“A diarchy. We rule Ruina together, as queens.”
“A diarchy.” Em’s mouth formed an O, and Olivia smiled. She knew her sister would be grateful for the opportunity to lead the Ruined. Perhaps she was even better suited for the position than Olivia, but she couldn’t bring herself to give up the throne entirely. Em had made great strides to restore the Ruined to their former glory, but she was still tied up in her ludicrous feelings for Casimir. Olivia needed to guide Em and their people. Olivia needed to prove herself, after being locked away for a year.
“We’ll make decisions together,” Olivia said. “We’ll each have certain responsibilities. We’ll have certain veto powers.” Olivia gently punched Em’s shoulder. “Come on. You know you want to lead the Ruined. You know you should be queen.”
“B-but they’ve already rejected me once,” Em stuttered. “They won’t accept me as their queen.”
“We will make them accept you.”
“Maybe we should discuss it with a few people, ask—”
“We do not ask.” Olivia sat up straighter. She was a little shorter than Em, though not by much. “We take. We will take the throne, we will take responsibility, and we will crush anyone who defies us. Got it?”
Em let out a small laugh. “Really? Crush anyone who defies us?”
“Fine. I’ll crush them. I’m good at that part.” In truth, Olivia knew she needed to take a strong stance with the Ruined. They weren’t going to respect a queen who’d been kidnapped and then rescued by her useless sister. Olivia had to demand, not request.
“Are you sure?” Em asked.
“Absolutely. Don’t make me do this by myself. The Ruined need to be united right now. I think it will make a powerful statement if we start by coming together to lead.”
Em blinked back tears. “I love you, Liv.”
“I know. You married Casimir for me. I figure you must really love me.” Olivia hopped up, extending her hand to Em. “Come on. Let’s go introduce the Ruined to Queen Emelina.”
FOUR
CAS DESCENDED THE steps of the fortress, turning his head at the sound of laughter coming from the rear part of the building. He walked down the hallway, Galo trailing behind him.
“Put some muscle into it!” a woman yelled.
“I am!” another female voice replied.
Cas stopped at the entrance of the kitchen to see the cook, Blanca, pushing a young girl aside with her hips. She pressed her palms into the pile of dough on the counter.
“Like this,” she said. “Massage it like you’re mad at it.” Blanca stepped back, catching sight of Cas standing in the doorway. She straightened and wiped her hands on her apron. “Your Majesty.” The young girl whirled around and squeaked out a greeting.
“Good morning,” Cas said. “How are things going?”
“Very well. Have you been happy with the food?”
“Of course.” He tried to give her a reassuring smile. Blanca had been an assistant chef in the castle, but the head chef was still missing. Probably dead. He pointed to the ball of dough. “I didn’t know we had flour.”
“It came in yesterday. One of the arrivals from Gallego City brought everything he had from his bakery so it wouldn’t go bad.”
He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Daniela walking toward them, a basket of vegetables in her arms. Her wrinkled face brightened when she spotted him.
“Nice to see you, Your Majesty,” she said, bowing her head. She’d been in the wagon with him, like many of the staff members at the fortress, and Cas seemed to have earned their undying loyalty as a result.
“Can I get you anything?” Blanca asked.
“No, thank you.” He was headed to a meeting with Jovita and the advisers, and his stomach was too knotted to even think about food. He said good-bye and turned away. The laughter didn’t pick up again as he left. Laughter always stopped when he entered a room these days.
He walked back up to the second floor of the fortress and into a large empty room. His father had always been the last to arrive at meetings; Cas had decided to do the opposite.
The staff had removed the couches and chairs and made one long table in the middle of the room from several smaller tables. There were no windows, so several lanterns hung on the walls, and two sat on the tables. It was nothing compared to the Ocean Room at home, where the meetings were held in the Lera castle. If Cas closed his eyes, he could still see the sun sparkling off the ocean from those windows.
He sank into the chair at the head of the table. Galo lingered in the doorway.
“Sit,” Cas said. He used his foot to push out the chair next to him. “Here.”
Galo looked from the seat to Cas. “Are you sure?” Cas’s father would never have let a guard sit at the table during an adviser meeting. That made Cas only more determined to have Galo next to him.
“Just sit down.”
The guard obeyed and pulled out the chair next to him. Cas cracked his knuckles nervously as he waited. It was still unbelievable that everyone took orders from him.
A few minutes later, Colonel Dimas and General Amaro walked in and murmured their greetings. General Amaro avoided Cas’s gaze as she sat in the seat farthest away from him.
The two advisers he’d met with yesterday entered, their heads bent together in conversation. Cas knew the older one, Julieta, fairly well. She was about the same age as his mother, and she’d lived in Royal City. He’d met the other, Danna, a few times, but she lived in the eastern province and only visited the castle a few times a year. They’d been friendly yesterday, offering condolences for his parents, but today they seemed tense. Julieta flashed Cas a smile that was obviously forced.
Violet stepped into the room, her face brightening when she spotted Cas. He gestured for her to take the seat next to Galo and she quickly scurried over.
The governor of the southern province has a daughter. She was our second choice, after Mary. She’s lovely. Much prettier than Emelina.
His father’s voice echoed in his head as he stole a glance at Violet. His father hadn’t been wrong. Violet was striking, with her long black hair, intense dark eyes, and full lips, but the comparison to Em was inapt. Em might not have been the prettiest girl in the room, but everyone stared at her anyway. It was like she held a secret they all wanted to know.
Cas willed the image of Em out of his head. He needed to focus.
The governor of the northern province walked in, followed by a few important leaders from the western province. Cas knew he needed to start giving out official adviser titles to people since so many had died, but he hadn’t had the time. He was still focused on making it through each day without breaking down into hysterical sobs.
Jovita entered last. Her dark hair was loose around her shoulders, and she wore a blue dress. Where had she gotten a dress? He’d rarely seen her wear one in the castle, much less in a fortress with limited supplies and clothing.