“Vallos might support Jovita on the throne, but Olso would have no interest in helping her retake Lera,” Galo said.
“No, they wouldn’t,” Violet said. “They may be coming for us, but we think King August wants the Ruined gone as much as Jovita does. They’re probably partnering to attack them first.”
Galo winced. It was a smart plan, unfortunately. August and Jovita would have a much easier time taking Lera if the Ruined were gone. They could fight among themselves later.
“They’re still in Olso right now?” Cas asked.
“Last we heard.” She gestured to Galo. “I thought we should have Galo take the news to the Ruined right away. I know we haven’t made a decision about Em’s request, but this seems more pressing.”
“I agree,” Cas said. He looked at Galo. “Can you leave right away?”
“Of course.”
“Good. In the meantime, I want more soldiers at the border. I need to know the minute they cross into Lera, and the size of their army.”
Galo hurried out of the office and headed to his room. He had a bag packed and ready to go, and he grabbed it, along with his jacket.
He ran down the castle hallway, his bag swinging against his back. He stepped around a few staff members as he sprinted through the kitchen and outside.
Mateo stood just next to the kitchen door, on duty and dressed in his guard’s uniform. His face fell when he spotted Galo. He knew Galo would never disturb him while he was working, unless it was important.
“I’m being sent right now,” Galo said breathlessly.
“What? Why?”
“There’s been a development.” He wasn’t sure how much he was allowed to tell Mateo, so he left it at that.
“You’re going right this minute? We can’t even talk about it?” Mateo asked, his brow furrowed in frustration.
“There isn’t anything to talk about. I need to—”
“I talked to some of the guards, and a few of them are willing to go,” Mateo cut in. “There is no good reason for you to—”
“There is a perfectly good reason,” Galo interrupted. Angry words boiled up inside him, and he took a step back. “I can’t argue about this right now. They’re waiting for me.” He turned on his heel. Mateo called his name, but he wasn’t allowed to leave his post while on duty. Galo walked faster.
Outside, two soldiers were on horseback, prepared to escort him part of the way. They’d saddled a horse for him as well, and he quickly attached his bag to the saddle and climbed on.
“Let’s go,” he said, turning the horse away from the castle.
They rode east for several hours, until they reached the spot on Em’s map where she said Galo should go by foot. He dismounted his horse and waved good-bye to the soldiers as they rode back in the direction of Royal City.
According to Em’s map, he was about an hour’s walk from Westhaven, and he hiked slowly through the tall grass, keeping a close watch on his surroundings.
He found the area where he was supposed to wait, in a thick patch of trees, not far from a small stream. Em had written on the back of the map that she’d hidden a sleeping bag beneath a rock, and he found it easily. He pulled it out and plunked down on top of it.
The sun was sinking low in the sky, and it was quiet except for the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. He hadn’t been alone in so long—since before becoming a guard—that the quiet immediately caused panic to well up inside him. Maybe Mateo had been right. It was stupid to run straight into danger when he’d just escaped it. Surely there was someone else who could have done this?
It was too late to go back now, but he certainly could have left things better with Mateo. He should have at least hugged him before he left. If Olivia took Galo’s head off, Mateo would remember Galo’s being a jerk the last time he saw him.
He’d been running through all the things he should have said to Mateo for an hour when he heard the sound of footsteps. It was almost dark, but he leaned over to try to see through the trees. Aren. He recognized the broad shoulders and long, quick strides right away. Galo had spent a lot of time watching Aren when he was a guard in the castle. He’d always seemed off, and Galo had spent a lot of time trying to figure out why.
Aren ducked his head under a branch. Surprise lit up his face when he spotted Galo. “You’re here.”
“I’m here. Just for the last hour or so.”
Aren walked closer to him, sliding his hands into his pockets. Galo sometimes forgot how good-looking Aren was, and instead only remembered him suggesting Galo had done a terrible job guarding Cas. But he really was handsome, with his intense dark eyes and a smile that suggested he was far more innocent than he really was.
“Was the trip all right?” Aren asked. “No problems?” His smile faded quickly, and Galo realized Aren seemed exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his frame was thinner than last time he’d seen him.
“No problems,” he said.
Aren stood there awkwardly for a moment, like he was searching for something to say. “Thank you. For offering to do this,” he finally said quietly.
He sounded sincere, and Galo felt a tinge of guilt for second-guessing his decision to come. “Don’t thank me,” he mumbled.
“Why not?”
He just shrugged.
“I heard you quit the guard,” Aren said. “To come here?”
“No, I’d already quit.”
“Oh. Why?”
“It was the right thing to do.” He looked up at Aren, not trying to hide the edge in his voice. “You said it yourself, I wasn’t doing a very good job.”
“When did I say that?”
“In Vallos.”
Aren cocked his head, thinking. “Right. You didn’t quit because of what I said, did you?”
“Don’t give yourself so much credit.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. No one could have protected Cas from what happened. It’s a miracle he’s alive, actually.”
He eyed Aren warily, unsure how to react to that. This was the longest conversation they’d ever had, and it wasn’t going at all how he thought. “You meant it, a little,” he countered.
“I didn’t, I was just being a jerk. I was scared that night, with you guys arriving and having August and the warriors and Olivia in Sacred Rock. I just wanted you all to leave before Em got more attached to Cas.”
Galo couldn’t blame him for that. He’d also wondered if seeing Em again would just make things even more painful for Cas.
“It is best that you quit, though,” Aren said. “Cas would jump in front of a sword for you, and that’s the exact opposite of what you want, as a guard.”
Galo laughed softly. “True.”
“Plus it’s really boring.”
“You were barely on the Lera guard long enough to get bored,” Galo said with an eye roll.
“But I still did. That should tell you something.” He smiled at Galo. “Em’s with the Ruined right now. Do you have anything urgent to tell her?”
“We’re pretty sure Jovita has partnered with Olso and Vallos and will be attacking the Ruined soon.”
“Wow. Even Vallos this time, huh?”
“You don’t seem upset by this news,” Galo said with a hint of amusement.
Aren shrugged. “Business as usual. They’re not attacking right this minute, are they?”
“We think they’re still in Olso. We’ve set up a pretty good system to get messages back to the castle as quickly as possible, so we should have some notice.”
“All right. I’ll let Em know. Do you need anything?”
“I’m fine. I may need some food tomorrow, though. I’m going to stay a couple of days, then return to check on everything in the castle.”
“I’ll grab something for you.” He took a step back. “If you need me, I’m in the big blue house on the north side of Market Street. It’s far from where Olivia is staying, but still, I’d only come in an emergency.”
“Thanks, Aren.” Galo watched as Aren disappeared into the trees, the quiet closing in around him again. He leaned his head back with a sigh and tried not to think about Mateo.
THIRTEEN