THE CARRIAGE WITH no horses stopped within view of the Olso castle. Em gaped as August dragged her toward it.
It was massive, the tallest point extending so far up into the sky she had to lift her chin to see it. Even the shorter peaks were taller than any building she’d ever seen. It was mostly white stone, with red tips at the highest points.
A moat surrounded the castle, and Em watched as a bridge lowered down, allowing them access. August nudged her in the back and she started forward.
The guards near the front entrance didn’t move or even acknowledge their presence as they crossed the bridge. Their uniforms were different from the warriors’. They were still red and white, but stiffer and thicker, with big shoulder pads and tassels hanging from their chests.
The guards were in front of a large wooden door, and the one in the middle turned and grasped the handle. The doors creaked, and he stood back, staring straight ahead as they walked through.
A courtyard was beyond the gates, a door to the castle straight ahead of them. The door was open and a bulky man with short blond hair leaned against the frame, one foot crossed over the other.
“You’re back,” the man said. He surveyed Em. “And you’ve brought a prisoner.”
“This is Emelina Flores. Emelina, meet my brother George.”
George looked from Em to August. “Well, that’s typical.”
“I—”
“We sent you to marry one of the Flores sisters, and instead you bring us one as your prisoner,” George interrupted. “What’d she do? Insult your hair?”
Em snorted. August glared at her.
“I had a good reason,” August said through clenched teeth. “Where’s Lucio?”
“On his way down. Come in.” George crooked his finger at Em. She shuffled forward and he grasped her ropes, pulling at the knot.
“Don’t,” August said.
“Oh, come on.” George released the ropes and tossed them behind her, at a warrior. “You don’t need to bind her hands anymore. You’re just being petty.”
August stomped inside and George winked at Em.
“You’re all going to die,” Em said.
George threw his head back with a laugh. “You’re exactly how they described.”
“If you don’t let me go, my sister is going to kill all of you.”
“Save it, my dear. You’re in Olso. King Lucio is the only one you should be pleading your case to.”
George strode inside and she followed him, her eyes adjusting to the dimly lit castle. It was the exact opposite of the Lera castle. Where the Lera castle was bright and colorful, Olso’s was dark and gloomy. There weren’t many windows, so lanterns lined the walls, casting a glow over the white stone.
August led them down a hallway to his right. She found herself in a round, brighter entryway with two extravagant staircases that arched around and almost met at the bottom.
A man was descending the staircase on the left. He wore a deep-red tunic and black pants, his blond hair brushing his shoulders. He looked very much like August, though he was a bit shorter. This must be Lucio.
“August brought you a guest,” George said. “Against her will.”
Lucio stepped off the staircase and headed straight for Em without sparing a glance at his brothers. He was almost ten years older than her, but it looked more like twenty. Tiny lines appeared at the edges of his eyes as he sized her up.
“Emelina Flores,” she said, since no one had bothered introducing either of them. “One of the queens of the Ruined. And yes, I was brought here against my will.”
Lucio’s jaw clenched. “King Lucio. Nice to finally meet you, Emelina.” He said the words like he was furious.
Then he turned and punched August in the face.
August hit the floor. “I can explain! I—”
“I sent you as a representative of Olso and you do this?” Lucio pointed at Em with such force that she took a tiny step back.
August sat up, bracing his hands behind him on the floor. “She betrayed us! She was communicating with Casimir behind my back!”
Lucio’s gaze snapped to Em. “Is that so?”
“Yes.” No point in denying it now.
“So you snatched her up and forced her to come here,” Lucio said to his brother. “That was the best solution you could come up with.”
August glowered at Lucio and said nothing.
“Come with me,” Lucio said to Em. He turned and began to walk away. She followed him. Shoes squeaked against the floor, and she looked over her shoulder to see August scrambling to his feet and rushing toward them.
“Not you!” Lucio called without turning around. August stopped, fury etched across his face.
Lucio led Em through a winding hallway and opened a door on the left. He walked across the room and threw open the curtains, dust dancing in the sunlight.
The room had bare wooden floors and several crimson couches and chairs on the left side. On the right was a cabinet that had been built into the wall. It was lined with glasses and wine and bottles of brown liquid.
“Would you like a drink?” Lucio asked, striding to the bottles. He pulled one from the shelf.
“No, thank you,” she said.
