“WHAT DO YOU think, Your Majesty?” Aren asked Em with a hint of amusement, and she smiled at him. He was more proud than amused, and he got the feeling she knew it.
“They look perfect.”
Aren squinted at the line of log cabins in the distance. He’d set out on foot with Em, Olivia, and Mariana to find the coal miners’ cabins that morning, and it had only taken a couple hours to reach them. Olivia and Mariana walked ahead of them.
There were about thirty cabins. Half of them were old, with patchy roofs and lopsided porches. They’d been there since Aren could remember. The rest were new, built by the Lera intruders.
“They must have had a lot of people here, working the mines,” Aren said. “I didn’t realize Lera had such an interest in coal.”
“Olso does,” Em said. “My mother said it’s why they maintained such good relations with us.”
“What do they use it for?”
“Good question.”
“Their ships!” Mariana called, turning around to face them. She stopped, letting them catch up. “They use the coal in their ships to power them. I was in one on the way from Olso to Lera.”
“Power them how?” Em asked.
“They said it’s an engine that runs on steam. I’d never been on a ship that fast.”
Olivia frowned over her shoulder at them. “So we probably haven’t seen the last of the warriors, then.”
“I’m sure we haven’t,” Em said.
Olivia made a face before turning back to the cabins. “These are depressing.”
“Better than tents,” Aren said.
“How long do you think it will take to rebuild the castle?” Olivia asked.
“Years,” he said.
Olivia turned to him in horror. “Years?”
“That’s what Ivanna said.”
She shook her head. “No. I’m going to talk to her about speeding things up. The Ruined will never be taken seriously in these dinky little cabins.”
Aren didn’t think it mattered much where they lived. Castle, tent, cabin—it was all unsafe. The castle that had once been his home was gone, and he didn’t particularly care about building a new one. His parents would never live there with him again, so it would never feel like a home.
Olivia broke into a jog, her dark ponytail bobbing. “Let’s at least pick the best one for ourselves, Em!”
Em laughed. “Whichever one you want!”
“We’re going to have to put a lot of Ruined in each cabin,” Aren said. “Don’t put me with Jacobo. He snores.”
“You can be with me and Liv,” Em said.
“Really? I thought that since you guys were queens now you’d get your own cabin.”
“We have limited space.” Em shrugged. “Besides, I’d prefer you nearby.”
He bumped his shoulder against hers with a grin. “Anything for my queen.”
“Anything? Because I’d like a hot bath and a huge meal with some fig tarts, please.”
His stomach rumbled. They’d been surviving on nuts and seeds and the fish they’d caught in the river. Food was going to be a real problem soon. Not much grew in Ruina. “You and me both.” He grabbed his canteen off his belt and took a sip. “There were some advantages to being in Lera, weren’t there?”
Em nodded wordlessly. She was obviously trying to keep her expression neutral, but something dark passed over her features whenever Aren mentioned Lera or Cas.
He didn’t understand Em’s affection for Cas. He didn’t want to understand it. She would never see him again anyway. At least, he hoped she would never see him again. He didn’t want to see any Leran ever again. It was best that Cas was gone, even if it made Em sad.
The wind blew across the back of his neck, making his skin prick, and he swiped at it, rolling his eyes at the sky.
I know, I know, he said in his head.
The wind didn’t let up, like it was positive he knew nothing. Like it knew he wasn’t listening to his mother’s words on repeat in his head: The kindness you show others comes back around for you one day.
The wind was right; he wasn’t listening to his mother’s words. He’d been kind his whole life, right up until his parents were murdered and his home burned to the ground. Action had made life better, not kindness.
He stole a look at Em’s somber face again. They’d been friends since they were toddlers. They could usually talk about anything.
He opened his mouth to tell her that, but the words died in his throat. He always lost words when he needed them most.
They reached the cabins, and Olivia emerged from one in the middle. “The old ones are better,” she said. “The new ones are smaller.”
“We should take one of the smaller ones,” Em said. “It’ll just be me, you, and Aren.”
Olivia blew out a breath of air. “Fine.” She winked at Aren like she wasn’t actually annoyed. She looked a lot like Em, with the same olive skin and dark hair, but a smaller, more fragile version. It was hilarious, considering.
A flash of movement caught his attention, and his head snapped to the left. Two men were scrambling out of the last cabin. One was injured, dragging his left leg behind him, and his friend held on to his arm. They walked away from the mines, to the sparse trees to the north.
“Seems we have some stragglers,” Olivia said.
“Leave them,” Em said. “They can barely walk.”
Olivia set her lips in a hard line. “Did they let us go when we could barely walk?” She gestured at Aren. “Did they let him go after burning half his skin off?”
Aren tucked his hands behind him, suddenly acutely aware of his wrecked flesh. He didn’t actually mind the scars that covered much of his upper body—they were a reminder that he’d survived the raid on the Ruina castle, despite the Lera king’s best efforts—but he didn’t particularly want to be held up as an example of how bad things could get.
He shrugged when Olivia looked at him expectantly. Honestly, he hadn’t planned to chase down those miners. The chances of them making it alive to Vallos on foot were slim at best.
“I guess not,” Em said quietly.
“Let’s go have a chat with them,” Olivia said, turning to Aren. “Are you in?”
He met her gaze. Her eyes were alight with excitement. Maybe because she was still rejoicing in her freedom. Maybe because she was delighted at the idea of hunting and killing. He wasn’t sure he cared which one it was.
“Of course.”
