“I think you lost all right to have an opinion about the Ruined when you told Emelina Flores where her sister was,” the king said.
Cas jumped to his feet. “Who ordered me to marry her?” His yell echoed across the room, making his mother jump.
His father’s mouth twitched, but he said nothing.
“Cas,” his mother said, her voice gentle. She put a hand on his arm, but he shook her off.
“If there’s anyone to blame in this situation, it’s you,” Cas yelled, his glare fixed on his father. “You ordered the murder of thousands of innocent people, and now you’re surprised when one of them—”
“Innocent?” his father roared, practically leaping out of his chair. “The Ruined are not innocent!”
“What crime did Damian commit? What did the rest of them do?”
“She got into your head,” his father said in digust. “You let Emelina feed you these ideas—”
“I’m not an idiot,” Cas said sharply. “She didn’t need to feed me any ideas.”
“And so you blame me. It’s my fault Emelina Flores pretended to be your wife.”
Cas spread his arms wide. “I see no one else to blame. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t started a war with the Ruined. Now I’m married to one of them.” His stomach clenched as he said the words, and he turned away, afraid his face would give away too many emotions.
“You’re no longer married to her,” his mother said, like that solved everything. “It’s not binding.”
He rolled his eyes as he faced them again. “Really? Because you say so?”
“Yes!” his father interjected. “She lied about her identity! We will have it declared illegal.”
“Our souls are bound until death.” He repeated the words the priest had said, just to make his father angry.
It worked. The king smashed his hand against the painting, sending it toppling to the ground. “Then I will kill her myself!”
Cas’s first instinct was to yell No! He said nothing instead.
“Your father is right,” the queen said, in a much calmer voice than her husband. “This marriage isn’t legal. We’ll take care of it.”
Cas shrugged. Whether he was still married to Emelina mattered less than what he’d shared with her and how he felt about her and how much he currently wanted to tear her apart with his bare hands.
Why had she looked so sad?
“Perhaps we could arrange something else for you,” his father said in a suddenly optimistic tone. “The governor of the southern province has a daughter. She was our second choice, after Mary.”
“You must be joking,” Cas deadpanned.
“She’s lovely. Much prettier than Emelina.”
“You. Must. Be. Joking,” he repeated, slower. His parents were insane if they thought he was ever letting them choose his wife again.
“Not the time,” the queen said, shaking her head at her husband. He raised his hands in surrender. She focused on Cas again. “Right now we need to assess the damage done. What does she know? What was she doing while she was here?”
“She was with Iria all the time,” Cas said. “They’d become friends.”
“Or they were already friends, before she got here,” his mother said. “Given that the warriors have mysteriously disappeared with her, I think we can safely assume that they knew exactly who Mary really was.”
Cas cracked all the knuckles on his left hand, one at a time. “We went down to the shore. She was interested in the towers and how we protected our borders.”
“And you showed her all that?” his father exclaimed.
“It doesn’t matter now,” the queen said before Cas could reply. “We need to prepare for the possibility of an attack. Let’s call in the hunters from Vallos and Ruina.”
“It will take weeks to get them all back.”
“We caught Emelina off guard,” his mother said. “Hopefully we have some time. But we’ll put the guards at the towers on high alert.”
His father frowned at Cas. “I can’t believe you just handed over that information to her.”
“She was my wife! I trusted her!” The last words tasted bitter as he said them.
He’d thought she cared about him and was excited about the prospect of ruling the kingdom with him one day. He’d thought she was strong and brave and would be the best queen Lera had ever seen.
He’d thought she was falling in love with him.
Maybe she had fallen in love with him. Her tearstained face filled his vision. I don’t think this is who I want to be, she’d said. His brain screamed that she was a liar who couldn’t be trusted, but he couldn’t help but think that last night had been real.
The thought flooded his body with a sudden burst of rage. If it had been real, why hadn’t she told him the truth? He’d told her, Choose better next time. She could have chosen to tell him the truth. She could have trusted him to listen, to be willing to negotiate about Olivia. She’d chosen violence, and deception, just like her mother.
She’d chosen wrong.
TWENTY-THREE
EM AND IRIA spent an unfortunate amount of time hiding in a horse stall not far from the castle. By the time they were able to step out, they both smelled and were stiff from crouching.
The hem of her light-blue dress was covered in mud, and she wished she’d had time to change into pants before escaping. She had nowhere to put the sword she’d stolen, and now that the sun had set, there was a bit of a chill in the air.
“Give it to me,” Iria said, holding out her hand. “I have a spot on the other side of my belt.”
Em hesitated. She didn’t want to be without a weapon while Iria had two. If she’d been smart, she would have put together a bag to easily grab on her way out of the castle. Now she was stuck out here with nowhere to put her weapon, no water, and no food.
“Would you prefer to carry it?” Iria asked, raising an eyebrow. “It will just attract attention.”
Em handed the sword over, and Iria slipped it through the leather on the right side of her belt.
