Galo started to edge forward, hoping to hear what the men had to say, but a flash of blue caught his eye. Mateo ran out of the castle in his guard uniform, skidding to a stop when he saw the crowd at the gate. His eyes were wild as they bounced over each person, until he found Galo.
Galo let his bag slip through his fingers. Mateo ran to him, almost knocking him over as he hugged him.
“You idiot,” Mateo said fiercely.
Galo laughed, relief coursing through his veins. He wrapped his arms around Mateo’s waist and dropped his forehead onto his shoulder.
“You idiot,” Mateo said again, quieter.
“I’m sorry,” Galo whispered.
Mateo pulled away from him, putting his hands on Galo’s neck as he examined him. “Are you hurt?” He found the cut on Galo’s eyebrow, not yet fully healed. “What happened?”
“Olivia.” He touched it gingerly. “It’s fine. Aren is well-prepared for injuries.” He took Mateo’s hand, glancing at the guards around them within earshot. Cas was inviting the men into the castle, gesturing for Em to follow them. Galo would have to hear what the men had said later.
“Come talk to me?” he asked Mateo.
Mateo squeezed his hand and nodded. They walked inside and up the stairs to Jovita’s room—or Galo’s room. He was still having a hard time thinking of it that way. It was just as Galo had left it, the wardrobe door ajar from when he’d hurriedly grabbed his jacket.
He dropped his bag on the floor and sat down on the edge of the bed. His body felt heavy, his legs sore from days on a horse.
“I’m sorry I left like that,” Galo said to Mateo, who was still lingering by the door. “I could have taken a few more minutes to talk to you, but I just left.”
“You could have,” Mateo said, lifting an eyebrow. Then he smiled, walking forward until his knees brushed Galo’s. Mateo took his hand and laced their fingers together. “I didn’t really listen, though. You needed to find a way to help. I just wanted you to stay here, where you were safe.”
Galo nodded, swallowing down the lump in his throat.
“Did you succeed?” Mateo asked, one side of his mouth turning up. “Or are you planning a second trip to Olso? Or maybe Vallos this time? They’ve declared war on us too, you know.”
“I think I’ve had my fill of enemy kingdoms for a while.” He looked at his hands, intertwined with Mateo’s. “But I do want to keep helping. I don’t want to rejoin the guard.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next, or where Cas will need me. Or where Aren will need me.”
Mateo lifted his eyebrows. “Are you taking orders from Aren now?”
“Not taking orders, but I support him. He’s my friend.” It felt strange to say it out loud, even if Galo knew it was true.
“Your friend,” Mateo repeated.
“He’s not how he seems. He’s actually kind of great.”
Mateo let out an exaggerated sigh. “I’m sure it doesn’t help that he’s also very good-looking.”
Galo laughed, pulling on Mateo’s hands to bring him closer. “Are you jealous of Aren?”
“I wouldn’t say jealous. Concerned, maybe.” A smile played on his lips. “Annoyed. Slightly worried.”
“We went to rescue Iria because Aren is in love with her. You knew that.”
“Well, yes. But you’re very charming. He might have changed his mind halfway there.”
He grabbed the front of Mateo’s shirt and tugged him closer. “I wouldn’t have changed my mind.”
Mateo smiled as he leaned down to kiss him. “Good.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
“SO JOVITA’S ALIVE,” Em said. “Or she was, a few days ago. Probably not anymore.”
Cas watched as the guards escorted the men out of his office. They’d spotted not only Olivia and the Olso army, but Jovita as well. She was a prisoner of the Ruined, and it seemed unlikely she was still alive.
Conflicting emotions warred in his chest. He hadn’t wished for Jovita’s death, but he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been relieved that the choice had been taken from him.
One of the guards stole a glance at Em before he shut the door. She sat in Cas’s chair, at his desk, and the guards had kept glancing between her and Cas, like they’d thought this was strange.
“Should I have moved?” she asked, noticing the guard’s stare. The door quickly shut. “Does it look bad, me sitting in the king’s chair?”
“No, I think it’s best you sat there,” he said. “No doubt the men will tell everyone what they saw, and people should know I trust you.”
She leaned back, draping her hands across the arms of the chair. “They may say I’ve taken control. The poor king can’t even sit in his own chair.”
He shrugged. “Let them say that.” Even if the people in the castle were warming up to the Ruined, they certainly didn’t see Em as Cas’s equal. He could tell by the way they interacted with her, the way some wouldn’t bow or would pretend to not see her in the hallways. Perhaps rumors that Em had more power than Cas would do some good.
“Why would Olivia be tracking the army?” Em asked. “Has she ever stumbled across humans and not killed them?”
“Sure, if she wants something from them.”
“Do you think she’s made a deal with August?”
“No. Never.” Em shook her head, her eyebrows furrowed. “On both sides, never. You know August hates Ruined as much as Olivia hates humans.”
“Then . . . ?”
“If it were me . . .” She considered it for a moment. “I would be waiting to see what the army was going to do. Olivia has too many goals—she wants to kill me, she wants to kill you, she wants to conquer Lera. But she can’t do it all, not with that small group of Ruined. I’d be waiting for the army to attack, and strike then.”
“I was hoping there was a chance that August would change his mind after I refused his deal.”
“I think that may be a bit too optimistic,” she said. She smiled as if he’d said something funny.
“What?”
“The way you say his name. August.”
“How do I say it?”
“Like it tastes bad.”
“It does.” He wrinkled his nose. “August.”
She giggled.
“I don’t like him.”
“I’m shocked.”
“He tried to marry you, and then he kidnapped you. I don’t like him.”
She leaned forward to kiss him. “We have to assume that August is still planning an attack. They’re preparing. Waiting for the right moment. Perhaps we shouldn’t let them have it. Strike first.”
“We’re better positioned here in the castle. We have walls and towers and we know the area well.”
“He’s just sitting out there, waiting, though. And he told you warriors are pouring into the country. If we continue to wait for an attack, we may just be letting them build up their army and weapons.”
“They’re still weakened after the Ruined attack. He could very well be exaggerating to bait us into leaving the safety of the castle and striking first.”
“True,” she said. “It might be what he wants, for us to grow impatient and strike first.”
“We’ll wait for now, then?”
“Fine. But what about Jovita? There’s a possibility that she could provide Olivia with information. It’s probably why she’s keeping her alive.”
“Jovita doesn’t have any useful information, not anymore. Especially not that we’re redrawing battle plans to include the Ruined.”
“Good. But you’ll need to decide what to do about her. If someone is able to get to her, what are your orders?”
He paused, thinking. “I’ll ask people to bring me any reports of Olivia or Jovita sightings, but other than that, let’s just wait.” He let out an annoyed sigh. “If somehow Jovita escapes, she should be brought here to the castle.”
“Alive?” Em asked.
“Alive,” Cas confirmed.
THIRTY-EIGHT
AREN TOOK IRIA up to Em’s old room, which was almost exactly the same as the last time Aren had seen it. All of Em’s clothes had been removed, but the blue bedding and extravagant furniture were the same.
Iria walked slowly to the bed and sat with a sigh, then pulled off her shoes. She was clearly in pain every time she walked.
“We should have a doctor look at your foot,” he said.
“It just needs to heal.”