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 hands 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.”