“But chances are she’s in solitary?” Galo asked.
“Yes. She’s unsafe with the general population, given her reputation. But there’s a chance they’ll put her in with everyone else at some point, if only to torment her. Luckily you’re probably here early enough to have avoided that.”
“So we should go tonight,” Aren said.
“Yes. I’m not going to be able to get any more information than this for you. Not anything that would be particularly helpful, anyway. And they may know a Ruined crossed into Olso, if any of the warriors you attacked at the border survived. It’s best you go now, before they have a chance to beef up security or move her.”
“Is there a spot Galo can wait where he won’t be seen?” Aren asked.
Galo looked up with a start. “What? You don’t think you’re going in there alone.”
“It’s incredibly dangerous, and just being with you both has made me plenty strong. If you—”
“You can’t do it alone, Aren. Besides, if you don’t make it out, what do you think happens to me? They’re not going to send me back to Lera.”
“It’s true. They’ll put him in prison,” Bethania said. “Maybe have him killed if they decide he’s not useful.”
“Don’t sugarcoat it,” Galo said dryly, to hide the burst of panic he’d just felt. King August knew who Galo was, and it hadn’t occurred to him that they might use him against Cas, or torture him for information about Lera. Galo knew more about Lera’s military, royal family, and castle than maybe anyone else in Lera.
Aren was staring at him like he’d noticed Galo’s sudden panic. “Why did you come here?” he asked, his bafflement coming through in his voice.
“Because you asked for help. Why did you come here?”
“For Iria, of course. But you don’t even like me. Or Iria.”
Bethania looked from Galo to Aren, confusion etched across her face.
“I like you,” Galo said. “I don’t really know Iria.”
“You don’t know Iria?” Bethania asked.
“Not really.”
Bethania exchanged a baffled expression with Aren.
“You needed help,” Galo said. “And there’s no one left to help you, because my king killed them all. And I sat there and said nothing while it happened. So I figured this is the least I could do now.” Saying it aloud helped to lessen his fear. He wouldn’t make a different choice, even if he could go back and change it.
Aren blinked. “Oh.”
“So I’m going in the prison with you. You’ll protect me.”
“You say that with such confidence,” Aren said.
“You’re not confident.”
Aren blew out a breath, closing his eyes for a moment. “Have faith, Aren,” he said quietly.
“Does he usually talk to himself like that?” Bethania whispered. Galo just chuckled.
“We’re going together, then,” Aren said with a smile. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
TWENTY-NINE
EM ROUNDED THE corner and slowed as she spotted two guards stationed outside of Cas’s office. She wondered if they were always there, or if this was a new development because the Ruined were there.
One of the guards immediately bowed and opened the door when he spotted her. Cas had asked for her to attend a quick, informal meeting, so he must have given them instructions to let her in. She smiled at them and stepped inside.
Cas looked up from his desk, his eyes lighting up when he spotted her. He stood and edged around the corner of his desk, extending a hand to her. She took it, tilting her head up to kiss him quickly.
“I heard you had some trouble at the stables this morning,” he said, his brow furrowed.
“We did, but it worked out. Mateo took me to meet some of the guards.”
He looked at her in surprise. “He did?”
“We’re all on edge. He thought it would help if we talked to each other. He introduced me to all the guards on duty at the Weakling shed.” She smiled at him.
His lips turned up, and he kissed her again, wrapping an arm around her waist. He pulled away sooner than she was expecting, glancing at the clock on the wall.
“We have a few minutes until everyone else arrives,” he said. “Can I talk to you about something?”
“Sure.” She followed him to the chairs by the window and settled down across from him. He reached for her hand, his eyes on their fingers as they intertwined. His expression had turned serious.
“Jovita is probably dead, isn’t she?” he asked quietly.
“Yes. She was alive the last time I saw her, but I can’t imagine she still is. Olivia isn’t good at keeping humans alive.” She said the last sentence apologetically.
“I considered killing her a few weeks ago. I had soldiers following her. They could have gotten to her. It seemed like a pretty good option, considering I failed in killing her at the fortress.”
“I thought you decided not to kill her, not that you failed.”
“I didn’t so much decide not to as . . . chicken out,” he said.
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“It felt like a bad thing. After Jovita left here and started gathering people to fight against me, it felt like I was an idiot.” He let go of her hand and sat back in his chair. “This is going to sound terrible.”
“I’ve said plenty of terrible things to you.”
He laughed suddenly, some of the weight leaving his expression. “Like what?”
“I think I once told you that I didn’t regret killing anyone, that they had it coming.”
“You did say that, didn’t you?”
“It was a lie.”
“I know.”
She smiled at him. “What’s the terrible thing?”
“I sort of understand my father. And Olivia. Why they chose to just kill instead of negotiating. It’s easier, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” She took in a ragged breath. Just the mention of Olivia’s name made her want to curl into a ball and cry. And then flee the castle to search for her.
“It was hard to shake the feeling that I should just have Jovita killed. The law was even on my side.”
“The law was on your father’s side as well, when he killed the Ruined. It is technically still Lera law that all Ruined have to be exterminated, right?”
Cas nodded solemnly.
“Then clearly you can’t always rely on your old laws. They might be wrong. They might need to be changed.”
“I didn’t do it, obviously,” Cas said. “I hesitated until it was too late, and she’d partnered with Olso and Vallos.”
“You shouldn’t consider your hesitance to kill people a weakness, Cas. When I came here, after I killed Mary, I was horrified to realize I’d become like the king by killing Mary. Olivia has certainly become everything she claims to hate.” She swallowed hard. “And I don’t want to do that. I imagine you don’t, either.”
He shook his head. “No. But I was a little surprised by how I felt, after everything settled down and we got word of Jovita still trying to take the throne. I felt weak, like I had never really punished her for convincing everyone I’d lost my mind and poisoning me. I wanted revenge. I wanted to show her that I had the power now.”
“I know a little bit about that feeling.”
“I know you do.” He studied her. “I empathized with you before, but I think it was the first time I really understood you. Once I had somewhere to direct my anger, I wanted to embrace it. It felt better to embrace it.”
“Only at first.”
“What if I’d been horrible?” he asked. “If you’d come here as Mary and discovered I was just like my father, what would you have done?”
She started to reach for the necklace that no longer hung around her neck. It was upstairs, buried in the bottom of a bag. She dropped her hand into her lap. “I think I would have done it.”
“What is it? You never told me the details of the plan, the way it was supposed to go.”
“Are you sure you want to hear?”
“Yes.”