“What are you going to do if it wasn’t Jovita who poisoned you?”
“It was her,” he said, but he’d had the same thought as Galo. There was a slim possibility an adviser or governor had seen an opportunity and run with it. “But if it wasn’t … it doesn’t change anything.”
Aren bent down to the stream, tipping his canteen so the water flowed in. He raised it to his lips and took a sip. Beside him, Iria did the same.
They’d crossed into the southern province of Lera, and soon the air would be warmer, the trees greener. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn’t mind being back in Lera. The trees were already thicker around them, a few of them still with all their leaves.
As far as he could tell, the warriors hadn’t infiltrated southern Lera yet. Iria said that after they lost the battle at the fortress, most of the warriors had been ordered north, to Royal City or Gallego City. They were the two most populous areas, and it made more sense to keep a hold on them.
Aren walked back to his horse. There was no talking today, and he quietly hooked his canteen back to his bag.
He turned around. Iria was walking back from the stream. She stopped suddenly. Her face tensed.
Aren put his hand on his sword. She met his gaze, sliding her eyes to her right.
An arrow flew out of the bushes. It was headed straight for Iria.
“Attack!” he yelled, holding one arm out. He focused on Iria and her feet left the ground. She flew at him with such force that she almost knocked him over. The arrow sailed through the empty space where she used to be.
“Clara!” he yelled. She ran through his eye line, and the tree where the arrow had come from swayed left, then right. It toppled over, bringing screams with it. Three men darted out of the way, straight at Aren.
He shot all three of them back at once. He hadn’t detached, hadn’t used any of the training Olivia had given him. His legs should have been shaking right about now.
Instead, he could feel his power shooting through his veins. It tingled pleasantly, fueling him instead of draining him.
“Kill the Ruined!” someone yelled. A Lera hunter with several blue pins pointed at him. A warrior took off toward him.
“I’ve got it!” Aren called. He reached out to Iria. “May I …”
She looked at him in confusion, but she held her arm out. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist.
He turned back to the hunter, who was now running away from him at top speed. Aren stopped the man’s feet suddenly, causing him to fall flat on his face. A warrior laughed.
Aren lifted the hunter off the ground, which usually took so much energy it made him feel sick. But he felt steady, calm, even as he snapped the man’s neck.
The man hit the ground with a thud. Aren stared at him, regret filling his chest. He had to kill the hunter, otherwise he would have run back to the fortress and given them away. But sadness trickled in anyway.
He didn’t mind. He liked the sadness. With this kill, at least he still felt like himself. At least he wasn’t numb.
The warriors swarmed the remaining men. Aren was still holding on to Iria. He had one arm around her waist, clutching her to his side. He quickly released her.
“Thank you,” she said, looking at the ground as she stepped away from him.
He wanted to touch her again as soon as she was gone. It was as if his entire body was bending toward her, begging to be close.
He looked down at his hand. It was almost like he could still feel her on his skin. Like her warmth was still radiating through his body, making him strong. He didn’t feel the least bit weak, even after using his magic.
Iria had her head cocked to the side, watching him with a mixture of interest and confusion.
“What …” Iria let her voice trail off.
He wanted to tell her. He wanted to grab her arm again and ask her to let him experiment. But Clara and Santino and all the warriors were watching, listening.
Clara had her back pressed to a tree, something he’d seen elemental Ruined do often. Damian used to lie on the ground, arms and legs spread, saying that the dirt and the grass fueled him. He claimed he was stronger in Vallos than Ruina, because of their abundant crops and water. Ruina was too dry and desolate to fuel his Ruined magic, he said.
Aren thought they were imagining things. Elemental Ruined were always going on about being connected to nature, but he didn’t think they meant it literally.
He walked away from Iria. He could almost feel her eyes following him.
“Clara,” he said softly as he stopped in front of her.
“What?”
“Does leaning against that tree help you get your strength back faster?”
She nodded. “Feels like it. Some Ruined disagree. I think they’re just not focusing.”
“Focusing?”
“Yeah.” She reached both arms back, curling her fingers around the trunk. “You can’t think of it as taking energy from the tree. You’re connecting with it. You’re asking it for help. When you ask, it responds.”
“The tree responds.”
“Hey. Don’t make fun of me. You don’t know. A tree is a living thing. A living thing I can command. You don’t think I can communicate with it?”
“I guess you can,” he murmured.
“I definitely can.”
“Is there, like … a feeling?”
“Sure.” She leaned her head back against the bark. “It’s like I can feel the energy in my veins.”
He glanced back at Iria. Was that what was happening? Could a human actually help fuel his Ruined magic?
“Why?” Clara followed his gaze. “Did something happen with that warrior?”
“I don’t know.”
“Aren! That’s crazy.”
He shushed her. “I said I don’t know.”
She leaned forward, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Figure it out. Do you know what that could mean for us? What Ruined like you could use humans for?”
His body tensed at the word use. She’d talked about communication and requests with a tree, but with a human it was use?
He stepped back. “I think I was imagining things. Olivia’s been training me. I’m just getting stronger.”
“Test it out anyway. Tell me how it goes.”
“I will.” He knew the words were a lie as soon as they left his mouth.
He walked back to Iria, who was standing next to her horse. Her face was open, curious, as she watched him, and he realized with a start that there was no one here he trusted more than her. Not even his fellow Ruined.
“I’ll tell you later,” he said under his breath as he passed her.
She mounted her horse. “Thank you saving my life, by the way.”
“You already said.”
“Oh. I did?” Pink tinged her cheeks, and she ducked her chin into her chest as she grabbed the saddle of her horse.
He tried to hide his amusement. Was it wrong that he liked that he flustered her?
“Duck next time,” he said with a grin. “I can’t constantly be saving you.”
She was obviously trying not to smile. “I would have, if you hadn’t decided to throw me around with your Ruined magic.”
“Sure you would have.”