AREN HAD ALL the faith in the world in Em, but he couldn’t deny that the wind whipping across his face was Ruined-made. They were close.
Screams sounded from beyond the wall. He’d seen Iria run across the gardens toward the back wall just a few minutes ago.
“Go inside,” he said to Cas. “Stay there until I say it’s safe.”
Cas nodded and strode back inside the castle. Franco and the soldiers followed him.
Aren ran across the lawn and through the gardens, to what remained of the stone wall. Large chunks of it still stood, but parts of it had been blown away by the Olso attack. He jumped over the rubble.
The area behind the castle was nothing but open land. It was dark and mostly deserted, but he could see the backs of warriors as they scurried away from him. He followed them.
Homes and shops were to his left, but he ran in the direction of the ocean, where he could see several large ships docked. Red Olso flags flapped in the breeze.
Surely Iria wouldn’t try to go back to Olso? He hadn’t killed all the warriors they were with. Plenty of them knew that she’d betrayed them and taken off with Aren.
He ran up a hill and skidded to a stop. The scene in front of him was such chaos he had to blink a couple times to take it all in. Warriors ran in all directions, shouting orders at each other. Some of them scurried onto the boats, others were running off the ship, swords drawn. Olivia strode toward the dock, a group of Ruined behind her. Her coat billowed in the wind, and Aren could see the fury etched on her face, even from this distance. She left a trail of dead warriors behind her.
Em wasn’t with her.
“Aim! Warriors, aim!”
Ten warriors stood their ground in the grass just in front of the docks. A long metal cylinder was perched on each of their shoulders. Another warrior was behind each of them, a small torch in each of their hands. They were all staring at the Ruined.
Aren ran as fast as he could down the hill, but a hand caught his before he could reach the bottom.
“Don’t move,” Iria said, pulling his hand in closer to her like she was afraid he wouldn’t obey.
“What are those?” he asked, pointing to the cylinder on the warriors’ shoulders.
“Hand cannons. Tell the Ruined to run.”
“Run!” Aren yelled without question. “Ruined, run!”
A few chins lifted to look at him, but no one followed the order.
“Aren, move those warriors. Just—”
Fire exploded from the cannons, the ground shaking from the force of the blast. Aren jumped, instinctively throwing an arm over his face.
Ruined bodies flew through the air and landed hard in the dirt. Smoke curled up to the sky, obscuring the rest of the Ruined. Aren squinted, but he couldn’t see anything. Dread rose in his chest as the screams started.
Then, all the warriors rose off the ground and launched across the dock. Their bodies landed in the water with a splash. Olivia strode through the smoke, her expression wild as she used her Ruined magic to completely clear the area of warriors. A piece of metal was lodged in her arm, blood running down her hand and dripping off her fingers, but she didn’t appear to care.
The smoke began to clear, revealing bodies of dead Ruined behind her. Aren squeezed his eyes shut and turned into Iria’s shoulder.
“Aren, she’s going to kill everyone,” Iria breathed.
He took in a shaky breath and forced his eyes open again. He dropped Iria’s hand. “Hide. I’ll be right back.”
She nodded and jogged down the hill, crouching behind one of the beams at the edge of the dock. Aren waited until she was well hidden before yelling Olivia’s name.
Olivia turned. Her entire face lit up. She spread her arms wide, like she wanted a hug. “Aren!”
He walked slowly down the hill. His hands were shaking, and he took several deep breaths. Olivia would not tolerate weakness.
He stopped in front of her, clasping his hands behind his back. “Em’s fine. I found her.”
“I know. We chatted.”
An uneasy feeling crept up Aren’s chest. “Where is she?”
“I left her somewhere safe. She’s fine.” She squinted at the warriors getting on the boat behind him. “You want to help me with this?”
“Just let them leave.”
“No.” She turned on her heel and started walking. She narrowed her eyes at something.
A group of warriors ran down the dock. Several of them ran for the boat, but one went straight for the beam where Iria was hiding. He held his hand out and yelled something. Olivia looked from him to the group of warriors almost to the boat. A man screamed as blood spurted from his chest.
“Olivia, no! Let them go!” Aren darted in front of her, blocking her view.
