“You and Iria …” Em let her voice trail off.
“What? No. We’re … she’s …” He cleared his throat, lowering his eyes to the ground.
Em laughed softly. “Whatever it is, make a plan to keep her safe in Lera until we can calm Olivia down.”
“She’s going to hate me for abandoning her in Lera.”
“You’re not abandoning her. You’re keeping her safe for a while.”
“Not sure she’s going to see it that way.” He let out a long sigh. “I’ll talk to her about it.”
“Good. I’ll discuss it with Cas later and make sure he can protect her.”
Em turned and walked to where Iria was saddling her horse. She watched Em approach with a hint of suspicion.
“Everything all right?” Iria asked hesitantly.
“Yes. Thank you for saving Aren. I know that couldn’t have been an easy decision.”
“Of course.”
Em stepped forward, swinging her good arm around Iria’s shoulders. “You annoy me far less these days.”
Iria laughed. “Same.”
“I’m glad we’re on the same page. But don’t think I’ll start letting you win when we spar.”
“Never.”
Aren waited until they stopped for the night to approach Iria. He’d spent the day avoiding her, his guilt growing into an angry ball in the pit of his stomach.
He was going to abandon her. In Lera, of all places. She’d given up everything for him, and he was going to leave her in the country she’d been raised to hate.
He tended to his horse, then dropped his small bag on the ground next to a tree. He’d slept next to Iria last night, her shoulder brushing against his, but he wasn’t stupid enough to think she’d want to sleep next to him tonight. Or any night.
He grabbed his canteen from his bag and took a long sip. Anything to delay this conversation.
The Lera soldiers were mostly settled, and Cas and Em sat around the fire with Franco and a few other southern leaders. Iria stood a few paces away. She smiled when their eyes met.
That smile almost made him want to stay with her. It would mean leaving the Ruined and joining Cas, but it didn’t seem like such a bad idea when she looked at him like that.
He dropped his eyes and tossed his canteen back in his bag. He couldn’t leave Em to deal with Olivia by herself. He couldn’t leave the Ruined to Olivia’s mercy.
He slowly walked to Iria, trying to calm his racing heart. He was more nervous than he’d been the first day in the Lera castle.
He almost reached for her hand when he stopped in front of her. It was becoming second nature, taking her hand. They both pretended it was to fuel his Ruined power, but it felt like more than that. But now didn’t feel like the right time to take her hand.
“Take a walk with me?” he asked.
She nodded and followed him away from the camp, into the thick trees. It was dark, the chatter fading behind them as Aren stopped and turned to face Iria. It was hard to make out her features in the darkness. He hadn’t planned that, but now he was glad for it.
“Do your powers work with Cas?” she asked before he could get a word out.
“What?”
“I saw you grabbing his wrist a few times. Does it work with him like it does with me?”
“Oh. Yeah.” He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know why. He’s the only one besides you.”
She laughed softly. “And here I thought I was special.” Her fingers brushed against his and he quickly pulled his hand back.
“Um …”
“What’s wrong?” Iria’s voice had turned serious.
He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Em and I were talking, and we think we’ll need some time with Olivia before we can bring any warriors near the Ruined again.”
“‘Any warriors’ meaning me.”
“Em said Olivia was crazy in Olso. We need to talk her down or figure something out. Em asked Cas if you could stay in Lera until I can come back for you, and he said he’d be happy for you to stay in the castle and—”
“In the Lera castle?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t stay in the Lera castle.”
“Cas said he would welcome you.”
Iria let out a short, humorless laugh. “I’m sure he would. And he’ll expect some information in return?”
“He didn’t say anything about—”
“I’ve become worse than his mother,” she interrupted. “She was the most notorious traitor in Olso, you know. We learned about her in training. How she took secrets to Lera in order to marry a king. And now I’m her!” She pressed her fingers to her temples. “No, I’m worse, because I did it during wartime.”
“You don’t have to give Cas any secrets,” he said.
“I don’t want to live in Lera. I didn’t betray my fellow warriors for him, I did it for the Ruined.” She didn’t say for you, but the unsaid words hung between them.
“I know,” he said quietly. “But there’s nowhere else …” He let his voice trail off.
She pressed her lips together. “There’s nowhere else for me to go.”
He nodded. She turned away, blinking like she was trying not to cry.
“It will only be temporary,” he said. “I’ll come back and—”
“It’s fine. You don’t owe me anything. You didn’t ask me to save you.”
He grabbed her wrist, making her face him. “I’ll come back, I promise. I would stay with you in Lera, but I can’t abandon the Ruined right now.”
“I didn’t ask you to.” She yanked her arm from his grasp.
“Iria, I—”
“Don’t worry about it, Aren. I never expected anything from you anyway.” She didn’t glance at him once as she walked away.
FORTY-THREE
CAS AND THE rest of the army spent two days on the road to Gallego City. Em asked to stay with them temporarily, and he happily agreed. She alternated between riding on his horse, Aren’s, and Iria’s. When she was with Cas she’d wrap her arms around his waist and rest her head against his back. He almost wished the journey would never end.
