In Olivia’s mind, she still saw the Em she’d known the first fifteen years of her life. The Em who was sarcastic and often surly, bitter about her uselessness and annoyed at having to watch Olivia practice her magic.
Or maybe she was scared, not bitter. In the past, Olivia would often look over at her sister to find Em turned away, wincing at the screams of a man Olivia was torturing. Olivia would sometimes pretend not to be able to remove a head simply because she didn’t want to see the horrified expression on her sister’s face.
Fear was no longer an option for Em. The year she’d spent away from Olivia had made her ruthless and dangerous. She had the same olive skin and dark hair, but the sadness in her eyes was new. Olivia thought she had it bad in the dungeon. She wasn’t even fully able to grasp what Em had been through the past year.
Despite the horrors she’d endured, Em had taken down Lera, organized the Ruined, and saved Olivia. And they called Em the useless one. Olivia’s mouth tasted bitter suddenly.
“About fifty more Ruined just arrived,” Em said as she sat down next to Olivia. “They said they had no trouble getting out of Olso. Apparently the Olso king invited them to stay, but didn’t try to detain them when they declined.”
“Attempting to keep them against their will would have been deeply stupid,” Olivia said.
“I expect we’ll be seeing some warriors soon.”
“You think so?”
“They wanted us to go to Olso to meet their king. I can’t imagine they’ve decided to let us go.”
Olivia snorted. “Let us? We don’t need them to let us do anything.”
“We don’t want to make enemies of the warriors,” Em said. “We’re not strong enough to stand on our own yet.”
Olivia took in a long breath, batting down the rage that swelled in her chest. Em was right, as much as she hated to admit it.
“I’ll have to negotiate with the warriors, won’t I?” Olivia asked.
“Probably.”
“What if I kill them instead?” She grinned. “Take a strong position right out of the gate.”
“I can’t tell if you’re kidding.”
Olivia tilted her hand back and forth. “Kind of.” Not at all, actually. The only thing that lessened her rage was to rip someone to shreds. She could still feel the Lera queen’s heart in her hand. The pulse against her palm. The queen had deserved it. She’d been there during several of the experiments they’d run on Olivia. Ripping the queen’s heart out of her chest had been kind, actually.
“I really suggest you don’t kill them,” Em said.
“Fine.” She’d find someone else to kill. There were plenty of Lera hunters running around Ruina, attempting to get out now that they were the ones being hunted. She would close her fingers around each of their hearts soon.
“We need to find more permanent shelter,” Em said. “I’d like to take a group out to the coal miners’ lodgings. They should be abandoned by now, and we can use them until the castle is rebuilt.”
Olivia remembered the coal miners’ lodgings. They were small and pitiful, in need of updating years ago.
“Is that really our best option?” Olivia asked.
Em nudged a piece of rubble with her shoe. “Unfortunately.”
Olivia thought of the fortress, with its sturdy walls and enough rooms to house a small army. Casimir was comfortable, while they sat in the mess that used to be their home. The Lerans had always been comfortable, since they took Lera from the Ruined and cast them out.
“The cabins aren’t much, but I think we’ll be able to house all the Ruined there,” Em said.
“You still want to take care of them?” Olivia asked.
“What do you mean?”
“The Ruined turned their backs on you. Everyone, except for Aren, chose to follow someone else. Someone who is now dead.”
Sadness flickered across Em’s face at the mention of Damian. Olivia had no sympathy for their dead friend, even if he had helped Em. He’d grown up with Em and Olivia only to betray them when they needed help the most. He deserved to be beheaded by the Lera king.
“They were scared,” Em said. “And I proved that they were wrong to reject me.”
“You sure did. And I did nothing but sit in a cell and plot a million escape attempts. Every one of which failed.”
“It’s not your fault that you were taken. I only took the lead because you were gone.”
“You took the lead even after it had been ripped from you. You put together a plan that took down the most powerful of the four kingdoms. You pulled off a highly risky plot to kill the Vallos princess and marry the Lera prince in her place. You rescued everyone, even after they rejected you. I don’t know if I would have done the same.” Olivia might have let everyone die just to prove them wrong.
“You would have,” Em said, ever the optimist.
“The point is, I didn’t. And I’ve never been interested in all of the political stuff that goes along with the throne. The meetings, the discussions, the compromises. I dreaded having my husband chosen for me, and you went out and married our mortal enemy.”
Em looked at the ground at the mention of Cas. She had barely spoken of the prince—now king—since leaving Lera, but Olivia had seen how they interacted with each other. It seemed Em had developed feelings for that awful boy.
“Did you actually have sex with him?” Olivia asked, trying to keep the horror out of her voice.
“No. He could tell I was terrified and he didn’t push the issue.”
“Huh. Strange.”
“He’s not like his father, Liv. He was kind to me.”
“Well, at least you didn’t have to sleep with him.” She shuddered.
“You’ll have a say in your marriage,” Em said. “Especially with the way things are now. I’m sure anyone you pick will be suitable.”
“You should be the one marrying for political alliances. You’re clearly good at it.”
“But you’re the queen.”
“Why do I have to be the only one? Where is the law that says I have to rule alone?”
“There is actually a law,” Em said with a laugh. “Ruina law states that the eldest inherits the throne, unless the eldest is born useless. Then it goes to the next heir.”
“You’ve proved that you’re not useless. You have other powers, like our mother said.”
“The Ruined will never allow someone useless to rule them.”
“What if we ruled together?”
Em’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“There are some parts of being queen that I’ll be very good at. Commanding armies. Training Ruined. The dresses.” She grinned when Em chuckled. “I’m a fighter. You’re a politician. You can actually sit in a meeting with warriors without ripping their heads off.”
“What are you suggesting?”