“Thank you.” He waited until she was down the steps, then cleared his throat. “Your Majesty?” he called loudly.
“Yes. Come in.” Cas’s voice came from the end of the hall, and Aren walked to the last door. He opened it carefully, hoping he’d gotten the room right.
Cas sat at a desk, a map rolled out in front of him. Galo sat in a chair on one side of him, Violet on the other.
Aren let out a sigh of relief and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. Cas glanced up and did a double take, his eyes widening. He jumped out of his chair.
“Aren? How did you—what did you—why are you here? How are you here?”
“I grabbed one of the guards you sent out to scout. It was pretty easy, actually. You really need to work on your security.” He looked pointedly at Galo, and the guard flushed.
“What do you mean, grabbed?” Cas asked.
“He’s not dead. He’ll be waking up shortly, so I have to be quick. August took Em.”
“I know. I told Olivia. She went to get her.”
He winced. He was glad Iria had separated from the warriors. They were all doomed.
“You came here looking for Em?” Galo asked in confusion. “You really think she’d come here?”
“I think she’ll go to wherever Cas is.”
“And you don’t have anywhere else to go,” Cas finished.
Aren nodded and quickly relayed what had happened with the warriors and other Ruined he’d been traveling with.
“Iria and I could go back to Sacred Rock,” Aren said. “If the Vallos people haven’t realized we left, anyway.”
“Little chance of that,” Cas said. “I have a better idea.” He looked back at Violet. “You should take him with you when you go south.”
“What?” Violet asked, clearly alarmed.
Cas turned back to Aren. “I’ve amassed an army there, and I’m bringing them back here. We’ll be marching to Royal City.”
“I have no desire to go back to Royal City,” Aren said.
“You can’t stay here. Sacred Rock isn’t yours anymore. You can try to catch up to the Ruined, but I saw them march by a day ago. They’ve probably already crossed into Olso.”
“I can travel faster by myself,” Aren said. “I may be able to catch up to the Ruined.”
“If you knew where they were,” Violet said.
“I assume August took her to the castle. Olivia would think the same. Iria can tell me how to get there.”
“That sounds like an excellent way to get yourself killed,” Cas said.
Aren ran a hand down his face. “So, what? I’m supposed to just leave Em in Olso?”
“Olivia is already on her way. I think we can both agree that Olivia is more than capable of rescuing her sister?”
He let out an annoyed sigh. “Of course.”
“Then help me. You said it yourself, Em will come find me. You protect us, and we’ll protect you until you find her. Deal?”
“I don’t need your protection.”
“Fine. But I could really use yours. My army in the south could permanently defeat Jovita, which is exactly what Em wants. I think if Em was here, she would tell you this was a good idea.” His lips twitched a little when he said the last part, like he knew how much it would annoy Aren.
“I think Em wouldn’t be stupid enough to ask me to join the Lera army,” he said dryly. But Cas had a point. Em did want Cas firmly on the throne, and she would probably help him if she was here. And what else was he going to do? Go hang out by the Olso border, hoping to spot Em after Olivia saved her? He had no idea when that would be, or how long it would take. He certainly wasn’t going back to Ruina without her.
“I prefer to think of it as optimism,” Cas said. He was smiling as if he already knew what Aren’s answer would be.
Aren let out a short laugh, hardly believing the next word out of his mouth, even as he said it. “Fine. But only until I find Em.”
“Deal. I need a day to get everything together. Can you wait?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know the creek just south of here?”
“I do.”
“Violet and a few guards will meet you there tomorrow, by sunset.” He looked at Violet for confirmation and she nodded.
Yells sounded from outside, and Aren reached for the doorknob. “Sounds like they found your guard in his underwear. I should go.”
“Thank you, Aren. Don’t kill anyone on the way out.”
“I’ll try.” He pulled the door open and darted into the hallway.
“Get the guards together now!” a voice shouted.
He jogged down the stairs, his eyes on the door. People all around him were running and shouting. Someone sucked in a gasp.
“It’s him!” a vaguely familiar guard pointed a shaky finger at Aren. “One of the bad Ruined!”
Aren would have laughed if he didn’t have to concentrate. He tossed the guard out of his path with one quick look and sprinted to the door. Several people moved out of his way, fear etched across their faces. A woman put herself in his path, sword drawn, and he simply scooted her across the floor to the other side of the fortress.
He ran out the door and across the lawn. He could still barely feel the effects of using his magic, and he grinned as he tossed a guard away from the gate.
“Let him go!” he heard Cas yell from behind him.
He ran away from the fortress and into the woods, daring a few glances over his shoulder. They weren’t following him.
He slowed when he was far enough away from the fortress to feel relatively safe, and came to a stop under the tree where he’d been earlier. He tilted his chin up to find Iria climbing down. She hit the ground lightly.
“Is everything …” She trailed off, cocking her head. “Why are you smiling like that? Was Em there?”
“No. They called me ‘the bad one.’ I thought it was funny.”
“The bad one? Rude.”
“You don’t think I’m one of the bad ones?”
“No!”
“I think by ‘bad’ they mean powerful.”
“Hmph.” She smiled. “I guess by this expression that everything went well?”
“Yes, but I did something you might not like.” He explained the plan quickly, Iria’s expression turning more and more confused as he laid it out for her.
“We’re joining the Lera army?”
“Temporarily. Just until I find Em.”
“Uh …”
“You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want. I’ll understand.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m sticking with you.”
He tried not to grin too widely. “Good.” He glanced back at the fortress. “We should put some space between us and the fortress. Cas probably will have to send some people out looking for me.”
Iria nodded, reaching into her bag and pulling out his clothes. She turned away as he changed. He left the guard’s uniform crumpled on the ground.
“You’re really not insulted when people call you bad?” Iria asked, falling into step beside him as they began walking south.
“I’m used to it.” He paused. “I, uh, would be bothered if someone I knew was scared of me. Like you.”
“You know I’m not scared of you. Remember when I visited the Ruina castle a few years ago?”