EM ORDERED THE bodies of the Lera soldiers burned. Smoke still hung in the air as the Ruined and warriors packed their belongings and headed east to Vallos.
August asked her to wait. He sent a warrior back to Olso immediately, and he claimed warrior reinforcements would be there in less than two weeks.
She couldn’t wait two weeks. She refused to sit around and wait for Jovita to attack them again. Protecting the remaining Ruined was more important than rebuilding Ruina.
The miner cabins weren’t far from the Vallos border, but since they didn’t have enough horses for everyone, most had to go on foot. It took two days to reach the border. The journey wasn’t the same as when Em and Aren had made it months before. Back then, they were almost killed by hunters three times as they neared Vallos.
There were no hunters now. A line of rocks marked the Vallos border, and there was no one to guard it. Vallos had always been the easiest country to cross into, but it was laughable this time.
Olivia and Aren led the pack, both of them perched on top of horses. Just over the Vallos border was a small town called Sacred Rock, which Em had decided was the most logical choice to settle down and figure out their next move. It was sparsely populated, accessible by only two main roads, and close enough to the fortress to easily launch an attack.
Sacred Rock was only a few hours by horse from Fort Victorra. A few hours from Cas. She could have turned her horse north and reached him by nightfall.
The air grew a little warmer as they rode, the land around them greener. The soil in Vallos was much more fertile than in Ruina, and Em spotted long rows of crops in the distance.
“Em,” August said, pulling her out of her thoughts.
She turned to him. He hadn’t said much on the journey from Ruina, and she wondered if he was angry that she’d refused to wait for warrior reinforcements.
“I’m sorry you had to leave your home again,” he said.
She frowned, confused. “What?”
“You’d just gotten home and you had to leave again because of all of this.” He waved his hand back at the Ruined and warriors trailing behind them. “I’m sorry about that. I know you were happy to be home.”
“Oh. Uh, thanks.”
He let out an embarrassed laugh. “That wasn’t very good, was it? I’ve been trying to think up ways to strike up conversation with you.”
“It could have been worse, I guess.”
He grinned, showing off straight white teeth. “Thank you. I feel so much better.”
Her lips twitched, but she resisted smiling at him. She still hadn’t decided if she was glad for the opportunity to permanently align herself with Olso, or if she deeply resented possibly marrying this man.
“Can I say something else?” he asked.
“Why not.”
“I’m glad that you’re one of the queens.” His voice was low, only for her. “I was sent thinking Olivia had taken the throne again. And I don’t mean this as an insult to Olivia. I’m just really glad you’re here too.”
“Why? Because I don’t have powers? You don’t have to worry about me taking off your head while you sleep?”
His shoulders shook with laughter. “That is not what I meant.”
“Sure it wasn’t.”
“It wasn’t! I was being nice! We were having a moment!”
“We were not having a moment.”
He let out a exaggerated sigh. “Fine. I was having a moment, then. I was trying to say that I like you. I’m intrigued by you. I respect you. It has nothing to do with powers.”
“Would you stop? I already told you I’d think about marrying you.”
August held one hand up in surrender. “See if I tell you how much I like you again.”
“What a loss,” she said dryly. She eyed him suspiciously. “You barely know me. You don’t like me.”
“I like what I’ve seen so far.”
“What you’ve seen so far is a marriage alliance that will make you more than ‘the least-important heir,’ as my sister so delicately put it.”
He shrugged. “Of course. That doesn’t mean I can’t like you as well.”
Olivia pulled her horse to a stop, looking over her shoulder at Em. She pointed ahead of them.
The western road led straight into the heart of the town, and Em’s stomach clenched as she followed her sister’s finger to the sign announcing they were about to enter Sacred Rock. She’d never invaded a town before.
Olivia turned her horse so she was facing the crowd. “Ruined, team one! We’re going in! All other teams follow behind! Orders are to kill.”
