“I think they’ve become friends,” Em said.
“I should hope so,” Mariana said. “Otherwise I don’t know why that human would go to Olso with Aren.”
Still, Aren and Galo becoming friends was more than Em would have hoped for just a few weeks ago. Galo had never seemed to have much interest in the Ruined beyond obeying Cas’s wishes, and Aren wasn’t inclined to like any human, with the exception of Iria.
“How are things going down here?” Em asked.
“Not bad, actually. A few of the guards invited some of us to play cards last night.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. They looked very suspicious when I said I had the power to ruin the mind, like I was going to cheat, but they warmed up. Plus I told them I saved my power for things much worse than cheating at cards.”
“How did that go over?”
“Good, actually. I told them some of the things I could do, and we’re going to practice together later. They haven’t been great at integrating the mind power into the battle plans, so I’m trying to show them how it can help.”
Em felt a tiny burst of relief among her nerves. She’d stepped back from the Ruined on purpose lately, hoping they would find their own way in the castle. It appeared to be going better than expected.
Davi and Gisela joined them, and they headed upstairs to the Ocean Room for the meeting. Violet and Franco were already there, as well as Cas’s other advisers, Julieta and Danna, and three men who Em had met a few days ago. Aren and Galo were talking to one of them.
Cas was already seated, and he rose as Em entered the room. Everyone else followed suit. He extended his hand to her and she took it, letting him guide her to a spot next to his at the table.
Aren took a seat next to Galo, and Em watched as Mariana took the seat on the other side of Galo. Davi and Gisela sat on the opposite side of the table, next to Julieta. Em couldn’t help but think it was a good sign that the Ruined hadn’t all lined up on one side of the table, ready to fight the scary humans.
“Thank you for coming,” Cas said, addressing the Ruined.
“Thank you for having us, Your Majesty,” Aren said. Em didn’t think she’d ever heard Aren call Cas “Your Majesty.” It didn’t even sound like he was making a joke.
“Let’s get started, then,” Aren said. “We’re satisfied with the plan you’ve laid out for the Lera monarchy. We agree that King Casimir will still be the head of the government, and he will share power with elected representatives. He will still command the army, and will have the power to introduce and veto laws. All treaties with other kingdoms will have to be approved by both the monarchy and the representatives, and he will have to seek approval before declaring war on any other kingdom.” He slid a paper across the table to Franco. “We’d like to change the definition of war, though. King Salomir never officially declared war on the Ruined. Certain acts should be considered a declaration of war.”
Franco glanced at the other advisers, then nodded. “Agreed.”
“All the other powers you’ve laid out for the king are fine.” Aren looked at Cas. “You’ve seen this?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re fine with it? You understand that you’ll require approval from the elected representatives for almost everything? And they will have the power to abolish the monarchy entirely, if the issue is supported by enough citizens.”
“I understand.”
“Good. In terms of representatives, we don’t agree that the number of representatives be determined by the population of the province. That means the Ruined will have one representative to dozens of Lera representatives. Our vote will mean nothing. We need more than one.”
“How many more?” Franco asked.
“Six, with the agreement that you need at least three Ruined votes to pass any law.”
“But there are so few of you,” Danna protested. “Why should you be overrepresented in our government?”
“Because we don’t trust you,” Aren said. “If you allow us only one seat, what’s to stop you from overruling us at every turn? What’s to stop you from blocking every policy that benefits the Ruined?”
Danna rubbed her forehead. “I see your point, but I still think it will be a tough sell to the people.”
“It wouldn’t be permanent. We could revisit the issue in ten, twenty years.”
“It’s not unreasonable,” Galo said. “You can’t give them one seat. That’s barely symbolic, and you know it.”
Julieta shifted, her lips pursed. “Fine. We’ll discuss six. What’s next?”
Em caught Galo’s eye and nodded slightly in gratitude. He smiled.
“Each citizen of Lera has certain rights,” Aren said. “We want all those rights, as well as two Ruined amendments. First, that the mere possession of Ruined power is not considered a crime.”
The advisers all looked at Cas. He nodded.
“Agreed,” Franco said.
“Second, that a human can never attempt to harness or force a Ruined to use their power.”
Franco nodded. “We would also have something to add. A Ruined can never use their power on a human without their consent.”
“Yes,” Aren said. “But I’d want to see what the punishments for that should be. A Ruined who kills someone shouldn’t be punished in the same way as one who, say, made a man slap himself in the face.”
“Agreed,” Franco said, taking note of something.
They ran through several more points—Ruined service in the royal guard and military, future housing and reparations for lost land and property, and Ruined access to jobs and education. They came back around to elected representatives, and what powers the monarch could still hold.
“And we’d need to determine what power the queen of Lera would hold,” Franco said. “If that’s going to be Emelina, we can’t allow her to hold the same powers as the king.”
Beside her, Cas stiffened. “Why not?”
“We can’t tell the people that Emelina Flores has the power to command the Lera army,” Franco said. His tone was almost apologetic as he looked at Em. “She would be able to veto laws. Dismiss representatives if she saw fit. None of that will sit well with the people. We fear they may riot. Or abolish the monarchy. We’d be giving them the power to do that.”
“What power would she have?” Mariana asked, leaning forward, eyebrows drawn together.
“The queen or king consort of Lera has many ceremonial duties, and you’d be free to take up any projects you like here in Royal City. The previous queen ran a program to feed hungry children and worked with the Royal City Watch, which is our local law enforcement in the city. You would be free to attend most meetings with Cas, if you wanted, but you wouldn’t be there in any official capacity.”
“No,” Mariana said.
“No,” Gisela echoed.
“Em is the queen of Ruina,” Aren said. “You have never had a monarch marry another monarch. It’s not the same.”
“Princess Mary agreed to these terms,” Danna said.
“I don’t care what the princess of Vallos did,” Gisela said. “Even with most of the Ruined dead, we’re more powerful than Vallos ever was.”
“Emelina conspired with Olso to attack Lera,” Julieta said. “We’re stripping the Lera monarchy of power as punishment for King Salomir’s actions, but there are no consequences for Emelina.”
“We consider the extermination of almost every Ruined alive to be consequence enough,” Aren said tightly.
Em glanced at Cas, swallowing down a lump in her throat. On the one hand, she didn’t necessarily want to be merely a queen consort. On the other, perhaps they had a point. He slipped his hand into hers and squeezed.
“You should have talked to me about this before,” he said, turning to the advisers. “Because I don’t agree.”
“Your Majesty—”