CAS HAD A bag packed. He’d prepared the staff and guard to leave at a moment’s notice. He was constantly staring southeast, waiting for Violet to return.
The only thing he hadn’t done was kill Jovita.
He’d never had the opportunity, he tried to reassure himself. He was rarely alone with her.
The reality was, he hadn’t looked for an opportunity. Violet should have been back yesterday, so if he was really serious about killing Jovita, he would have already done it.
He sighed, leaning his head against the cool stone of the tower. He was at the highest point of the fortress with Galo and another guard, watching for Violet. The round tower was completely empty, nothing but a small window on one side, but it still felt cramped to Cas. He was more than ready to leave.
“She’ll come,” Galo said, misinterpreting Cas’s sigh.
“Do you think Jovita will try to stop us?” Cas asked carefully, aware of the other guard’s presence.
Galo met his eyes, sympathy flickering over his features. He didn’t answer; he just stared with an expression Cas didn’t understand.
“Your Majesty,” the other guard said excitedly. He pointed out the window.
Cas braced his hands against the bottom of the window, leaning forward to see as far as he could. In the distance, hundreds of people rode toward the fortress on horses. More than he could count. Lera flags flew at the front and back of the group.
Cas darted out of the tower and raced down the stairs. Galo stuck with him, but the other guard took off to inform the rest of the fortress.
A soldier raced past Cas to the parlor. Jovita’s voice drifted out a moment later.
“What? With Lera flags?” she asked.
“Yes. From the southeast,” the soldier said.
Jovita burst out of the parlor. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Cas. “You know something about this?” she demanded.
He strode outside, footsteps scurrying after him. He glanced over his shoulder to see guards and soldiers brushing past Jovita to follow Cas.
“Open the gates!” he yelled. One of the gate guards looked past Cas, confused, but the others immediately followed the order.
“Cas!” Jovita grabbed his shirtsleeve, forcing him to turn. “What are you doing?”
“Leaving.” He shook her off. “We’re riding north to take back the castle. Any of the soldiers or advisers are welcome to come with me. You are not.”
She opened her mouth like she was going to argue, but her eyes caught something behind him. She paled.
Cas turned. The army was approaching the gate. Violet rode at the front, Franco beside her. A man walked in front of them, the man who had gotten Jovita’s attention. Aren.
“The bad one’s back!” Aren yelled, spreading his arms wide as he walked through the gate. Jovita scrambled backward. She hissed an order to a few hunters.
Aren pointed to her. “Don’t make me kill you.” He strode to Cas, a small smile crossing his face. Cas didn’t think he’d ever seen Aren smile. Not at Cas, anyway.
“Em?” Cas asked.
He shook his head. “I haven’t seen her or Olivia yet.”
Cas tried to keep the panic radiating through his body off his face. What if that was the last time he saw her? What if he’d just let those warriors take her and they hurt her?
Everyone was staring at him. He didn’t have time to fall apart about Em right now. He needed to believe she could take care of herself so he could focus on the task at hand. It’s what she would do.
Julieta and Danna walked out of the fortress with General Amaro. The general slowed when she spotted Aren, but she nodded at Cas. Soldiers fell into step behind her.
“If any of the other advisers would like to join me, feel free,” Cas said to the crowd lingering around Jovita. “If you don’t come now, I promise you will never be welcome in the castle again.”
Cas walked past Jovita to the gate, Aren on one side and Galo on the other. Horse hooves pounded the ground, and Mateo jumped off a horse and walked it over to Cas. He’d already attached Cas’s bag to the saddle.
“Thank you,” Cas said, taking the reins.
A group of hunters ran toward the staff members leaving the stables on horses, their swords drawn, and Cas pointed at them.
“Would you mind?”
“Sure.” Aren grabbed Cas’s wrist. “Lend me this for a minute.”
Cas looked at him in confusion, but Aren was already focused on the hunters. They flew through the air, landing in a big clump at Jovita’s feet.
“Hmm.” Aren frowned at where his fingers were wrapped around Cas’s wrist. “That’s disturbing.”
“What?”
Aren let go of his wrist. “Nothing. Let’s get out of here. Unless …” He gestured at Jovita. “Do you need to take care of anything before we go?”
Cas shielded the sun from his eyes as he looked at Jovita. She seemed frozen in place, her expression more shocked than furious. He unsheathed his sword but kept it pointed at the ground as he strode toward her. She didn’t have a weapon, and her eyes darted from the sword to Cas’s face.
He stopped in front of her. “Did you poison me?”
“I told you I didn’t.”
“Are you lying?”
Her lip curled. “Why bother asking me if you’re just going to assume I’m lying?” She glanced at his sword. “What? Are you going to stab me if I don’t tell the truth?”
“I may stab you either way.”
