He made a disgusted noise and lowered the sword. He climbed back in the carriage without looking at her again.
“Go,” the warrior said.
Em had nothing on her—not a canteen, or extra bandages, or food—and the warrior didn’t offer anything as he swept his arm out. If the situation had been reversed, she probably wouldn’t have offered anything either.
“Thank you,” she said, and meant it. The carriage began moving again and disappeared into the trees.
She let out a long breath and focused straight ahead. Under normal circumstances, an hour-long walk would be a breeze. She might have jogged to speed it up.
But today her steps were heavy. She was so slow she wasn’t even entirely sure she was moving at times. She had to stare at her feet to watch one in front of the other. The world blurred around her, and she almost passed out several times.
She tried to focus on something to stay awake. She thought about Aren. Was he still somewhere with the warriors, oblivious to what was happening?
She thought about Olivia. Had her sister really left her? Had she looked for Em and assumed she was dead?
You’re only queen because I let you—
Olivia’s last words to her rang in her ears. Maybe Em was relieved her sister hadn’t found her. She tried to shake the emotion off, but it persisted. She knew Olivia wouldn’t feel the least bit guilty about what she’d done, and Em wasn’t ready to face her. She wasn’t ready to admit that Olivia was a bigger problem than she’d ever anticipated. She could no longer deny the surge of fear she felt every time she thought about her sister. She was a danger to everyone in her path, including the Ruined, and Em didn’t know what to do about it.
But mostly, she thought about Cas.
I’m offering to give up everything for you, to help you—
His words were on repeat in her head. Em had rejected him, and she hadn’t even been nice about it. He’d offered to stay by her side forever. Why did she insist on making everything terrible? Why couldn’t she have wrapped her arms around him and told him to never leave? What if she’d kicked the warriors out and let Cas stay? They might still be in Sacred Rock.
No, they wouldn’t. Olivia never would have allowed it. She would have killed him eventually, no matter how much Em begged her not to.
The thought sucked all the air out of her lungs and she had to stop for a moment. She pressed her palms to her thighs. Em was supposed to be on her sister’s side, always. But for the first time, she wasn’t.
The sound of horse hooves against the ground echoed through the forest, and Em stepped behind the tree. She leaned her forehead against the trunk and closed her eyes. She had to be near to the fortress. She had no idea how she would contact Cas, but maybe she’d sleep for a while before figuring it out.
She forced her eyes open and squinted at the approaching figures. They were all in black, their horses at a gallop. Two men rode in front, and she blinked as she focused on the dark-skinned one. It was Aren.
She pressed her hand to the tree, leaning forward to see the man next to him. His dark hair was still a little longer than usual, bouncing with the horse. Cas. The fortress was right behind them.
“Thank you,” she mumbled as she pushed away from the tree. “Thank you.”
She stumbled into the road, her good arm extended in front of her.
“Whoa!” Cas yelled. The horses all skidded to a stop, kicking up dust in between them. He squinted in the dust.
“Em?” Aren yelled.
Footsteps ran toward her. She didn’t realize she still had one hand outstretched until someone took it. Cas. His other hand was on her cheek, shock coloring his features.
She meant to lean against him, but instead she was falling. She whimpered as she made contact with his body.
He wrapped an arm around her waist. He had to hold her up, but she didn’t mind.
“What happened?” It was Aren’s voice now. He was gingerly touching her bandages. He pulled one away from the skin and took in a sharp breath.
“Fire,” Em mumbled. “Olivia killed everyone.”
“Is she here?” Cas asked. Em shook her head. “Does it look bad?” he asked, quieter.
“Yes,” Aren replied. “But someone did a good job dressing it. I don’t think it’s infected. The pain, though … it’s bad.”
“I have some herbs that will make her sleep,” a familiar female voice said. Em had her face in Cas’s shoulder, and she didn’t have the energy to look up.
“Is that safe?” Cas asked. “What if we get attacked?”
“She can’t fight like this anyway,” Aren said. “We can protect her if we run into trouble.”
Who was “we”? Why were Aren and Cas together? She had so many questions, but no energy to ask them.
“Is that all right with you?” Cas asked quietly. His hand was in her hair.
“Mm-hmm,” she said with a nod.
“We’ll do that, then. Aren, help me get her on my horse?”
Hands grabbed her around the waist, and she was suddenly in the air, then her legs were on either side of a horse. A warm body was behind her, and she sank into it.
“Thanks,” Cas said. He put his hand on her chin, tilting it up. “Open your mouth. Drink this.”
She did as he said, gulping down the foul-tasting liquid. The canteen disappeared.
“Are you all right?” Cas asked. “Does it hurt?”
It did hurt, but everything hurt. She leaned back, letting her head fall against his shoulder. She closed her eyes.
FORTY-ONE
OLIVIA GLARED DOWN at the warrior on the ground. She placed her boot in the center of his chest. Beside her, a few dead bodies spilled out of a wagon. A Ruined unhooked the horses so they could take them.
“I let her go,” the warrior under her boot sputtered. “She wanted to go to the fortress, so I dropped her off as close as I could.”
A man shouted behind her, and Olivia looked over her shoulder to see Jacobo sticking a sword in the man’s chest. His head lolled to the side.
“Em wanted to go to the fortress?” she asked, focusing on the warrior under her boot. He nodded enthusiastically.
Cas. Em had run back to him at the first opportunity.
Olivia resisted the urge to scream. Nothing had gone as planned. She’d killed the entire Olso royal family, but she didn’t have the castle. She’d lost about twenty Ruined in Olso—far more than she’d anticipated. Those remaining were losing faith in her. She could see it in their eyes.
And she hadn’t rescued Em.
“Please—” The warrior’s words died in his throat as she snapped his neck.
She planted her hands on her hips, surveying the scene around her. Over a hundred Ruined lingered. The air was chilly, the ground damp from a short burst of rain, and a few of them shivered. Most of them hadn’t helped dispatch of the warriors in the wagon. They’d left that to Olivia and Jacobo.