EM WOKE UP in Cas’s arms. The sun was starting to rise, and the camp was quiet around her.
Cas’s chest rose and fell with his breath, and she closed her eyes again. She wanted to stay here, with her cheek against his chest, for as long as possible. She snuggled closer to him, letting herself drift off again.
People began stirring as the sun rose higher in the sky. Nearby, a man cleared his throat. She opened one eye, reluctant to move.
“Cas.” It was Galo’s voice.
She let out a sigh and braced her good arm against the ground. Pain shot through her side as she sat up.
Cas rubbed one hand across his eyes and reached for her with the other. He lightly closed his fingers around her wrist and looked at Galo expectantly.
“I’m sorry to wake you, but Franco and Violet need to speak with you, and we need to move soon.”
Cas nodded and sat up. “Give me a few minutes.”
Galo walked away, and Cas got to his feet, extending his hand to her. “How are you feeling?”
“Not too bad.”
“Good.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Do you need help getting ready? I can get someone for you.”
“I’m fine, thanks. I could use a canteen, though, if you have one.”
He reached into his bag and grabbed one, holding it out to her. “You can keep that one.”
She smiled as she took it. He walked past her, brushing his hand against hers as he went. She curled her fingertips around his, holding on for an extra second.
His hand fell out of her grasp and she walked to the stream to fill the canteen and splash water on her face. When she returned, Aren was leaning against a tree, watching Cas talk to Violet and Franco. Iria stood next to him.
“You look better,” Iria said to Em.
“Thanks.” Em regarded Aren curiously. “What happened to the rest of the warriors you were with? Clara? Santino?”
“Clara and Santino were killed,” Aren said. “I would have been too, if it weren’t for Iria.” He reached out like he was going to take her hand, but seemed to think better of it. “She’s going to stay with us.”
With us? With the Ruined? Not if Olivia had anything to say about it.
“Aren, can we talk for a minute?” Em asked.
“Sure.” He took a few steps away from Iria, and she turned and walked to her horse.
Em looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was nearby and leaned closer to Aren. “Are you planning on staying with Cas?”
Aren’s forehead creased. “What do you mean? I’m only staying with him if you are. I assumed you wanted to find Olivia.”
“I do. But … you didn’t see her, Aren. There was no reasoning with her. She was just killing everyone.”
“How is that different than usual?”
“It was.”
“Are you thinking of staying with Cas permanently?”
“Of course not. Olivia needs someone to talk her down. And I won’t desert the Ruined.”
Aren nodded.
“I want to stay with Cas until they reach Royal City. You could be a big help in retaking the castle,” she said.
“Are we sure we want to help them do that?”
“Yes, and not just for Cas. We’re officially at war with Olso now. We do not want the warriors taking over Lera.”
“Right. Enemy of my enemy is my friend, and all that.”
“So let’s stay with Cas long enough to see him back in the castle and make sure Jovita is out of the picture. I’m sure we’ll hear news of Olivia and the rest of the Ruined by the time we reach Royal City.” She glanced at Iria. “But when we find Olivia, I’m not sure she’s going to take kindly to Iria.”
“I’ll explain how she saved me,” Aren said.
“I don’t know if she’ll listen. You may want to talk to Iria about staying in Lera and helping Cas.”
“I don’t think she’ll do it. She betrayed the warriors for me and the Ruined, not for Lera.”
“I know. But it may be the safest choice, at least until things settle down.”
Aren rubbed a hand across his neck, a pained expression crossing his face.
“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.