She leaned forward until their noses were almost touching. “Do it. If you’re so sure I poisoned you, kill me in front of everyone. Prove you’re as strong as your father was.”
He took in a sharp breath. One side of Jovita’s mouth lifted, like her words had hit exactly where she’d aimed them.
He stepped away from her and sheathed his sword. “Maybe I told Emelina I’d kill you to save you.” He laughed. “I don’t think I even realized that’s what I was doing.”
She blinked. “You did what?”
“I told her I’d kill you.” He spread his arms out and shrugged. “Guess I’m not as strong as my father.”
He turned away from her and walked in the direction of his army. He clapped Aren on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Em was moving. Where was she going?
Her eyes felt like they were glued together, but she managed to tear them open. Daylight. Warriors. She was in the carriage without horses again. Her head was against someone’s shoulder.
She jerked up to a sitting position. Her left side screamed in protest. Her jacket had been ripped at the shoulder, and bandages covered her arm. The pain radiated through the limb, down her side, and across her back. She blinked away tears.
“You’re awake!”
She squinted at the warrior next to her. He was young, and unfamiliar.
“How do you feel?” he asked. He leaned closer, squinting at her forehead. “I was worried that bump to the head was worse than we thought.”
She gingerly touched her forehead to find a large lump next to her hairline. The pain from the burns almost overshadowed the throbbing in her head, but now that she was focused on it, she felt sick.
“Where are we going?”
“Lera. King August ordered us to bring you across the border.”
“He what?” King August? She turned her head too quickly, making the world tilt sideways. “What about the Ruined? Where did they go?”
“They retreated around dawn.”
“Were they …” Em swallowed. Was her sister even still alive? “Why did they retreat? Did they suffer loses?”
“Some. Not as many as us.” The carriage came to a screeching stop, and the warrior stood, stretching his arms above his head. He looked down at her, his gaze hard. “Your sister was still alive, last I saw. She ordered the Ruined out after they’d taken heavy fire.”
Olivia had left her? She’d just retreated and left Em to the warriors? Tears pricked her eyes again.
“Prince—King—August told me to take care of you personally. Said to patch up your wounds and deliver you over the border, unharmed.”
Em blinked, bewildered. Maybe she’d hit her head harder than she thought.
“Come on. Can you walk? Never mind.” The warrior leaned down, sweeping her up into his arms. She bit back a moan as the movement sent a fresh wave of pain down her body.
The warrior walked to a horse-drawn carriage near the tracks. “We’re going to Gallego City. You are welcome to go all the way with us, or you can leave early. It’s up to you.” He stopped at the back of the carriage, gently placing her inside. “And August asked me to pass along a message.”
“What message?”
“He said he’s sorry for forcing you into Olso. And you’re never welcome here again.”
Em looked past the warrior to the mountains behind him. Even if she’d had the strength to fight him, she couldn’t be bothered. Maybe Olivia was still in Olso, but Em certainly wasn’t running after her again.
“I want to go to Fort Victorra,” she said to the warrior.
“Fine. We’ll pass by it on the way, so I can drop you.”
“Why are you going to Gallego City?” she asked, but he ignored her, turning to walk to the horses at the front of the carriage.
She scooted back, leaning her head against the wood. A few other people joined her in the carriage, and she closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to talk to them.
She slept on and off as they traveled, the carriage moving at such a fast pace she felt ill at times. The warriors took very few breaks, so she sat up straight when the carriage came to a stop.
The carriage door swung open, revealing the warrior from before. He crooked a finger at Em.
She scooted forward and planted her feet on the ground. Her legs were weak, but she managed to stand.
“This is your stop,” he said.
She surveyed the lush trees around them. She had no idea where she was.
“What do you mean?” a man in the carriage asked. He crawled forward, looking between Em and the warrior. “Why are you dumping her here?”
“It’s fine,” Em said quietly. No one in the carriage knew who she was, it seemed.
“The path that leads to the fortress is that way,” the warrior said, pointing. “It’s barely an hour’s walk from here.”
“What?” The man grabbed the warrior’s wrist. “You can’t just leave—” He stopped talking as the warrior leaned down and said something in his ear. He gasped.
The man shot out of the carriage. His sword was pointed at Em’s neck before she even realized he had a blade.
Her fingers instinctively went to her waist, but there was nothing there. Even if she’d had a sword, she wasn’t sure she had the strength to wield it.
“The king ordered her unharmed,” the warrior said. He sounded almost bored, and he made no move to stop the man. August might have ordered Em unharmed, but he probably wouldn’t shed any tears if it turned out differently. And the warriors knew it.
“My family was in the castle,” the man said, ignoring the warrior. His whole body shook.
She’d had nothing to do with the raid on the Olso castle. She hadn’t killed his family. She’d tried to stop Olivia.