They found Gallego City completely devoid of warriors. Cas had been expecting a fight. He’d worried they wouldn’t even make it past Gallego City to the Royal City and the castle. He’d sent scouts up ahead and had the army in battle formation, ready to take on the warriors.
Instead, the town square was empty. A park sat in the center of Gallego City, and it was so quiet the sound of the water splashing in the fountain could be heard from a ways away. A door to one of the shops swung open in the breeze.
He dismounted his horse and walked across the street. The two-story white building housed the governor’s office for the central province, but the door was locked tight. He peeked in a window. An empty desk sat in the corner of the room, the chair next to it overturned.
He walked back to his horse and looked up at Em. “I thought you said the warriors who brought you over the border were headed to Gallego City.”
“They were. But they only had one carriage and could travel faster. They probably arrived yesterday.”
“And left,” he murmured, studying an abandoned canteen on the ground. His eyes skipped over the people around him. Many were on horses, but a large group had to walk, and he found Iria in the middle of them. He waved her over. She came slowly, her face tight like she was trying not to show her anger.
“Where would the warriors have gone?” he asked her quietly. “Why did they leave Gallego City?”
She pressed her lips together and shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve been with you or Aren the whole time.”
“A guess?”
“I don’t … I don’t want—” She cut herself off suddenly and blinked several times. Cas realized with a start that she was about to cry. He put a hand on her arm and gently pulled her away from the crowd. She jerked her arm away but walked beside him until they were standing on the porch of the governor’s building. She put her hand
s on her hips and turned her back to the soldiers.
“I liked it better when Em hated you,” she said, roughly wiping a hand across her cheeks.
“That didn’t last very long, you know. I won her over quickly.”
She rolled her eyes, but a smile twitched at her lips.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “I noticed you and Aren haven’t been together since they asked if you could stay in Lera. You’re mad that he’s leaving you?”
“Yes, but it’s more than that.” She nudged a rock with the toe of her shoe, staring at it as if fascinated. “I made this split-second decision to save Aren and now I’m marching to Royal City with the Lera army to fight my own people. I wasn’t thinking about you or Lera when I saved him, I just didn’t want him to die. I didn’t think it was right for him to die.”
“But you regret it now?” he asked uneasily. He’d trusted Aren’s judgment in bringing Iria along, but it had occurred to him that having a warrior in his army was a risky decision.
“No,” she said, looking up at him quickly. “Of course not. I’d do it again. It’s just sinking in, what I did. I can never go back to Olso. I can never see my parents again. Not that they would want to see me. They’ll disown me the minute they hear. And now I’m supposed to give the Lera king information about the warriors?”
“Not if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t know what I want.”
“My mother was a warrior, you know.”
“Please don’t talk about your mother with me. Being in the same category as her is making me want to scream.” She winced. “I’m sorry. I forgot for a moment that you lost her recently.”
“It’s fine. No one seems to have nice things to say about my parents.”
She looked at him with a glimmer of sympathy.
“My mother hated Olso. She hated how only those strong enough to be warriors mattered, she hated the king, I think she even hated her own family.” He lifted one shoulder. “So I can’t pretend to understand how you feel. But you can stay in the castle for as long as you like, whether you want to give me information about Olso or not.”
She blew out a breath. “It’s really annoying when you’re nice and reasonable like that.”
“I’m very reasonable. Em says it’s one of my best qualities.” He smiled at her and started back toward his army.
“Do you have any plans to invade Olso?” she called after him.
He turned with a laugh. “Are you kidding? I don’t even have my own country yet. I have no interest in invading another one.”
“I’ll never tell you about Olso’s defenses. Or anything about warrior strategy or how we fight or anything like that.”
“Understood.”
“Best guess—August ordered the warriors who were here to the Lera castle or home to Olso,” Iria said.
“Do you want to tell me which is more likely?”
“It depends on how bad things are in Olso. August would weigh their current defensive position in Olso against how much they want to retain their hold in Lera. King Lucio desperately wanted Lera under his control. August … I’m not sure. But considering he knows about your relationship with Em, he might assume you have some Ruined support. I’d say there’s a good chance he ordered the warriors back to Olso, considering the losses they suffered with Olivia.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“Your Majesty!” a breathless voice shouted. He turned to see one of his scouts riding down the north road into the town square, her hair flying behind her. She pulled on the reins to slow as she approached him and jumped off her horse.
“Jovita,” she said. “We spotted Jovita in the jungle, with all the hunters and soldiers we left at Fort Victorra.”
“Headed north?” he asked.
She nodded.
He’d expected as much. He didn’t think Jovita would simply sit around the fortress after he left. If he took the castle, he took the throne.
He’d hoped to stay in Gallego City for the rest of the afternoon and through the night to let everyone rest. It looked like that wasn’t happening.
“We’re going to have to keep moving!” he shouted. He strode back to his horse and took Em’s outstretched hand. He settled down in the saddle.
He laced his fingers through Em’s, doubt creeping in. “Is it more important to beat Jovita to Royal City, or to let everyone rest?”
