“Yes. We didn’t spend much time together then, did we?”
“No. Because I called you a cocky miscreant.”
He let out a laugh, the memory taking shape in his head. “That’s right. Wait, miscreant? You called me a miscreant?”
“I did. I don’t think it fits, does it?”
“Not really. I think I would have preferred ‘jerk.’ Or ‘cad.’” He scanned the area, but there were still no soldiers to be seen. They were probably preparing for an attack. “Why did you call me that, again?”
“I challenged you to a duel and you said sword-fighting was for peasants.”
“I did?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry. I was a cocky miscreant.”
“It’s all right. I actually kind of liked that about you.”
“CASIMIR!” Jovita’s voice rang through the fortress as she stomped across the entryway to where he stood in the doorway. “Why was there just a Ruined in here?”
“I don’t know.” He gestured to where Galo stood on the lawn with a few guards. “Organize a search. Bring him alive if you find him. I have questions.”
“How much Weakling do we have?” Jovita asked.
“Very little,” a solider replied. “We can shoot out one cannon, and it will be light.”
“We should save it,” Cas said. “We won’t be able to get into Ruina anytime soon to get more.”
“I know,” Jovita snapped. She turned back to the soldier. “No Weakling for now. Everyone keep watch. I want an update every hour.”
Cas brushed past her. “I’m sure my guards can give you an update after they give me one.”
Jovita followed him, her footsteps so heavy he thought she must be channeling her anger into her feet. “That was Aren,” she hissed.
“I heard.”
Jovita grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop and face her. She jabbed a finger at his chest. “I know he talked to you.”
“He came to my room, yes, but luckily my guards discovered something was wrong before he could harm me.”
“I’m not an idiot, Cas. I know that Ruined was trying to communicate with you.” She was having a hard time not yelling, and Cas could barely keep himself from grinning. Watching his cousin lose her grasp on the situation was the most fun he’d had in days.
“Aren hates me,” he said. “He’s made it clear a number of times. I don’t know why he’d want to talk to me. I’m sure he came here to kill me.”
“Cas.” Jovita said his name like she was talking to a small child. “We have to work together. If that Ruined is planning something and you don’t tell me—”
“If Aren is planning something, don’t you think it would be wildly stupid to waltz inside the fortress and let everyone know?”
“Then why was he here?” Jovita yelled.
He lifted his shoulders. “If we catch him, we’ll ask him. But he left without killing anyone, so I think we should count ourselves lucky.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please, Cas.”
“In the meantime, we should order everyone to stick close to the fortress. No more scouts after this batch of guards gets back. I’m sending Violet and a few guards to check on the status of the southern province, but other than that, we’re all staying put.”
Jovita eyed him suspiciously. “You were just in the southern province.”
“I know, but Violet wanted to go back, and it is her territory. I didn’t feel right ordering her to stay here.”
“You’re the king. Learn how to order people, Cas.”
“I’ll work on that.” He smiled at her. “I’ll see you later, Jovita.”
He walked away, finding Mateo standing in the entryway. Cas beckoned him over, and gestured for Violet to follow him as well. He led them into the parlor and closed the door behind them.
“Violet is leaving for Franco’s tomorrow,” he said to Mateo. “Will you go with her?”
“Yes,” Mateo said immediately.
“You’ll be meeting Aren and Iria on the way. They’ll accompany you.”
“Aren and Iria,” Mateo repeated.
“Is the answer still yes?”
“Of course.”
“We’ll get you the fastest horses we can. I want everyone here and ready to march within days.” He looked at Violet. “Can you do that?”
“I can do that.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
OLIVIA STARED AT the line of warriors in the distance, guarding the Olso border. Did they really think that was enough to stop her?
Behind the warriors were the tallest mountains she’d ever seen. It wasn’t snowing where she was, but the peaks of the mountains were white. She hoped they didn’t have to cross them to get to the Olso castle.
Jacobo stood beside her, his eyes wide with excitement as he surveyed the warriors. Behind her were about two hundred Ruined, almost everyone they’d had in Sacred Rock. Most appeared more scared than excited. They didn’t have anything to be scared of.
Olivia wasn’t happy her sister had been kidnapped, but she couldn’t help the thrill of excitement that shot up her spine. This was her opportunity to show the Ruined she deserved to lead them. She was finally the one doing the rescuing, instead of being the weak one sitting in a cell. Once she defeated the warriors, the Ruined would never doubt her again.
Ivanna fell into step beside her. “You know what Em would do in this situation, right? She would negotiate.”
“Em would negotiate because she’s useless. It’s her only option.”
“It’s not her only option, it’s the one she thinks is best.”
“I’m not Em.”
“You’re certainly not,” Ivanna muttered.
Olivia whirled around. Ivanna took a step back and the rest of the Ruined stopped. Her anger must have been splashed across her features, because several of them avoided her gaze.
“If you don’t want to be here, you can leave,” she spat. “I’m sure Ivanna would be happy to lead you back to Sacred Rock.”
“I’m here to rescue my queen,” Ivanna said quietly.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing! And I’d like to point out that I never wanted help from the warriors. Em wouldn’t be in this mess if she’d listened to me.”
Ivanna turned her eyes to the ground, but several of the Ruined nodded in agreement.
“Nothing is up for discussion anymore,” Olivia said. “I am your queen, and you will do as I say without question. If you have a problem with that, you can go back to Lera and fend for yourself.”
No one moved. She had to resist the urge to look smug. “Good. We are no longer friends with the warriors. Any of them. You will kill all of them on sight. You may take anything you like, but we’ll focus on supplies after we’ve killed the royal family.” Maybe they could even take the castle. She’d never pictured herself living in Olso, but it wasn’t the worst idea. It wasn’t that far from Ruina, and she wouldn’t have to wait years for her own castle to be built.
She looked at the Ruined seriously. “Get behind me and pick off the warriors I miss.”