“My mother was a warrior, you know.”
“Please don’t talk about your mother with me. Being in the same category as her is making me want to scream.” She winced. “I’m sorry. I forgot for a moment that you lost her recently.”
“It’s fine. No one seems to have nice things to say about my parents.”
She looked at him with a glimmer of sympathy.
“My mother hated Olso. She hated how only those strong enough to be warriors mattered, she hated the king, I think she even hated her own family.” He lifted one shoulder. “So I can’t pretend to understand how you feel. But you can stay in the castle for as long as you like, whether you want to give me information about Olso or not.”
She blew out a breath. “It’s really annoying when you’re nice and reasonable like that.”
“I’m very reasonable. Em says it’s one of my best qualities.” He smiled at her and started back toward his army.
“Do you have any plans to invade Olso?” she called after him.
He turned with a laugh. “Are you kidding? I don’t even have my own country yet. I have no interest in invading another one.”
“I’ll never tell you about Olso’s defenses. Or anything about warrior strategy or how we fight or anything like that.”
“Understood.”
“Best guess—August ordered the warriors who were here to the Lera castle or home to Olso,” Iria said.
“Do you want to tell me which is more likely?”
“It depends on how bad things are in Olso. August would weigh their current defensive position in Olso against how much they want to retain their hold in Lera. King Lucio desperately wanted Lera under his control. August … I’m not sure. But considering he knows about your relationship with Em, he might assume you have some Ruined support. I’d say there’s a good chance he ordered the warriors back to Olso, considering the losses they suffered with Olivia.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“Your Majesty!” a breathless voice shouted. He turned to see one of his scouts riding down the north road into the town square, her hair flying behind her. She pulled on the reins to slow as she approached him and jumped off her horse.
“Jovita,” she said. “We spotted Jovita in the jungle, with all the hunters and soldiers we left at Fort Victorra.”
“Headed north?” he asked.
She nodded.
He’d expected as much. He didn’t think Jovita would simply sit around the fortress after he left. If he took the castle, he took the throne.
He’d hoped to stay in Gallego City for the rest of the afternoon and through the night to let everyone rest. It looked like that wasn’t happening.
“We’re going to have to keep moving!” he shouted. He strode back to his horse and took Em’s outstretched hand. He settled down in the saddle.
He laced his fingers through Em’s, doubt creeping in. “Is it more important to beat Jovita to Royal City, or to let everyone rest?”
“To beat Jovita to Royal City,” she said immediately.
“They will need to be rested to fight once we get there… .”
“Ride through half the night today, and let people rest for three or four hours. Then ride all the next day, and stop as soon as the sun sets. Let them sleep all night so they’ll be rested when we get to Royal City the next day. That’s what I would do.”
“Then that’s what I’ll do.”
FORTY-FOUR
THE AIR WAS cool and salty as the Lera army approached Royal City two days later. Em took in a deep breath. She’d missed that smell.
The dirt road curved through the grass, leading to a cluster of homes. Past that, Em could see the buildings stretching up into the sky—the center of Royal City. The sun was sinking behind them, casting an orange glow across the land in front of them.
Beyond the shops was the castle. Completely intact, from the looks of it.
She was walking on foot beside Cas’s horse, and she turned to smile at him. His attention was on the castle, relief splashed across his face. She glanced over her shoulder at the Lera soldiers stretched out behind her to see matching expressions on their faces.
“Your kingdom is beautiful, Cas,” she said. “Have I ever told you that?”
“I don’t think so. If you did, it was begrudgingly.”
She laughed softly. “I mean it this time.”
“Thank you.” He looked down at her, their eyes meeting for a moment. “You should stay.”
She smiled sadly because she knew she couldn’t. But Cas just stared at her like he was serious.
“Cas, you know I can’t—”
“Em,” Aren interrupted. He pointed west.
She turned. The trees on the west side of the city were swaying like a storm was brewing. But around her, the air was still.
“Ruined.” Her chest constricted. “Olivia.”
“Why is she here?” Cas asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe she knew I was here?” Maybe Olivia had completely destroyed Olso and had decided to move on to Lera.
Em met Aren’s eyes. He was thinking the same thing.
“I’ll go find her,” she said.
Aren jumped off his horse. “Take my horse. I’m going to stay with Cas and Iria until they’re in the castle. Is that all right?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll find you when it’s over.” Aren squeezed her arm.
Em turned to find Cas had dismounted his horse. A soldier pulled on his horse’s rein, moving to the side so they could have a modicum of privacy. It wasn’t much, considering the rest of the soldiers were still moving toward the city on the road behind her.
A lump formed in her throat as she stepped closer to him. “I can probably convince Olivia to leave.” She spoke softly so that only he could hear. “But I don’t think I’ll ever convince her to partner with humans again. It’s best if we go to Ruina and not come back.”
Cas’s lips twitched up, which wasn’t the response she’d been expecting. He stepped closer to her, sliding one hand onto her neck. His thumb stroked her jaw. “I don’t think you’re going to do that.”
“What?”
“I know what we did to the Ruined is unforgiveable. I’ll never ask for their forgiveness. But I want to find a way to make it better. I want my people to face what we did, and try to make amends.”
Em shook her head. “Cas—”
“And I want you to marry me. For real this time.” He leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers. “I spent so much time moping about how we couldn’t be together that I forgot to fight for you. So I’m going to start. I’m going to use every bit of power I have to convince my people we need to partner with the Ruined. That you would be the best queen they ever had.”