franco asked.
“Six, with the agreement that you need at least three Ruined votes to pass any law.”
“But there are so few of you,” Danna protested. “Why should you be overrepresented in our government?”
“Because we don’t trust you,” Aren said. “If you allow us only one seat, what’s to stop you from overruling us at every turn? What’s to stop you from blocking every policy that benefits the Ruined?”
Danna rubbed her forehead. “I see your point, but I still think it will be a tough sell to the people.”
“It wouldn’t be permanent. We could revisit the issue in ten, twenty years.”
“It’s not unreasonable,” Galo said. “You can’t give them one seat. That’s barely symbolic, and you know it.”
Julieta shifted, her lips pursed. “Fine. We’ll discuss six. What’s next?”
Em caught Galo’s eye and nodded slig
htly in gratitude. He smiled.
“Each citizen of Lera has certain rights,” Aren said. “We want all those rights, as well as two Ruined amendments. First, that the mere possession of Ruined power is not considered a crime.”
The advisers all looked at Cas. He nodded.
“Agreed,” Franco said.
“Second, that a human can never attempt to harness or force a Ruined to use their power.”
Franco nodded. “We would also have something to add. A Ruined can never use their power on a human without their consent.”
“Yes,” Aren said. “But I’d want to see what the punishments for that should be. A Ruined who kills someone shouldn’t be punished in the same way as one who, say, made a man slap himself in the face.”
“Agreed,” Franco said, taking note of something.
They ran through several more points—Ruined service in the royal guard and military, future housing and reparations for lost land and property, and Ruined access to jobs and education. They came back around to elected representatives, and what powers the monarch could still hold.
“And we’d need to determine what power the queen of Lera would hold,” Franco said. “If that’s going to be Emelina, we can’t allow her to hold the same powers as the king.”
Beside her, Cas stiffened. “Why not?”
“We can’t tell the people that Emelina Flores has the power to command the Lera army,” Franco said. His tone was almost apologetic as he looked at Em. “She would be able to veto laws. Dismiss representatives if she saw fit. None of that will sit well with the people. We fear they may riot. Or abolish the monarchy. We’d be giving them the power to do that.”
“What power would she have?” Mariana asked, leaning forward, eyebrows drawn together.
“The queen or king consort of Lera has many ceremonial duties, and you’d be free to take up any projects you like here in Royal City. The previous queen ran a program to feed hungry children and worked with the Royal City Watch, which is our local law enforcement in the city. You would be free to attend most meetings with Cas, if you wanted, but you wouldn’t be there in any official capacity.”