Olivia jumped and looped her arm through his. “Em, are you and Mariana good to go back and let the rest of the Ruined know we can move in? Aren and I will start cleaning cabins after we take care of those two.”
“All right.” Em looked at Aren. “Be careful?” It came out as a question, and Aren wasn’t entirely sure why. He nodded.
Olivia tugged on his arm, leading him in the direction of the two men.
“Honestly, they should have left already,” Olivia said as they walked. “If they hung around this long they’re clearly too stupid to live anyway.” She giggled.
He figured the men hadn’t left because they were too weak to travel, but he didn’t bother pointing that out. Olivia was right. The hunters never cared if a Ruined was slow or weak or injured. They killed indiscriminately.
Aren ducked under a tree branch and the two men came into view. They were moving even slower than before, and the injured one glanced over his shoulder. His eyes widened as they met Aren’s. The man quickly turned away, ducking his head like he thought that would save him. Like if he didn’t strike first, Aren wouldn’t attack.
“I’m glad we have this opportunity. I want to show you something.” Olivia cleared her throat, lifting her chin to call to the men. “Excuse me?”
The men turned slowly. Aren could pinpoint the moment they found the Ruined marks curling up Olivia’s neck. His own Ruined marks had mostly disappeared beneath his scars, but a few new ones stood out against his dark skin. Fear seized the mens’ faces so intensely he could almost feel their heartbeats speed up.
Maybe he could feel it. His Ruined power had changed and shifted since spending so much time around humans. Sometimes it was like he could feel their fear, their pain, the relief when he let them go. Ruining the body required him to focus not only on the other person’s body, but also his own, and it was almost like they were one when his magic bubbled up.
“We’re … we’re leaving,” the younger man sputtered.
“You.” Olivia pointed at the older man. “You seem tired. Why don’t you sit down?”
The man wiped a shaky hand across his forehead and didn’t follow the order.
“Sit,” Olivia repeated. The man’s legs flew out from under him and he crashed to the dirt with a yelp. Olivia pointed to the younger man. “You. Just stand there for me.”
The sinking feeling in the pit of Aren’s stomach deepened. He could still leave. Olivia could do this on her own.
“I’m going to teach you how to ruin the body without exhausting your own,” she said.
His attention snapped back to her. “I didn’t think that was possible.”
“I can do it. I don’t think all Ruined are capable of it, but I bet you are.”
A spark of hope filtered in through his uneasiness. The exhaustion that followed any use of his magic was his biggest weakness. It made it impossible to use his power in some situations.
“Focus on his arm. Don’t do anything yet.” She gestured at the younger man.
Panic flitted across the man’s face and he whirled around, preparing to make a run for it.
“Nope.” Olivia pointed at him again and the man’s body jerked back toward them. He was rooted to the ground. She put a hand on Aren’s back. “Go ahead.”
He focused on the man’s arm, his own arm tingling. He couldn’t exactly see the bones, but he knew where they all were. He could snap each of them individually, if he wanted.
“You feel it here?” Olivia ran her fingers over Aren’s right arm.
He shivered. “Yes.”
“Separate it.”
He cocked his head. “How?”
“Don’t let yourself be a part of it. This is about him, not you. You’re stronger than him. He can’t control you. Don’t let him. Repeat it in your head.”
You don’t control me. You don’t control me. He repeated it over and over.
“Don’t make a move until you’ve separated yourself from it. Remove your emotions. He doesn’t deserve any of your emotions.”
Something snapped inside of him with those last words from Olivia. Of course this man didn’t deserve his emotions. Not his compassion. Not his sadness. Not even his anger.
Aren’s body went cold, the tingling sensation disappearing from his arm. The world around him went quiet.
Everything was numb. Everything he’d been feeling for the past year—gone.
That was so much better.
He never wanted any of it to come back. He wanted to hang on to this feeling forever.
“That’s it.” He could hear the smile in Olivia’s voice. “Do it.”
She didn’t have to ask twice. He shattered the man’s arm. A scream echoed through the forest.
Aren didn’t feel different. He was usually weak and uneasy after doing that. But there was no exhaustion. In fact, he felt better.
“Again,” Olivia said. “Whatever you want.”
Aren lifted the man clean off the ground, tossing his body a few feet away. The older man scrambled up and Aren made him stumble over his own feet. The man grunted as he smacked face-first into the ground.
“You going to take care of that?” Olivia asked, pointing to where the young man was trying to run away.
Aren had snapped necks before, but this one was so easy he almost didn’t realize it was done. He barely gestured at the man. Then the man was on ground, his neck twisted and his body limp.
“Feel like you could do a hundred more?” Olivia asked.
“Yes,” he breathed.
She waved her hand at the older man. He wasn’t sure what she’d done, but blood splattered out of the man’s chest and hit Aren’s cheek.
Olivia grinned, rubbing her thumb over the splatter. She wiped the blood on her pants, then put both hands on his cheeks. “Good?”
He curled his fingers around her arms, locking his gaze on hers. “Yes. So good. Thank you.”
“You are very welcome.” She bounced on the balls of her feet. “I knew you could do it.”
He blinked, still in a daze. The numbness had started to wear off, and something else was invading his chest. He suddenly wished he’d run away earlier. He wished he hadn’t listened to her, hadn’t killed that man.
Olivia looked so happy. She still had a wide smile on her face, like she couldn’t see his sudden discomfort. He didn’t think he’d been hiding it.
Perhaps she just didn’t care.
He tried to pull away from her, but Olivia rose up on her toes and leaned her forehead against his. “You are I are going to make a great team, Aren.”