“Liv,” Em said quietly. “If some of them run, let them go.”
Olivia paused for a moment in thought. “If you want. I don’t see the fun in that.”
A swell of laughter rose from the Ruined. This didn’t seem like the time to be laughing.
Olivia kicked her heels into her horse and took off. Dust flew into the air as several Ruined followed. Team one was the most powerful Ruined, those who could take out half the town before the rest of them even got there.
Screams ripped through the air as the Ruined charged down the dirt road. Em urged her horse forward, August suddenly at her side.
She rounded a corner, the center of town coming into view. Two- and three-story buildings dotted either side of the street. There were only about fifteen or twenty buildings total, with a few homes in the surrounding area. The main road was dusty and brown, but all around was lush green grass and fenced-in areas that were probably community gardens.
Townspeople began streaming out of their homes and shops onto the road. A few of them caught sight of the Ruined and immediately turned and bolted in the opposite direction. Olivia watched them go. She glanced over her shoulder at Em, lifting one eyebrow like “are you satisfied?” Em nodded in approval.
“Everybody leaves!” Olivia yelled, dismounting her horse. She decapitated a man rushing at her with a flick of her hand. “You leave, or you die. Your choice.” She pointed up to where a few people watched from the windows. “You hide, you die.” The faces quickly disappeared. People ran out of the building a moment later.
Two women ran north, straight into a wall of warriors. Iria shook her head, pointing the other direction.
“Everyone goes south!” Olivia yelled. “There are two roads out of town. You take the south one, or you die!”
Em jerked her head to the woods to the east. “I’m going to check out that area.”
“I’ll join you,” August said.
Em kicked her horse, dodging panicking townspeople in the streets. She tried not to think about where they would go. She’d been kicked out of her home before, sent out into the night shivering with no food or hope.
It was better than death, at least.
They rode to the east edge of town, where the trees stretched out around a thin path. Em knew the path well. She’d taken it herself. It was the most discreet way to travel in the area.
“Em,” August said under his breath.
She followed his gaze to find a wagon not far ahead. The horses were unmanned. She leaned to the side to see a man hunched over a wheel stuck in the mud. His jacket was Lera blue.
She slid off her horse, pulling her sword from her hip. August did the same.
She carefully stepped over a log, her boots silent as they hit the ground.
“I think if we dig it out on this side—” Another guard, a young man with dark curly hair, appeared around the wagon, coming to a sudden stop when he spotted Em. “Galo,” he whispered, put his hand on Galo’s shoulder.
The guard on the ground jumped to his feet, his sword drawn. Em’s gasped. It was Cas’s best friend.
“Emelina?” Galo said in utter disbelief.
“You know them?” August asked.
She nodded, searching the area past the wagon. Was Cas nearby?
“What are you doing here?” Galo asked. “Was that commotion you?”
The wagon behind him had several pieces of wood pried away to allow air in, and Em caught movement. She stepped forward, pointing her sword to it. “What’s in there?” She didn’t wait for a response. She strode forward and flung the doors open.
A sword was pointed directly at her chest.
Em took a tiny step back, surveying the young woman in front of her. The sword shook, her dark eyes shining like she was about to cry. Not the most intimidating woman Em had ever met.
“Emelina?” she asked in a shaking voice. “As in Emelina Flores?”
“It’s fine, Violet,” Galo said from behind Em. “She won’t hurt him.”
Violet’s forehead creased in confusion, but she slowly lowered the blade.
Em’s heart had taken up residence in her throat. She won’t hurt him, Galo had said. Who was “him”?
Violet stepped aside and Em let out a choked gasp. Cas.
He was curled up on the floor of the wagon, his head on a bundle of blankets. He was shivering, his face pale.
“What’s wrong with him?” Em jumped into the wagon, falling to her knees beside him. She grasped his hand. It was too warm.
“He was poisoned,” Galo said. “We think Jovita did it.”