“We’re supposed to meet Koldo, Benito, and Aren not far from here,” Iria said, taking a glance around. The main road that led into the center of Royal City stretched out to the east.
Behind them, the wheels of a cart squeaked as a man pushed it toward the center of town. They were so close Em could hear the laughter coming from the cluster of buildings. A few more steps and maybe she’d be able to smell cheese bread.
The man glanced over his shoulder as he turned the cart around a corner.
“Let’s get out of here,” Em said.
“Follow me.” Iria took off jogging, and Em hurried behind her. They ran across the road and through the tall grass until Em’s legs and lungs burned. She’d lost some of her stamina while in the castle.
They headed away from the center of Lera. They were traveling west, to the jungle. Em had taken the main roads and skirted around the edge of the jungle on her journey to Royal City several weeks ago, but she’d already considered it as the best way to go south.
The heart of the jungle was still a half day’s walk away, but Iria led them into the thick band of trees just outside Royal City. She slowed to a walk and Em coughed as she tried to catch her breath.
“You should have gone running with me in the mornings.” Iria was annoyingly smug.
“I’ll . . . be fine in a few days,” Em said, taking in gulps of air. “I always adjust quickly.”
Iria smirked. “I hope so. They’ve only just begun to send out guards after us.” She took off at a quick walk, and Em struggled to keep pace behind her.
Two figures came into view, and Em frantically scanned the area around them.
“Where’s Aren?” she asked, jogging past Iria.
Koldo’s eyes were wide with regret. “I’m sorry. I got separated from Aren right after we left the castle. There were guards everywhere, and we were both just trying to get away.”
Her heart squeezed painfully in
her chest. “They didn’t catch him, did they?”
“I don’t think so. But I never got a chance to tell him where we were meeting.”
She let out a relieved sigh. It was unlikely anyone would be able to catch Aren, especially now that he was free to use his powers. He would be better off than any of them.
“He’ll head straight for Fort Victorra,” she said. “We can meet him there.”
“Are you sure you want to go?” Iria asked. “The king will assume you’re headed that way, and he’s going to send an army to hunt you down.”
“What’s my other option?”
“You can join Benito on our ships. Koldo and I will make sure the warriors at the fortress rescue Olivia.”
“No. I’m going.”
“I figured,” Iria said. “Koldo and I will be going with you. We’ve instructed a few warriors to meet us with supplies and horses in the jungle.”
“Thank you.” Em regarded the warriors suspiciously. Rescuing Olivia had never been part of their deal. She’d been under the impression that task would be completely up to her. “And after we rescue Olivia?” she asked.
“The king will want to meet you two, of course,” Iria said. “You can accompany us back to Olso.”
There it was. The warriors weren’t helping her so much as keeping tabs on her and Olivia.
“Benito, you’ll go inform our ships we’re moving up the attack,” Iria said.
“To when?” Em asked.
“Tomorrow night,” Iria said. Benito nodded.
Em’s stomach twisted, the fear for Cas immediate and stronger than she would have liked.
Iria gestured at Benito, who pulled the bag off his back and gave it to her. He tossed Em his coat.
Iria dug around inside the bag, producing a canteen. She held it out to Em. “That’s yours. You’re very welcome.”
“Thank you,” she said, and actually meant it. She’d be much better off with two warriors than she would be on her own.
And if Iria tried to force her to go to Olso after they rescued Olivia, she’d deal with that when the time came.
TWENTY-FOUR
CAS STRETCHED OUT on the couch in his library, folding his hands behind his neck. He’d had all his bedding thrown out and replaced with entirely new linens, but his bed still reminded him of her. Mary had left her presence in every corner of his life, but she’d left the biggest one in his bed, even after only one night.
Emelina, he corrected himself, trying to push the image of her out of his head. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t think about her, but she wriggled into his brain at every possible moment. He could think of nothing else.
His parents had stopped all the summer activities, and the castle had been eerily quiet all day. The staff edged around him like they were afraid he was going to explode. He was used to making people uncomfortable, but this was something new and much worse. They pitied him.
He hated her. He hoped she’d tripped on one of her stupid dresses and broken something and was now hobbling around in terrible pain.
A wave of guilt followed the thought. He cursed himself for it.
I don’t think this is who I want to be.
The words had been so sincere, and they were all he could think of. He’d spent most of the day trying to sort through what had been real. He’d known a little bit of the real Emelina, he was sure of it.
The night in her bedroom had been real. When she described her mother as powerful and angry, and her father as her quiet audience, that was the real Emelina. It fit with what Cas knew about Wenda Flores and her husband.
Everything she’d said about the Ruined had been real. She hadn’t even tried to hide her sympathy for them.
But she’d said she was an only child. She said it was lonely, when in reality she had Olivia.
Or she did, before Cas’s father took Olivia and locked her away.
He moaned as another wave of guilt washed over him. How had she managed to even look him in the eye? He’d known Olivia was locked up, and it had never even occurred to him to inquire about her before Emelina mentioned it. No wonder she’d seemed miserable on their wedding day.