But none of that seemed to matter now. She knew that wild expression. Recognized the vengeful glint in his eye. He wasn’t entirely wrong to point the sword in her direction.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
He made a disgusted noise and lowered the sword. He climbed back in the carriage without looking at her again.
“Go,” the warrior said.
Em had nothing on her—not a canteen, or extra bandages, or food—and the warrior didn’t offer anything as he swept his arm out. If the situation had been reversed, she probably wouldn’t have offered anything either.
“Thank you,” she said, and meant it. The carriage began moving again and disappeared into the trees.
She let out a long breath and focused straight ahead. Under normal circumstances, an hour-long walk would be a breeze. She might have jogged to speed it up.
But today her steps were heavy. She was so slow she wasn’t even entirely sure she was moving at times. She had to stare at her feet to watch one in front of the other. The world blurred around her, and she almost passed out several times.
She tried to focus on something to stay awake. She thought about Aren. Was he still somewhere with the warriors, oblivious to what was happening?
She thought about Olivia. Had her sister really left her? Had she looked for Em and assumed she was dead?
You’re only queen because I let you—
Olivia’s last words to her rang in her ears. Maybe Em was relieved her sister hadn’t found her. She tried to shake the emotion off, but it persisted. She knew Olivia wouldn’t feel the least bit guilty about what she’d done, and Em wasn’t ready to face her. She wasn’t ready to admit that Olivia was a bigger problem than she’d ever anticipated. She could no longer deny the surge of fear she felt every time she thought about her sister. She was a danger to everyone in her path, including the Ruined, and Em didn’t know what to do about it.
But mostly, she thought about Cas.
I’m offering to give up everything for you, to help you—
His words were on repeat in her head. Em had rejected him, and she hadn’t even been nice about it. He’d offered to stay by her side forever. Why did she insist on making everything terrible? Why couldn’t she have wrapped her arms around him and told him to never leave? What if she’d kicked the warriors out and let Cas stay? They might still be in Sacred Rock.
No, they wouldn’t. Olivia never would have allowed it. She would have killed him eventually, no matter how much Em begged her not to.
The thought sucked all the air out of her lungs and she had to stop for a moment. She pressed her palms to her thighs. Em was supposed to be on her sister’s side, always. But for the first time, she wasn’t.
The sound of horse hooves against the ground echoed through the forest, and Em stepped behind the tree. She leaned her forehead against the trunk and closed her eyes. She had to be near to the fortress. She had no idea how she would contact Cas, but maybe she’d sleep for a while before figuring it out.
She forced her eyes open and squinted at the approaching figures. They were all in black, their horses at a gallop. Two men rode in front, and she blinked as she focused on the dark-skinned one. It was Aren.
She pressed her hand to the tree, leaning forward to see the man next to him. His dark hair was still a little longer than usual, bouncing with the horse. Cas. The fortress was right behind them.
“Thank you,” she mumbled as she pushed away from the tree. “Thank you.”
She stumbled into the road, her good arm extended in front of her.
“Whoa!” Cas yelled. The horses all skidded to a stop, kicking up dust in between them. He squinted in the dust.
“Em?” Aren yelled.
Footsteps ran toward her. She didn’t realize she still had one hand outstretched until someone took it. Cas. His other hand was on her cheek, shock coloring his features.
She meant to lean against him, but instead she was falling. She whimpered as she made contact with his body.
He wrapped an arm around her waist. He had to hold her up, but she didn’t mind.
“What happened?” It was Aren’s voice now. He was gingerly touching her bandages. He pulled one away from the skin and took in a sharp breath.
“Fire,” Em mumbled. “Olivia killed everyone.”
“Is she here?” Cas asked. Em shook her head. “Does it look bad?” he asked, quieter.
“Yes,” Aren replied. “But someone did a good job dressing it. I don’t think it’s infected. The pain, though … it’s bad.”
“I have some herbs that will make her sleep,” a familiar female voice said. Em had her face in Cas’s shoulder, and she didn’t have the energy to look up.
“Is that safe?” Cas asked. “What if we get attacked?”
“She can’t fight like this anyway,” Aren said. “We can protect her if we run into trouble.”
Who was “we”? Why were Aren and Cas together? She had so many questions, but no energy to ask them.
“Is that all right with you?” Cas asked quietly. His hand was in her hair.
“Mm-hmm,” she said with a nod.
“We’ll do that, then. Aren, help me get her on my horse?”
Hands grabbed her around the waist, and she was suddenly in the air, then her legs were on either side of a horse. A warm body was behind her, and she sank into it.
“Thanks,” Cas said. He put his hand on her chin, tilting it up. “Open your mouth. Drink this.”
She did as he said, gulping down the foul-tasting liquid. The canteen disappeared.
“Are you all right?” Cas asked. “Does it hurt?”
It did hurt, but everything hurt. She leaned back, letting her head fall against his shoulder. She closed her eyes.