Jacobo’s footsteps faded as he walked out of the building. She walked down the hallway and slipped through the door. The town only had six cells, three on either side of her, and from the pristine look of them, they weren’t used often. Each had a small bed, a sink, and toilet, and bars perfect for keeping humans right where she wanted them.
The man to her left shrank back against the wall when she walked in. His arm was in a sling. A Ruined woman named Ester sat on the floor in front of the last cell, her gaze fixed on the man inside.
“What are you doing?” Olivia asked.
Ester didn’t turn. “Practicing. I’m trying to make him see the ocean.” She shook her head, her short dark hair swinging. “No, not just see it. Feel it. Smell it.”
Olivia walked to the cell to see the man on the floor, eyes turned to the ceiling. He blinked very slowly, then shivered.
“I think you’ve about worn that one out,” Olivia said. “His mind won’t bounce back if you keep it up.”
Ester sighed and got to her feet. “You’re right.”
“I don’t mind, I just know you’d prefer to keep practicing. Can’t practice if you drive him insane.”
Ester smiled, briefly touching Olivia’s arm as she walked past her. She didn’t display the same devotion as Jacobo, but Olivia appreciated her disdain for humans.
Ester disappeared through the door, and Olivia sat down in front of the middle cell. A woman was curled up on the ground, staring at Olivia, but she didn’t move.
“Come here,” Olivia said.
The woman hesitated, but only for a moment. She sat up and trudged to the cell door, plopping down on the ground. Dark circles marred the skin beneath her eyes.
“Arm,” Olivia ordered.
The woman stuck it through the bars. Olivia grabbed it and jerked it closer to her. The woman yelped.
Olivia put both her hands on the woman’s arm and held tightly. Nothing. She squeezed a little tighter. Nothing. She could feel the woman’s heart beating, could pinpoint every bone in her body, could feel the blood coursing through her veins. She could kill her with a quick look. But she couldn’t figure out how to use the humans to fuel her own power.
She dropped the arm. “Are you all broken? What is wrong with you?”
There was certainly nothing wrong with her. If Aren could do it, she could do it. And she had to be able to do it.
She would never admit it to Em, but her sister was right when she’d called Olivia’s plan risky. That was a kind way to put it, actually. Insane might have been more appropriate. It was nearly impossible to conquer ten Lera cities with only a handful of Ruined.
But not completely impossible. Not if she could learn to draw strength from humans, the way Aren did. Then she’d be unstoppable.
She jumped to her feet and stomped out of the room and down the hallway. There was a trick to it. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t even speak to Aren, much less ask for his help, but she had to know how he did it.
She strode down Market Street, where some of the Ruined were gathered at the tables in front of the bakery. Jacobo sat with Carmen, and they stopped talking when she approached.
“Have you seen Aren?” she asked.
Carmen wrinkled her nose. She, like Aren, ruined the body, and she’d made her disdain for Aren well known the past week. Olivia was not impressed with Carmen’s powers, but she did appreciate her attitude.
“I think he’s in the gardens,” Carmen said.
Olivia whirled around and walked down the block, to the small plot of land near the park. She spotted Aren as she approached the gate, on his knees, pulling weeds from in between the vegetables.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He sat back on his heels, wiping his forehead with his arm as he turned to her. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Why are you weeding the humans’ garden?”
“It helps to keep me from ripping your head off instead.” He leveled his gaze with hers, as if daring her to try him.
Rage swelled in her chest. She was supposed to be a hero to the Ruined, and Aren dared to make her feel like she was doing something wrong. Like she was the bad one, just because she didn’t like people who had murdered and exiled her people.
“Tell me how you do it,” she demanded.
“What?”
“The humans. How do you pull energy from them?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. It just happened one day with Iria.”
“Was she the only one? Did you try it on anyone else?”
He turned back to the weeds and yanked another one out of the ground. “She’s not the only one. It worked with others.”
Olivia angrily kicked a rock. Part of her had been hoping it was Iria who was special, not Aren.
“Tell me how you do it.”
“I told you I don’t know.” He sat back on his heels and met her gaze. “But even if I did, I’d never tell you.”
She curled her fingers into fists. Her Ruined magic burned in her veins, and she let it loose. Aren’s hand flew off the weed and straight backward, knocking him right in the face.
He shot her a venomous look. She smiled smugly and turned on her heel.
Her entire body froze. Every bone and muscle was no longer in her control.
“Careful, Olivia,” Aren said.
A chill ran through her body as he released her. She wanted to turn and glare at him, maybe break his nose this time, but she was worried that shock was plastered across her features. She couldn’t have controlled Aren’s entire body. Just taking hold of his hand required intense effort.
But he’d done it like it was nothing.
Aren watched as Olivia stomped away from the gardens. He waited until she was out of sight, and then stood, grabbing his bag of weeds and tossing it in the pile with the others.
He started down the road. His house was to the west, which wasn’t a coincidence. West was Olso. West was Iria.
He couldn’t see Olso, of course. It would take days to cross the jungle by horse, and then he’d be faced with a heavily guarded border.
But still, Iria was west, and the first day they arrived, he’d headed west and almost just kept going. It had taken all of his willpower to stop himself from grabbing a horse and riding there. She was certainly in prison by now, and he’d promised to save her. He would save her.
But he couldn’t ask Em to let him leave Lera right now. She needed him if she was going to stop Olivia from killing everyone. Olivia’s priority was to take over Lera; Em’s priority was to stop her. He knew Em wanted him to save Iria, but they both knew he had time. Olso didn’t execute people.
Aren kicked a rock, wishing he’d protected Iria when he had the chance. If Olivia hadn’t attacked him and Iria, he would have had the strength to stop the warriors.
If he hadn’t been so stupid and left her, maybe she wouldn’t have been taken at all. Iria was mad at him for trying to leave her in Lera, and he couldn’t blame her. Maybe if he’d stayed with her, she would have been by his side the whole time.
Laughter drifted over from the bakery, and he glanced up. Olivia and Jacobo sat at the tables with Ester, Priscila, and a few other Ruined, which meant the humans in the courthouse were unattended.
He took a quick turn, looping around and taking the long way to the courthouse. He grabbed four apples from the produce stand, which he’d replenished himself that morning.
Oak Street was deserted, and he jogged up the steps and walked into the building. It was empty, the desk in the middle of the room bare, and the door to the left slightly ajar. He stepped forward and slowly pushed the door open.
Six cells stretched out in front of him, four of them occupied. A woman to the left, and a man to the right. He stepped forward. Another woman, another man.
He didn’t know what exactly he’d planned to say to them, so he just slipped an apple through the bars into each cell. The woman in the rear cell didn’t roll over in bed. The other three humans stared, their faces full of venom. An apple didn’t mean much when they were imprisoned and had their lives threatened daily by Olivia.
His legs felt shaky suddenly. He sank to the ground, his back to the wall in between the two women’s cells. He drew his knees to his chest and rested his forehead on them.