He took out two glasses anyway and poured some of the brown liquid into each. He handed it to her and sat down in the largest chair. “Please, sit.”
She put her glass on the table and sat down on the couch. It was incredibly soft, and she sank so far in, it would take some effort to get out.
Lucio took a sip of his drink. “How did my brother get you away from the Ruined?”
“He followed me to where I was meeting Cas.” She rubbed the red welts on her wrists, where the ropes had been. Lucio watched.
“Is what I heard from my warriors true, then? You’ve fallen in love with that Lera prince?”
She didn’t respond.
Lucio leaned his head back with a moan. “That is so unfortunate.”
“You have to let me go. If Olivia—”
“I had so much hope for you,” Lucio interrupted. “You send word of this absolutely crazy plan to marry Casimir, and I don’t mind admitting, I thought you’d be dead as soon as you stepped foot in that castle.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she said dryly.
“And then you do it.” Lucio slapped his knee. “You do it! You marry that squirt and you get the Ruined to us and you find out where your sister is. Everything you said you were going to do, you did. And then you go and wreck it all by letting your feelings get in the way.”
“My sister—”
“Your sister,” Lucio repeated, raising his voice to talk over her, “definitely would not have developed any feelings. Everyone thinks her strength is in her power, but perhaps it’s in keeping her emotions in check.”
Em let out a humorless laugh. “You think Olivia doesn’t have any emotions? You don’t know her at all.”
“She certainly wouldn’t have fallen in love with that prince.”
“She would have ripped his heart out and made a necklace out of it.”
“She sounds fabulous.”
Em leaned forward. “She’s going to kill every one of you if you don’t let me go. I guarantee you she’s already on her way here.”
“Oh, good! I was hoping to meet her.”
“You don’t understand. She won’t ask questions. She will storm in here and kill everyone in her way. She’s been looking for an excuse to do it, and you’ve given her one.” Her voice edged on panic. She didn’t much care what happened to Lucio and his family, but the thought of Olivia killing even more people made her stomach churn. Another massacre and she might lose the ability to reason with Olivia forever.
Lucio took a slow sip of his drink.
“Let me go. Right now,” she said. “If I can get to her, I can talk some sense into her. If she sees I’m all right, I can get her to turn around before the damage is done.”
“I can’t do that, unfortunately,” he said. “This is not how I would have done things. But you’re here, and I can’t just let you go. If Olivia is coming for you, we’ll have a conversation when she gets here.”
“Are you not listening to me? Olivia doesn’t have conversations. She will kill everyone between here and the border.”
“I will order my warriors to let her pass. She won’t encounter any resistance in Olso.”
“Oh, good. That will make it much easier for her to kill all of you.”
He lifted an eyebrow at her sarcasm. “You don’t have a lot of faith in Olivia, do you?”
“I have all kinds of faith in my sister. I have faith that she’s not going to sit back while a foreign king takes me prisoner.”
“You’re not a prisoner. I’m sorry for the way August brought you here, but you’re our guest now.”
“If I’m your guest, then I’d like to leave.”
“Perhaps ‘guest’ is the wrong word.”
Em rolled her eyes.
“I simply meant that I’m not going to throw you in a dungeon,” Lucio continued. “I’ll have a room prepared for you, and you can have a bath and some new clothes. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like you’re about to die.”
Lucio chuckled. “You remind me of your mother. Such a hostile bunch, the Flores women.”
“We have reason to be.”
He drained the last of his drink and stood. “I’m sure I can get at least a few words in before Olivia rips off my head. I’m assuming she doesn’t know you were meeting with Cas behind our backs?”
Em glared at the floor.
“Right. I thought so. Listen, Emelina. I’m going to be honest with you. I will have Ruina, whether I get it by marrying you to August, or by sending my warriors in to take it from you. Think about that while we wait for Olivia.”
She turned away so he wouldn’t see the spike of panic on her face. If Olso invaded Ruina, it would be like the Lera invasion all over again. Even if Olivia defeated the warriors, they would certainly lose more Ruined. They might lose the miners’ cabins as well, and then they’d truly be left with nothing.
Lucio strode to the door, smirking at her over his shoulder. “I’ll send some ladies to show you to your room. You’ll feel better after you’ve bathed and changed.”
She sat back, sinking deeper into the couch cushions. “I’ll feel better when I’m not being held against my will.”
He laughed, throwing the door open. “I always knew I’d like you, Emelina.”