“Olivia!” Em yelled at the soldiers. “Did you see Olivia?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Iria saw the glint of a sword, and she darted to the side, clutching Em’s legs. An Olso warrior was charging at them, battle-ax lifted above his head. A Lera soldier leaped in front of Iria, slicing his blade across the warrior’s chest. He crumpled to the ground.
“She went that way,” the Lera soldier said, breathing heavily as he pointed behind Iria.
She whirled around and ran farther into the crowd, ducking around a group of guards protecting a Ruined so exhausted she could barely stand.
To her right, a Lera soldier was fighting off a warrior with a sword, and Iria tried to edge around them. She felt Em take in a sharp breath, her fingers digging into Iria’s shoulder.
August appeared out of the crowd. He pulled his blade from the chest of a Lera soldier and pushed him to the ground. His eyes were wild, blood splattered across his uniform, as he searched the faces around him.
He spotted Em first. When he looked at Iria, his eyes went round, his lips parting in shock. Clearly news of her escape hadn’t reached him yet.
Em slid off Iria’s back. Iria grabbed for her, not wanting to lose Em while she was injured, but she scurried out of sight. August broke into a run. He jumped over a dead soldier, his gaze fixed on Iria.
She drew her sword from her belt, trying to remember how good August was with one. She didn’t think she’d ever had the opportunity to spar with him.
His blade came for her, and she blocked it, bumping into someone behind her as she stepped back. August’s sword crashed down again, a snarl on his face. She ducked and weaved, blocking his attacks and barely keeping her balance as the crowd pressed into them.
“Olivia!” Em’s voice cut through the noise, and August froze. His gaze snapped to the right, where the yell had come from.
Iria took advantage of his distraction to duck behind some soldiers. She ran in the direction of Em’s voice, which was still calling Olivia’s name.
Several Lera guards turned and bolted, almost knocking her over as they passed by. A hole had opened up in the crowd around her, and she suddenly saw why—Olivia stood a few paces away.
Blood poured down her face from where Iria had hit her with a rock, and she was gasping for breath. She turned in a circle, like she was looking for something.
“Olivia!” It was Em’s voice again, though Iria still couldn’t see her. Soldiers began running from all directions—headed for Olivia this time. Shields went up. Iria could smell the Weakling as soldiers closed in with their armor and shields on all sides.
Iria realized suddenly that Em hadn’t been calling Olivia’s name because she was searching for her sister, or trying to get her to stop. She’d been warning the Lera soldiers so they could get in position.
Olivia spun in a circle as the soldiers closed in. She flung her arms and sent a couple of soldiers flying, but most stood their ground, hidden behind their shields. She lowered her arms, her eyebrows furrowing as she turned. Her anger gave way to pure confusion for a moment.
A hand closed around Iria’s arm, and she turned to see Em next to her.
“The shields are working,” Iria said. Her eyes darted to where Em was clutching her sword. She was shaking.
None of the soldiers were making a move toward Olivia, Iria realized. A few glanced at Em, obviously waiting for her to charge her sister.
Rage took over Olivia’s features as her gaze caught on something. Aren. He was standing a bit above the crowd, elevated by something Iria couldn’t see. He was facing away from Olivia, taking care of Olso warriors who had suddenly charged him.
Iria’s mind went blank. She pushed Em aside. Her feet moved forward and she was running, shoving aside scared Lera soldiers. She yanked a shield out of a soldier’s hand, ignoring his yell of protest. Her hand tightened around her blade. She sprinted forward as fast as she could.
Iria drove the sword into Olivia’s back and through her heart.
FORTY-EIGHT
GALO CLAPPED A hand over his mouth as he watched Iria’s blade tear through Olivia’s chest. Olivia’s back arched and she gasped as she fell to her knees. Iria pulled her sword out and took several quick steps back. Olivia crumpled to the ground.
Galo glanced up at Aren, who had his eyes squeezed shut and his face turned away. But Aren allowed himself only a few moments before he opened his eyes again and looked at the second wave of warriors running toward them.
Galo looked back at Olivia, but the crowd had swallowed her up. Iria was pushing her way through, half carrying a sobbing Em.
“Will you make sure Em gets inside?” Aren called to Galo.
He nodded and rushed to Iria, gently removing Em’s arm from around Iria’s shoulder. “I’ve got her,” he said. “I’ll make sure she gets inside.”
“Her leg is injured,” Iria said, pointing.
Galo reached down and scooped Em up into his arms. He turned and broke into a run, Em bouncing in his arms. He had to dodge a rush of guards running out of the castle and into the fight.
They crossed over the castle threshold, the sounds of fighting muffling as the doors closed.
“Violet! Is Cas—”
“In hiding,” Violet finished, eyes flicking to Em. “What’s—”
“She’s injured, but fine. Olivia is dead.” He said the second sentence quietly.
Galo heard the sound of running footsteps and turned to see Mateo headed toward him. He took Em out of Galo’s arms. “I’ll take her to Cas. Be careful.”
Galo gave him a quick smile before turning to race back out of the castle. Past the gates, hundreds of Lera soldiers fought off the Olso and Vallos troops against the setting sun. Smoke rose from the north corner of the castle, where a cannonball had hit the building, but the damage looked minimal. The southwest tower was on fire, and he watched as a piece of it crashed to the ground.
He found Aren right where he’d left him, standing in front of the castle gates on an old potato crate. He was surrounded by Lera guards and soldiers.
Screams ripped through the air, and a sudden rush of Olso warriors plowed through the Lera soldiers. They were headed straight for Aren. The attacks directly on Aren were endless. The warriors had clearly been told to make killing Aren a top priority.
“More! We need more!” Galo followed the sound of the voice to see a soldier pointing at Aren. They needed more people to guard him.
Galo raced forward, pushing through the growing crowd of soldiers. He lightly wrapped his hand around Aren’s wrist.
“You got Em safely inside?” Aren asked without turning around. Galo wasn’t sure how he’d known it was him.
“Yes. Mateo took her to hide with Cas.”
Aren focused on the warriors to his left, throwing them all through the air at once. “I need to get somewhere higher.”
A body slammed into Galo’s, and he let go of Aren’s arm. He whirled around, gripping his sword. A warrior charged at him.
Galo lifted his sword, but the warrior was gone suddenly, his scream fading as he shot so far up into the sky he disappeared. The warriors around him shot off the ground as well, flying away one by one.
Aren jumped off the crate and took off in the direction of the castle. “I need to get higher!” he yelled again, shaking off a Lera soldier who tried to make him stay put.
Galo took off after Aren. Arrows whizzed by his head, and struck the soldier next to him. She fell with a gasp.
Aren ran through the castle gate and to the wall. He hooked his fingers onto the stone and began to hoist his body up.
Galo grabbed the edge of his shirt, pulling him back down. “You’ll be too exposed. Too easy a target for an arrow.”
“Trust me. I only need a few seconds.”
Galo didn’t release his shirt. It was too hard to protect him up there. “How do you feel? Are you getting weak?”
“Not even a little.”
Galo released his shirt. “Fine.” He grabbed the stone wall and began climbing up next to Aren. He could at least try to shield him.