She glared at him and shoved her hands against his shoulders, pushing him out of the way. She focused on Iria.
Aren launched his body into Olivia’s. She yelped as they hit the dirt together. He sat on her legs and used both his hands to cover her eyes.
“What are you doing?” she growled. She clawed at his wrists.
“Just listen to me for a minute. Iria helped me. She saved me.”
“I don’t care. I’m done listening to you and Em and all the excuses you make for them.” She managed to tear one of his hands away and glared at him. His entire body tingled suddenly. His lips parted in shock.
“Are you trying to use your magic on me?”
She freed her other hand and pushed him off her. His body tingled again. A blip of fear raced up his spine.
“If you’re going to act like a human, I’m going to treat you like one,” she said.
The Ruined weren’t able to use their magic on each other. Not normally. But Olivia wasn’t normal.
But, neither was he.
His cast a glance at Iria. A few warriors were around her now, trying to coax her to the boat. Her gaze was locked on his. He could still feel the warmth of her hand in his, the way his body always leaned into her when she was near.
He snapped his attention back to Olivia. He summoned up every bit of power he had.
Her feet slid backward in the dirt. She gasped.
He stepped forward, willing her backward. It wasn’t like moving a human—every little movement sucked power from him.
“Aren—” Her words were lost in a gasp as he pushed her away with all his might. She flew off the dock and landed in a heap at the base of the hill. Her head popped up. He was glad he couldn’t see her expression from this distance. She might have killed him with one look.
He turned around, meaning to run, but the world tilted around him. He stumbled and almost fell.
“Aren!” Iria ran toward him. She was just a blur, but he held his hand out. She grabbed it, her other hand on his cheek. He leaned into her touch, relief flooding through him. Iria’s eyes widened at something behind him.
Footsteps. He grabbed Iria’s waist as he spun around. Olivia was running right to them.
He dropped to the ground, pulling Iria with him. He wrapped his arms and legs around her, trying to cover every part of her body with his. He put one hand on the back of her head and ducked it into his shoulder.
The footsteps stopped next to them.
“Please. Not her. Please, Olivia.” He held Iria tighter.
Silence answered him. Iria clutched his shirt in her hands, her breath coming out in short gasps.
Olivia made a disgusted sound. “You’re weak, Aren.”
He could see only her shoes, and they lingered for several agonizing seconds. Finally, she turned. She stumbled a bit as she began walking like she was dizzy.
“You’re weak!” she screamed again.
He pulled back and put both his hands on Iria’s cheeks. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, tears spilling onto her cheeks. She took in a ragged breath.
A warrior skidded to a stop behind her and grabbed her under the arms. He yanked her to her feet.
Aren shot up, almost stumbling as the world spun around him. Two more warriors had appeared around Iria. He recognized them. They’d been there when Iria betrayed them.
A sword. There was a sword pointed at Aren’s chest.
“He saved you!” Iria yelled. “He saved all of us!”
Aren blinked, meeting the warrior’s gaze. Her face was dirty, her eyes red-rimmed. Her sword shook.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry about Olivia.”
“Leave him,” another warrior said. There were at least six around them now that Aren could see. “We need to get out of here.”
The warrior lowered her sword. Iria let out a big sigh.
They were dragging Iria away. Away from him.
“No.” He stumbled forward, reaching for Iria’s hand. Her fingers caught his for a moment.
A warrior shoved him. “You have no right to interfere with an Olso prisoner.”
“Let her come with me. Please.”
“Go. Now.” The warrior nudged his sword against Aren’s chest.
“It’s fine,” Iria said.
He shook his head vigorously. She was crying, and tears welled in his own eyes. If he hadn’t used all of his energy on Olivia, he could have blown every one of these warriors into the ocean.
“Just go, Aren!” she yelled.
He jumped forward, putting one hand on her neck as he leaned down so his lips brushed against her ear. A warrior grabbed his shoulder, but he used his other arm to hold on to Iria’s waist.
“I’ll find you. I don’t care if I have to break into every prison in Olso. I’ll find you. I promise.”
Another hand clapped down on his shoulder, and two warriors roughly pulled him away. His butt hit the ground.
She met his eyes, a smile breaking through her tears.