“To beat Jovita to Royal City,” she said immediately.
“They will need to be rested to fight once we get there… .”
“Ride through half the night today, and let people rest for three or four hours. Then ride all the next day, and stop as soon as the sun sets. Let them sleep all night so they’ll be rested when we get to Royal City the next day. That’s what I would do.”
“Then that’s what I’ll do.”
FORTY-FOUR
THE AIR WAS cool and salty as the Lera army approached Royal City two days later. Em took in a deep breath. She’d missed that smell.
The dirt road curved through the grass, leading to a cluster of homes. Past that, Em could see the buildings stretching up into the sky—the center of Royal City. The sun was sinking behind them, casting an orange glow across the land in front of them.
Beyond the shops was the castle. Completely intact, from the looks of it.
She was walking on foot beside Cas’s horse, and she turned to smile at him. His attention was on the castle, relief splashed across his face. She glanced over her shoulder at the Lera soldiers stretched out behind her to see matching expressions on their faces.
“Your kingdom is beautiful, Cas,” she said. “Have I ever told you that?”
“I don’t think so. If you did, it was begrudgingly.”
She laughed softly. “I mean it this time.”
“Thank you.” He looked down at her, their eyes meeting for a moment. “You should stay.”
She smiled sadly because she knew she couldn’t. But Cas just stared at her like he was serious.
“Cas, you know I can’t—”
“Em,” Aren interrupted. He pointed west.
She turned. The trees on the west side of the city were swaying like a storm was brewing. But around her, the air was still.
“Ruined.” Her chest constricted. “Olivia.”
“Why is she here?” Cas asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe she knew I was here?” Maybe Olivia had completely destroyed Olso and had decided to move on to Lera.
Em met Aren’s eyes. He was thinking the same thing.
“I’ll go find her,” she said.
Aren jumped off his horse. “Take my horse. I’m going to stay with Cas and Iria until they’re in the castle. Is that all right?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll find you when it’s over.” Aren squeezed her arm.
Em turned to find Cas had dismounted his horse. A soldier pulled on his horse’s rein, moving to the side so they could have a modicum of privacy. It wasn’t much, considering the rest of the soldiers were still moving toward the city on the road behind her.
A lump formed in her throat as she stepped closer to him. “I can probably convince Olivia to leave.” She spoke softly so that only he could hear. “But I don’t think I’ll ever convince her to partner with humans again. It’s best if we go to Ruina and not come back.”
Cas’s lips twitched up, which wasn’t the response she’d been expecting. He stepped closer to her, sliding one hand onto her neck. His thumb stroked her jaw. “I don’t think you’re going to do that.”
“What?”
“I know what we did to the Ruined is unforgiveable. I’ll never ask for their forgiveness. But I want to find a way to make it better. I want my people to face what we did, and try to make amends.”
Em shook her head. “Cas—”
“And I want you to marry me. For real this time.” He leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers. “I spent so much time moping about how we couldn’t be together t
hat I forgot to fight for you. So I’m going to start. I’m going to use every bit of power I have to convince my people we need to partner with the Ruined. That you would be the best queen they ever had.”
Em’s breath caught in her throat, a tiny glimmer of hope shining through the doubt. “I—I don’t know if …” She didn’t know anything. She didn’t know how to end that sentence.
“You know,” Cas said. He was so close to her their foreheads were almost touching. “You just have to make a choice. And I have faith you’re going to make the right one.” He put both hands on her cheeks and kissed her. She wrapped her fingers around his wrists and kissed him back.
He pulled away and met her eyes. “I love you. I’ll see you soon.”
She almost reached for him as he walked to his horse. She felt like she would fall over without him holding her up.
“Cas, I …” She let her words trail off, but the apology was etched all over those words.
He smiled at her over her shoulder. “You’ll make the right decision. I’ll see you soon.”
She quickly turned, blinking away tears. He had more faith in her than she deserved. She couldn’t stay with him. It wasn’t the right choice; it wasn’t a choice at all.
Was it?
She couldn’t help but think that Ruina no longer felt like home because he wasn’t there.
She kept her back to him for several long moments, afraid that if she turned around, she’d see his face and run straight back to him. When she finally looked, he’d disappeared, lost in the crowd of horses and soldiers.
She reached for her horse, grasping his saddle and swinging one leg over him. There would be no choice to make if Olivia killed Cas and leveled the city.
She drove the horse forward, heading west. The trees were no longer moving, but smoke rose from the outskirts of town. Em kicked her heels into the side of the horse, urging him to go faster.
“Olivia!” She started yelling before she could see her sister or any of the Ruined. She yelled her sister’s name as she passed a burning farmhouse, as she followed the trail they’d left in the dirt. She yelled Olivia’s name like if she screamed it loud enough, she could actually stop all of this.
Em rounded a corner and found Olivia stopped in the middle of the dirt road. The Ruined stood in clumps around her, their faces tight with exhaustion. There were fewer than in Sacred Rock. They’d lost at least twenty, it seemed. Homes dotted either side of the road around them, but Em didn’t see any people.