But . . .
You’re not dumb, you’re not naive, you’re not any of the things they try to make you out to be. She didn’t have to say that to him. She didn’t have to come to his room and sleep in his bed. He’d given her plenty of space, and she’d come to him repeatedly.
Was he an idiot to think she’d grown to care for him? Was it wishful thinking?
A knock sounded at the door, and Galo stuck his head in a moment later. “May I come in?”
Cas sat up and the guard eased onto the couch next to him.
“Are you drunk?” Galo asked.
“Do I look drunk?”
“No. But your mother said you probably were.”
“My mother is the one who deals with her sadness by getting drunk.”
Though it wasn’t a bad idea. Maybe he’d do that later.
“I’m sorry,” Galo said quietly.
“It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not.”
He’d said It’s fine to his father this afternoon. His father had just patted Cas on the back and given him a look of approval.
“No, it’s not,” Cas repeated.
“I think she really did care about you,” Galo said.
“Are you trying to make me feel better?”
“No! I think she did.” He rubbed the blue bruise on his chin. Emelina had given it to him. “She didn’t kill me. She took the sword from Iria and didn’t let her do it.”
“They needed to run,” Cas said.
“There was plenty of time to kill me, to make sure I didn’t run after them.” One side of his mouth lifted. “And as much as I’d like to think it’s because of my sparkling personality, I suspect she spared me because I’m your friend.”
“They could have killed me too, I guess.” Cas scrubbed a hand down his face. “I ran after them without a sword, like an idiot.”
Though if Emelina wanted to kill him, she had plenty of other opportunities. She could have done it in his bed, as he slept.
That had to mean something, right?
Cas laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of it all. Was he really grateful that his wife hadn’t killed him?
My wife didn’t smother me with a pillow! Must be love!
He closed his eyes for a moment. “Are they sending you south? My father said he was ordering a few of my guards to join the search for her.”
“No, I’m staying here. They’ve asked me to act as captain of your guard. Temporarily.”
“They have?”
“Yes. If that’s all right with you.”
“Of course it is. You know you’ll be captain of my guard one day, permanently.”
A hint of a smile crossed Galo’s face. “Thank you.” He paused, his expression turning more serious. “May I make a request, as your temporary captain?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t run after Emelina again?”
“You ran after her as well.”
“Cas,” Galo said, with a hint of annoyance.
“You can make that request, but I won’t promise you anything.” He slowly got to his feet. The room felt too small suddenly, like just talking about Emelina had filled all the space around him. “I’m going to get some fresh air.”
“You know that now isn’t the time to leave the castle walls, right?”
“Of course. I’ll just be in the gardens.”
Galo took the hint that Cas wanted to be left alone and didn’t follow the prince out of his rooms. The hallways and kitchen were deserted, and he pushed open the back door to the gardens.
The cool night air blew across his face, and he took in a deep breath as he walked across the grass. He sat down at the base of a tree, stretching his legs out in front of him. Would people think it was weird if he slept out here beneath the stars?
He leaned his head back against the tree,
listening to the hum of chirping crickets and the sound of the breeze tossing the leaves around. He didn’t care if people thought it was weird. At least out here there was plenty of air. Even Emelina couldn’t fill up this space.
A boom woke Cas from his sleep. His eyes flew open.
A second boom sounded in the distance.
The yelling began so suddenly his body lurched, his feet slipping on the grass as he scrambled to his feet.
A bell started ringing.
Someone was sounding the alarm to warn of an attack.
Cas ran for the back door, throwing it open and racing through the kitchen and into the foyer.
“Cas? Cas!” Galo’s voice echoed through the castle from upstairs as Cas ran through the foyer. The hallways were suddenly flooded with light as the staff rushed to ignite the lanterns.
“Here!” Cas called.
Galo’s footsteps pounded above him, and he appeared at the top of the stairs, his face grim. He raced down.
“Olso is attacking on the shore. We have to get you out of here immediately.”
Panic gripped Cas as the guards and household staff began running past him. They were unprepared for a fight. Emelina had been gone only two days, and they’d yet to call all the hunters back from Vallos and Ruina. Many of the guards were headed south, to search for her.
“We’ll go out the passageways in back,” Galo said, tugging on his arm.
Screams ripped through the air, and Cas twisted around to find his mother sprinting across the foyer with a guard close behind her. She wore a purple robe that had come mostly undone, her white nightgown peeking out as she ran.
“I won’t go without Cas!” she yelled.
“I’m right here,” Cas said, and she raced to him, her braid flying behind her.
“Into the passageways, now,” Galo said, giving them a push.
His mother grabbed his hand, and Cas looked over his shoulder as she pulled him with her. “Where is Father?”
“His guards will take care of him,” Galo said firmly.
The sound of glass breaking shattered the brief quiet, and Cas flinched, ducking his head as something hurtled through the front window.