Aren nodded, and Cas turned and walked back into the castle. “Tell the guards to check every room of the castle,” he said to Galo. “Every place someone could hide. Make sure the castle is clear.”
Galo nodded and grabbed the nearest guard, repeating the order quickly. He stayed at Cas’s side as he turned a corner. Cas considered going up to the tower to watch the warriors leave, to his bedroom, to Em’s room, but his feet led him directly to a sitting room on the first floor. He stepped inside.
His father’s blood still stained the wooden floor. The window Cas had used to escape was closed, and his father’s body was gone, but other than that, it was exactly the same as he remembered it. He took in a shaky breath.
“We’ll have someone clean that,” Galo said quietly.
Cas didn’t think that would help much. He turned on his heel and quickly walked out of the room. He kind of wished the fire had destroyed that room.
The hallways had once been brightly colored—red and orange and blue and green, different every time you turned a corner. They were mostly black now, and he trailed his fingers along a formerly green wall as he walked back to the front of the castle. He would have them painted to match the original color. So many things had to change, but he thought maybe he’d leave just this one thing the same.
He rounded a corner and stepped back into the foyer at the main entrance. Some of the staff was trickling in, and he heard a laugh from somewhere in the castle. The air was full of excitement and anticipation suddenly. Their bright faces filled Cas with hope.
Mateo ran to the front door, his eyes finding Cas. Jovita, he mouthed.
Cas weaved around the staff members and stepped outside. Jovita stood in front of the remains of the gate, a small group of hunters behind her. Her gaze was above his head, on the castle, but she slowly lowered it until their eyes met. She lifted an eyebrow.
“Should I call some guards to make sure she doesn’t come in?” Galo asked.
Jovita took a step back, like she knew what Galo had just said. She held Cas’s stare for another moment before turning and walking away. The hunters followed her. One of them grinned at Cas as he left and ran a finger across his neck.
“Did he just—” Galo darted forward and Cas grabbed his arm.
“Let them go.”
“He just threatened the king.”
“I have bigger things to worry about.”
“You’re going to have to deal with her eventually,” Galo said.
“I know.”
Cas stepped inside and he and Galo closed the doors. The staff members were clustered at the bottom of the stairs, looking at him excitedly, and he squeezed Daniela’s arm as he passed her.
He hurried across the castle, back through the kitchen, and out the back door again. Aren was still there with a few soldiers and Franco. They were all looking at the sky. Cas followed their gaze.
“What?” he asked.
“The Ruined are close,” Aren said.
Franco looked from Aren to Cas. “Do the warriors have the right idea? Should we be running?”
“We don’t have anywhere else to go.” Cas’s voice was calm. “Have faith in Em.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. You’ll make the right decision.
FORTY-SIX
AREN HAD ALL the faith in the world in Em, but he couldn’t deny that the wind whipping across his face was Ruined-made. They were close.
Screams sounded from beyond the wall. He’d seen Iria run across the gardens toward the back wall just a few minutes ago.
“Go inside,” he said to Cas. “Stay there until I say it’s safe.”
Cas nodded and strode back inside the castle. Franco and the soldiers followed him.
Aren ran across the lawn and through the gardens, to what remained of the stone wall. Large chunks of it still stood, but parts of it had been blown away by the Olso attack. He jumped over the rubble.
The area behind the castle was nothing but open land. It was dark and mostly deserted, but he could see the backs of warriors as they scurried away from him. He followed them.
Homes and shops were to his left, but he ran in the direction of the ocean, where he could see several large ships docked. Red Olso flags flapped in the breeze.
Surely Iria wouldn’t try to go back to Olso? He hadn’t killed all the warriors they were with. Plenty of them knew that she’d betrayed them and taken off with Aren.
He ran up a hill and skidded to a stop. The scene in front of him was such chaos he had to blink a couple times to take it all in. Warriors ran in all directions, shouting orders at each other. Some of them scurried onto the boats, others were running off the ship, swords drawn. Olivia strode toward the dock, a group of Ruined behind her. Her coat billowed in the wind, and Aren could see the fury etched on her face, even from this distance. She left a trail of dead warriors behind her.
Em wasn’t with her.
“Aim! Warriors, aim!”
Ten warriors stood their ground in the grass just in front of the docks. A long metal cylinder was perched on each of their shoulders. Another warrior was behind each of them, a small torch in each of their hands. They were all staring at the Ruined.
Aren ran as fast as he could down the hill, but a hand caught his before he could reach the bottom.
“Don’t move,” Iria said, pulling his hand in closer to her like she was afraid he wouldn’t obey.
“What are those?” he asked, pointing to the cylinder on the warriors’ shoulders.
“Hand cannons. Tell the Ruined to run.”
“Run!” Aren yelled without question. “Ruined, run!”
A few chins lifted to look at him, but no one followed the order.
“Aren, move those warriors. Just—”
Fire exploded from the cannons, the ground shaking from the force of the blast. Aren jumped, instinctively throwing an arm over his face.
Ruined bodies flew through the air and landed hard in the dirt. Smoke curled up to the sky, obscuring the rest of the Ruined. Aren squinted, but he couldn’t see anything. Dread rose in his chest as the screams started.
Then, all the warriors rose off the ground and launched across the dock. Their bodies landed in the water with a splash. Olivia strode through the smoke, her expression wild as she used her Ruined magic to completely clear the area of warriors. A piece of metal was lodged in her arm, blood running down her hand and dripping off her fingers, but she didn’t appear to care.
The smoke began to clear, revealing bodies of dead Ruined behind her. Aren squeezed his eyes shut and turned into Iria’s shoulder.
“Aren, she’s going to kill everyone,” Iria breathed.
He took in a shaky breath and forced his eyes open again. He dropped Iria’s hand. “Hide. I’ll be right back.”
She nodded and jogged down the hill, crouching behind one of the beams at the edge of the dock. Aren waited until she was well hidden before yelling Olivia’s name.
Olivia turned. Her entire face lit up. She spread her arms wide, like she wanted a hug. “Aren!”
He walked slowly down the hill. His hands were shaking, and he took several deep breaths. Olivia would not tolerate weakness.
He stopped in front of her, clasping his hands behind his back. “Em’s fine. I found her.”