Olivia turned her horse so she was facing the crowd. “Ruined, team one! We’re going in! All other teams follow behind! Orders are to kill.”
“Liv,” Em said quietly. “If some of them run, let them go.”
Olivia paused for a moment in thought. “If you want. I don’t see the fun in that.”
A swell of laughter rose from the Ruined. This didn’t seem like the time to be laughing.
Olivia kicked her heels into her horse and took off. Dust flew into the air as several Ruined followed. Team one was the most powerful Ruined, those who could take out half the town before the rest of them even got there.
Screams ripped through the air as the Ruined charged down the dirt road. Em urged her horse forward, August suddenly at her side.
She rounded a corner, the center of town coming into view. Two-and three-story buildings dotted either side of the street. There were only about fifteen or twenty buildings total, with a few homes in the surrounding area. The main road was dusty and brown, but all around was lush green grass and fenced-in areas that were probably community gardens.
Townspeople began streaming out of their homes and shops onto the road. A few of them caught sight of the Ruined and immediately turned and bolted in the opposite direction. Olivia watched them go. She glanced over her shoulder at Em, lifting one eyebrow like “are you satisfied?” Em nodded in approval.
“Everybody leaves!” Olivia yelled, dismounting her horse. She decapitated a man rushing at her with a flick of her hand. “You leave, or you die. Your choice.” She pointed up to where a few people watched from the windows. “You hide, you die.” The faces quickly disappeared. People ran out of the building a moment later.
Two women ran north, straight into a wall of warriors. Iria shook her head, pointing the other direction.
“Everyone goes south!” Olivia yelled. “There are two roads out of town. You take the south one, or you die!”
Em jerked her head to the woods to the east. “I’m going to check out that area.”
“I’ll join you,” August said.
Em kicked her horse, dodging panicking townspeople in the streets. She tried not to think about where they would go. She’d been kicked out of her home before, sent out into the night shivering with no food or hope.
It was better than death, at least.
They rode to the east edge of town, where the trees stretched out around a thin path. Em knew the path well. She’d taken it herself. It was the most discreet way to travel in the area.
“Em,” August said under his breath.
She followed his gaze to find a wagon not far ahead. The horses were unmanned. She leaned to the side to see a man hunched over a wheel stuck in the mud. His jacket was Lera blue.
She slid off her horse, pulling her sword from her hip. August did the same.
She carefully stepped over a log, her boots silent as they hit the ground.
“I think if we dig it out on this side—” Another guard, a young man with dark curly hair, appeared around the wagon, coming to a sudden stop when he spotted Em. “Galo,” he whispered, put his hand on Galo’s shoulder.
The guard on the ground jumped to his feet, his sword drawn. Em’s gasped. It was Cas’s best friend.
“Emelina?” Galo said in utter disbelief.
“You know them?” August asked.
She nodded, searching the area past the wagon. Was Cas nearby?
“What are you doing here?” Galo asked. “Was that commotion you?”
The wagon behind him had several pieces of wood pried away to allow air in, and Em caught movement. She stepped forward, pointing her sword to it. “What’s in there?” She didn’t wait for a response. She strode forward and flung the doors open.
A sword was pointed directly at her chest.
Em took a tiny step back, surveying the young woman in front of her. The sword shook, her dark eyes shining like she was about to cry. Not the most intimidating woman Em had ever met.
“Emelina?” she asked in a shaking voice. “As in Emelina Flores?”
“It’s fine, Violet,” Galo said from behind Em. “She won’t hurt him.”
Violet’s forehead creased in confusion, but she slowly lowered the blade.
Em’s heart had taken up residence in her throat. She won’t hurt him, Galo had said. Who was “him”?
Violet stepped aside and Em let out a choked gasp. Cas.
He was curled up on the floor of the wagon, his head on a bundle of blankets. He was shivering, his face pale.
“What’s wrong with him?” Em jumped into the wagon, falling to her knees beside him. She grasped his hand. It was too warm.
“He was poisoned,” Galo said. “We think Jovita did it.”
Em fought back the urge to scream in frustration. She should have killed that girl when she had the chance. She should have let Olivia rip Jovita’s limbs from her body.
“We think she gave him a few doses before we realized,” Galo continued. “We got him out of there are soon as we could.”
“What kind of poison?” she asked. “Do you know?”
“Deadrose. That’s what the guard claimed after we beat it out of him, anyway.”
“That would make sense,” she said, pressing her hand to his forehead. “He goes in and out of consciousness?”
“Yes,” Galo said.
“My mother was poisoned with Deadrose once. Did you pump his stomach?”
“Yes. But we think he ingested some over a few days.”
She swallowed down a wave of panic. That wasn’t good. Deadrose worked slowly, but it worked well.
“We need to flush it out of his system.” She grabbed his shoulders. “Galo, get his legs. We need to find a bed for him to rest.”
“We can’t stop here. Jovita will realize he’s gone and—”
Em cut off Galo with a sharp look. “If you don’t let him rest and flush out the poison, he’ll die.”
Galo snapped his mouth shut. He climbed into the wagon to grab Cas. “Mateo?” he called.
“I’m coming.” The other guard climbed into the wagon to help.
“You.” Em pointed at the young woman. “What was your name?”
“Violet.”
“Do you know the Wild Hess herb, Violet?”
“Its leaves are kind of pink, right?”
“Yes. Find as much as you can and grind it up into a powder. Then bring it to me.”
Violet hesitated, looking at Galo for confirmation. He nodded.
She lifted Cas’s shoulders and Galo and Mateo grabbed his legs. They eased him out of the wagon.
“Um, Em? Is this who I think it is?” August asked. She’d completely forgotten he was there. She took a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure warriors hadn’t followed August. He was still alone. If he made a move to kill Cas, she and Galo and Mateo could easily stop him.
“Yes,” she said.
“And you’re going to save him?” he asked incredulously. Em shot him a look so full of venom he immediately stepped back and raised his hands in surrender.
She swallowed and tried to put a more polite expression on her face. The Ruined still needed August and his warriors. But she couldn’t just let Cas die. Especially not when it meant Jovita inheriting the throne and sending more soldiers to attack them.