“We still shouldn’t bait them. We might lose more Ruined if they attack.”
“Please. They’re no match for us. I can protect the Ruined.” She kicked her horse into motion. “You’re weak, Aren!” she yelled over her shoulder.
He didn’t follow her. She thought he might change his mind, but when she looked over her shoulder, he was frozen on top of his horse.
There were twelve humans total. A young boy spotted the Ruined marks on her neck and began screaming, and the rest of the group followed suit. She could have killed everyone quickly and stopped the noise, but she didn’t.
She took her time. Her mother would have been proud.
When she turned around, Aren was gone. She could see him in the distance, riding back to the town. Not only had he refused to kill the humans, he’d run away when she did it. Pathetic.
She left one man alive, so he could tell his friends about her. She left him in the dust as she rode away.
Aren was nowhere to be seen when she returned to the barn. She guided the horse into her stall and gave her an approving pat. At least the horse could be relied on to do her job.
The eleven kills were still vibrating through her body as she walked through the center of town. If Em wasn’t useless, she’d understand why forgiveness wasn’t the best option. Rage was what had finally unleashed Olivia’s full power. She was ten times the Ruined she’d been before Lera invaded. Every moment in that cell, surrounded by Weakling, had made her a better Ruined. Even the herb that was supposed to hurt her had made her stronger.
What was so wonderful about Casimir anyway? He was cute, sure, but Em had never been the type to swoon over handsome boys. If she had, she would have made a play for Aren years ago.
She looked down the road, to Casimir’s house. One of the guards stood on the front porch, his hands on his hips. She saw the spark of fear when he spotted her. Good.
She stared him down as she walked to the house. The guard backed into the door, shielding it with his body. She stopped at the bottom of the steps.
“I want to talk to Casimir.”
The guard pounded his hand on the door. “Galo!”
The door swung open to reveal another guard. Galo’s eyes widened slightly as they rested on her.
“I want to talk to Casimir,” she repeated.
Galo shook his head. “No.”
“Are you the boss of him? Go ask him, at least.”
“He’s resting.”
Olivia let out an annoyed sigh. She stepped back, cupping her hands around her mouth and tilting her chin up. “Casimir! It’s Olivia! I want to come up and talk to you!” She paused, thinking for a moment. “I promise not to pull your beating heart out of your chest, if you’re worried!”
“Hey,” Galo said sharply.
Olivia dropped her hands from her mouth. “What?”
Galo glared at her. A girl appeared behind him and said something Olivia couldn’t hear.
“What?” Galo said. “Seriously?”
The girl nodded.
Galo ran his hands down his face and returned his attention to Olivia. “He said you can come in.”
“Wonderful.” She skipped up the steps and through the open door. The girl quickly moved aside.
“I’m coming with you,” Galo said. “No arguments.”
“You couldn’t protect him from me if you wanted to,” she said, taking the steps two at a time. “But if it makes you feel better.”
“If you hurt him, I swear I will—”
“Relax,” she interrupted. “Em asked me not to, so I won’t.”
“It’s there,” Galo said through clenched teeth. He pointed to the door on the right.
She pushed it open without knocking. Casimir sat on the edge of the bed, his bare feet on the floor. He looked worse than the last time she’d seen him, which was really saying something, considering she’d murdered his mother at their last meeting.
She crossed her arms over her chest, fixing her gaze on him as she leaned against the wall. Galo hovered at the doorway, his fingers twitching around his sword.
“Hello,” Casimir said hesitantly.
She put a finger to her lips. “Shhh. Be quiet for a minute.”
Cas cast a nervous glance at Galo, but he nodded once and kept his mouth shut.
She stared at him. She didn’t know what she was searching for, but she needed a moment to find whatever it was her sister saw in this boy.
Even sick, he was quite handsome. His dark hair was thick and slightly wavy. His eyes were more blue than green, but there was enough of a hint of the latter to make them mesmerizing. He had a nicely defined jaw and smooth skin that had recently been shaved.
He looked like his father. The eyes were different, but King Salomir was stamped so plainly into his features that it was hard for her to look at him without curling her lip.
“What do you think Em sees in you?” she asked, finally breaking the silence.
“What?”
“Why does she like you?”
“Umm …” He thought about it for a moment. “She told me once that I was kind. And thoughtful. And reasonable.”
“Reasonable?” Olivia repeated incredulously. “Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“How romantic.”
“My father could not be reasoned with, so I consider it a compliment.”
Olivia scowled.
“I’m sorry for what he did to you,” Cas said. “For killing your mother. For taking you captive. For everything. I’m sorry I stood by as it happened.”
“You can’t be serious, Cas. You actually expect me to buy that apology?”
“What—what do you mean?”
“You’re only apologizing to me so you can tell Em you did it. So you can feel better about yourself.” She took a step closer to him and heard Galo suck in a sharp breath. “I killed your mother. You hate me.”
“No.” He lifted his shoulders. “No. I know I should, but I don’t.”
She snorted. “Right.”
“I’m not going to lie, it’s hard to look at you. I don’t think I’ll ever look at you without seeing …” He swallowed hard. “But I understand your anger.”
“You understand nothing.”
“I don’t expect you to forgive me. But I am sorry. And I want to do better.”
“So, what? You forgive me? There’s so much forgiveness flying around here today I can barely keep track.”
“I thought it would be insulting for me to offer you my forgiveness,” he said. “But if you want it, you certainly have it.”
“I do not want it, and you should not be offering it.” She leaned down so she was face-to-face with him. “Do you really think Em forgives you? Even if she says she does, she doesn’t. There is no forgiveness for what you’ve done.”
Cas held her gaze, but his throat moved as he swallowed. Fear radiated off of him. What she wouldn’t give to snap a few of his bones.
“You know that saying, ‘What goes around comes around’? It came around hard for you, didn’t it? You’ve lost your kingdom and your parents and your health,” she said.
“That hadn’t escaped my attention,” he said quietly.