Em turned, the sight of her sister dissolving her anger. “What are you doing?”
“I’m practicing my entrances. I want to have a good one. Wait.” She spread her arms again. “I’m here! Fear me.”
“That was terrible,” Em said. “It makes me fear you less.”
“I’ll work on it.” Olivia pointed at August. “He looks kind of scared, though.”
Em turned to August. He did seem uncomfortable now that Olivia had entered the room.
“Thank you for dinner,” Em said, getting up from the table. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
August took the hint and stood. “Good night, Em. Olivia.” He nodded at her as he walked out of the door.
“Did I wait too long?” Olivia asked after the door closed.
“No, good timing,” Em said, flopping down on the couch. “He was starting to talk about children.”
“Ew.” Olivia sat down next to her. “You don’t have to marry him, you know. I don’t want you to.”
“I know you don’t. But we need the warriors.”
“No we don’t.”
“Yes, we do. At the very least, we can’t fight them and Lera.”
“He’s just using you, though.”
“And I’m not doing the same to him? You think I want to marry August because I like him? I like his army.”
“You don’t need his army.”
Em sighed. She’d never convince Olivia of this. Every time they argued they just circled back around to the same point.
Olivia patted Em’s arm. “You won’t need to marry him. I promise.”
“That’s not really up to you.”
“Don’t worry, sister. I promise, you won’t have to marry him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the Ruined will be so strong that you won’t have to marry him. I suppose you still could, if you wanted, but that would be an odd choice.”
“We’re not strong enough right now. I know you want us to be, but—”
“I’m training some of the Ruined to use their powers without exhausting themselves. I just need a little more time. You can get rid of him soon.”
“I don’t want you to worry about this, Liv. Marrying him wouldn’t be the worst thing. I’m being dramatic. He’s not bad to look at. And he’s been kind to me, I guess.”
“Even if you do end up marrying him, I could get you out of it. If he turns out to be horrible, I’ll just take his head off!”
“Thanks, sister,” Em said with a laugh.
“Anytime.” Her eyes brightened. “I’ve got it.” She spread her arms. “I’m here! Hold on to your heads!”
“Worst one yet.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
CAS EDGED OUT of his bedroom and into the hallway. The fortress was dark and quiet, a lone candle flickering at the end of the hallway.
Galo met him at the stairs and they descended them silently. A laugh came from the parlor, and they kept to the shadows. Jovita and a few hunters were in there, like they were every night.
They walked through the kitchen and into the small dining room. Violet and Mateo were already there, along with Blanca and a guard whose name Cas had forgotten.
“This is Ric,” Galo said as the guard jumped to his feet.
“Your Majesty,” Ric said.
“Thanks for coming,” Cas said. He took a seat at the table and everyone followed, Galo sliding into the chair next to him.
“We’re dividing the guard into three parts,” Galo said. He nodded at Mateo and Ric. “We’re going to assess each member and find out who is solidly with you, who is solidly with Jovita, and who is on the fence. We can make lists, if you’d like.”
“No, it’s better not to put anything in writing. Galo, why don’t you spend time each day pointing out guards so I can learn their names. I’ll memorize their faces.”
“Sure,” Galo said. “Blanca?”
“Almost all of the staff is with you,” she said. “There are a few who were swayed by Jovita saying you’d lost your mind. I need some time to figure out just how loyal they are.” She smiled, the creases around her eyes moving. “And most of the advisers treat me like I’m invisible. I can tell you that General Amaro is not happy that you were poisoned. She’s barely speaking to Jovita. I think we can turn her to your side.”
“Excellent,” Cas said.
“Julieta’s hard to read. And I’m still working on the other advisers.”
“I spoke with Pedro yesterday,” Violet said, referring to the governor of the western province. “He basically said he follows me, and the southern province.”
“We need to make sure you maintain your hold on the southern province,” Cas said. “I want us to take a trip there and meet some of the people.”
“Is that safe?” Violet asked.
“The soldiers Jovita sent to check the area returned saying they found no warriors. I figured we could go after—” He cut himself off, not sure he wanted everyone to know he was meeting with Em. “Day after tomorrow,” he said. Violet nodded knowingly.
“That doesn’t leave us a lot of time to assess the guard,” Galo said.
Cas shook his head. “You and Mateo stay here. Just Violet and I will go.”
“No,” Galo and Mateo said together.
“It will be a short trip,” Cas said. “We’re already in the southern province. And we’ll attract less attention just the two of us.” He turned to Violet. “If that’s all right with you.”
“It’s no problem. May we go by my home? I’d like to see if it’s still there and check on my grandmother and the staff.”
“Of course.” He wished he could go by his home too. He wondered if any part of the castle was still standing.
“Venturing out without even one guard right now is not going to help convince everyone you’re sane,” Galo said.
“Galo!” Violet exclaimed.
“What? It’s true. What sane king would wander around without a guard during wartime?”
“One who wants to travel inconspicuously,” Cas said. “Most people in the southern province don’t know what I look like. And I can defend myself. So can Violet. I’ve seen her use a sword.”
“I’m also solid with a bow and arrow,” she said.
“Good. We’ll get you one before we leave.” He looked around the table. “Anything else?” Everyone shook their head. “Thank you for this. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”
Blanca squeezed his hand as she stood, and the rest of the table followed suit.
“Galo, stay for a minute,” Cas said. He waited until everyone else had left before turning to his friend. “Jovita claims she didn’t poison me.”
“Of course she does.”
“I’m sure she’s lying, but can you keep an ear out, just in case?”
Galo nodded. “I don’t see who else it could be. Unless one of the advisers is making a play for the throne… .” His face tensed in thought. “Are you sure you want to leave her alone here? You just returned.”
“It’s only a few days. The southern province is more important than anything happening here.”