Em fought back the urge to scream in frustration. She should have killed that girl when she had the chance. She should have let Olivia rip Jovita’s limbs from her body.
“We think she gave him a few doses before we realized,” Galo continued. “We got him out of there are soon as we could.”
“What kind of poison?” she asked. “Do you know?”
“Deadrose. That’s what the guard claimed after we beat it out of him, anyway.”
“That would make sense,” she said, pressing her hand to his forehead. “He goes in and out of consciousness?”
“Yes,” Galo said.
“My mother was poisoned with Deadrose once. Did you pump his stomach?”
“Yes. But we think he ingested some over a few days.”
She swallowed down a wave of panic. That wasn’t good. Deadrose worked slowly, but it worked well.
“We need to flush it out of his system.” She grabbed his shoulders. “Galo, get his legs. We need to find a bed for him to rest.”
“We can’t stop here. Jovita will realize he’s gone and—”
Em cut off Galo with a sharp look. “If you don’t let him rest and flush out the poison, he’ll die.”
Galo snapped his mouth shut. He climbed into the wagon to grab Cas. “Mateo?” he called.
“I’m coming.” The other guard climbed into the wagon to help.
“You.” Em pointed at the young woman. “What was your name?”
“Violet.”
“Do you know the Wild Hess herb, Violet?”
“Its leaves are kind of pink, right?”
“Yes. Find as much as you can and grind it up into a powder. Then bring it to me.”
Violet hesitated, looking at Galo for confirmation. He nodded.
She lifted Cas’s shoulders and Galo and Mateo grabbed his legs. They eased him out of the wagon.
“Um, Em? Is this who I think it is?” August asked. She’d completely forgotten he was there. She took a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure warriors hadn’t followed August. He was still alone. If he made a move to kill Cas, she and Galo and Mateo could easily stop him.
“Yes,” she said.
“And you’re going to save him?” he asked incredulously. Em shot him a look so full of venom he immediately stepped back and raised his hands in surrender.
She swallowed and tried to put a more polite expression on her face. The Ruined still needed August and his warriors. But she couldn’t just let Cas die. Especially not when it meant Jovita inheriting the throne and sending more soldiers to attack them.
“Who is that?” Galo asked as they began walking.
“You don’t want to know.”
“I think we really want to know,” Mateo said.
“August. Youngest prince of Olso.”
Galo and Mateo exchanged a look but said nothing.
“Em,” Cas mumbled, his eyelids fluttering.
“I think he’s coming around,” Em said hopefully. She walked a little faster.
Galo shook his head. “He says your name in his sleep all the time.”
The words were like a knife through her chest, and she curled her fingers around Cas’s shoulders a little tighter. She probably said his name in her sleep too. He was there, in her dreams, all the time.
Em ignored the curious stares as they hauled Cas to one of the homes beyond the center of town. She kicked the door open and took a quick look around. It was a small home, with a sitting area to her left, a dining room to the right, and a kitchen behind her. Stairs led up to what must have been the bedrooms.
“I’m going to go make sure everyone has cleared out.” She carefully lowered Cas onto the couch. “One of you find some clean water. Lots of it.”
Mateo ran out of the house, passing Violet on the way. August stood on the street, staring at them with a flabbergasted expression. She shut the door.
“Don’t let anyone but Mateo in. Lock the door when he’s back.” Galo and Violet nodded.
She sprinted up the stairs. She found two bedrooms, and picked the larger of the two. The bed was unmade, the sheets and comforter tangled at the end of the mattress.
There were fresh linens in a chest and she quickly replaced the old ones. She called down to Galo and Violet to bring Cas up.
They appeared a few moments later and carefully lowered Cas onto the bed. She climbed onto the mattress behind him, lifting his shoulders to peel off his jacket. He moaned in protest.
“It’s all right,” she whispered in his ear. She pulled the blankets up to cover him, easing him back so he was lying against her chest. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek to his hair. “You’ll be fine.”