“I know. I’m fine. It’s just one more scar.” He said it easily, without bitterness. Galo’s gaze fell to the burn scars on Aren’s arms. He’d always tried not to stare at them, afraid it would make Aren uncomfortable, but he couldn’t help himself this time. If someone had asked him, an hour ago, if he considered himself vain, he would have immediately said no. Now he was thinking about what kind of scar that rock was going to leave on his face, and thinking that he wouldn’t want even half the scars that Aren had.
“Thank you,” he said. He could tell Aren had noticed him looking at his scars. “For saving me,” he added, like it wasn’t obvious. He felt the sudden urge to do more for Aren, though he wasn’t sure what that would be. He didn’t have much to offer a powerful Ruined.
“Sure. I’m probably going to have to do it again in a minute, so don’t leave my side no matter what. Got it?”
Galo might have laughed if he weren’t still vibrating with terror from his encounter with Olivia. “Got it.”
Aren leaned forward, bracing his hand against a thick vine as he looked for the Olso army. Beside him, Galo was on his knees, his hands pressed to the dirt like he was preparing to run at a moment’s notice. Aren nodded his approval.
A few horses appeared in the distance. The riders weren’t wearing Olso or Vallos uniforms, and Aren leaned forward just slightly, squinting at them. Several more horses appeared behind them.
“It’s Jovita,” Galo whispered. “The one in front, on the brown horse.”
Aren glanced at him. “How can you tell?”
“She’s wearing a royal belt. The sun is catching it. See?”
Aren looked again. Sure enough, a large buckle on her silver belt was shining in the sun, announcing her presence to everyone in the area. She wasn’t used to traveling discreetly. Or she just didn’t care.
There were about two hundred riders in all black around her, and Aren caught a flash of blue on several of their shirts. Ruined pins. They were hunters.
More horses appeared behind her, these wearing red-and-white warrior jackets. There were a few black and yellow Vallos uniforms scattered among them as well.
They kept coming, hundreds of them, probably more than Olivia and her Ruined supporters could handle. That was the plan, but his gut still twisted.
The army advanced in their direction. Some of the people in front were near enough to see now, and it was indeed Jovita. They were on the path directly in front of Aren and Galo, so close that Aren could have taken only a few quick steps to reach them.
The hunters passed, and a familiar blond man appeared behind them. He was on a horse, flanked by two warriors. August. The new king of Olso.
Aren’s eyebrows shot up. He hadn’t expected August to join the troops.
August’s brow was lowered, dark circles beneath his eyes. He looked not just exhausted, but almost like a completely different person. Aren wasn’t surprised. He knew what it felt like to lose your entire family in one swoop. He knew the toll it took.
August turned, scratching at a spot on his neck. His eyes met Aren’s.
They stared at each other for a moment. August cut his eyes to the left, then the right. His gaze landed on the tree not far ahead, where Jacobo sat in the branches.
Galo took in a sharp breath. Aren curled his fingers around a vine, preparing to shout for the Ruined to attack.
August jerked his head at the men around him and cut his horse to the left. Away from the Ruined.
Jovita and the other hunters looked over their shoulders, frowning in confusion as they watched the Olso and Vallos soldiers take off.
“Is he . . .” Galo let his voice trail off.
“He’s leaving her,” Aren said. “They’re not prepared to fight, so he’s abandoning her.” It was a smart choice, maybe the only one Aren had ever seen August make. The warriors weren’t prepared to fight, their bombs and weapons packed away. By the time they got ready, Olivia would have already killed them all.
Of course, that meant there were only a couple of hundred humans for Olivia to fight off. She could handle a few hundred without a problem. Em’s plan had failed.
A loud whistle rang through the forest. The signal from Olivia to attack. Jacobo dropped from the tree right next to Jovita’s horse. Jovita’s face changed from confusion to horror as she realized what was happening. A couple of hundred hunters were surrounded by Ruined on all sides.
“August!” Jovita yelled, like she’d thought he’d simply made a mistake. She clearly didn’t know him very well.
Chaos erupted around Jovita and the hunters. Olivia dropped from her tree, and at least thirty other Ruined emerged from their hiding spots. Jacobo used his magic to shake the ground beneath the hunters and several fell off their horses. The animals darted away in fear.
Olivia killed three men with the flick of her wrist, but she was staring at the retreating army. A warrior fell off his horse as she killed him.
“Cowards!” she screamed after them. She whirled around and pointed at Aren. “Help me stop them!”
Aren stood slowly and shook his head. If August had stayed, he and Em and their Ruined supporters would be running right now. They’d be putting as much space between themselves and the armies as possible. But Aren could see Em, rooted to the ground as she watched the army leave.
Olivia turned left, then right. The Ruined who were supposed to be helping her were moving back, away from the hunters. Davi and Mariana ducked behind trees. Several other Ruined followed.
An arrow whizzed through the air, and Aren gasped as he watched it barely miss Olivia’s face. It soared past her ear and found a different target—Jacobo. The arrow pierced his chest, making him stumble backward, blood dripping out of his mouth. He crumpled to the ground.
Olivia whirled around, finding the hunter with the arrow. Blood spurted from his chest and he slumped to the ground. The hunters around him fell as well.
“Why aren’t you helping?” Ester screamed at the hiding Ruined. Ivanna and Em were nearby, crouched behind a bush, but neither of them moved. Ruined-made lightning streaked across the sky.
Olivia’s face contorted with rage, but her anger at being deserted didn’t slow her down. She spun and flung her arms, the hunters around her dropping to the ground as she killed them. Galo, still crouched on the ground near Aren’s feet, made a strangled noise as he watched.
The two hundred hunters were fewer than fifty in a matter of minutes. Priscila pulled a tree down with her Ruined magic, crushing several more hunters beneath it. Other Ruined formed a circle around Olivia, guarding her as she surveyed the area. There were about twenty hunters left, all of them running for their lives. They darted through the trees in every direction.
Olivia pointed to each hunter as she killed them. One fell only a few paces from Aren. Another straight ahead of him. A few disappeared into the jungle, but Olivia killed the others.
Aren sucked in a breath. Human bodies littered the ground all around them. Olivia had killed almost every one of the two hundred hunters. And as far as he could tell, they’d only lost one Ruined—Jacobo was slumped on the ground, an arrow still sticking out of his chest.
Priscila collapsed against a tree, and several other Ruined followed suit. Olivia’s eyes met Aren’s, and he could see the exhaustion there. Blood was splattered across her white shirt. Her hands shook just slightly.
Em stepped out from behind the bush, Ivanna and several other Ruined following her. Mariana appeared next to Aren, looking at the scene in front of Olivia with wide eyes.
“Are the Lera soldiers still there?” Em asked Galo.
“No, she killed them all.”
Em closed her eyes briefly. “Right. Of course she did.”
“Oh, Em!” Olivia called. Her voice shook with rage.
Em slowly turned to face Olivia. Aren gestured for Galo to get behind Mariana.
Olivia took a step forward. She scanned the area, clearly searching for something. She knelt down and pulled a sword from beneath a dead hunter.
Olivia stood, sword pointed at Em. She lunged.
TWENTY
EM’S SWORD WAS in her hand. She hadn’t even thought about it. When someone came at her with a weapon, she grabbed her sword.
But this someone was Olivia. Her sister was racing straight at her, blade pointed in front of her.