“But not new leadership,” Davi grumbled.
“Oh, and that reminds me!” Olivia said. “Since we’re at war, the Wartime Loyalty Amendment is in effect. All threats against the government or either queen will be considered treason and punished as such.” She cocked her head, smiling widely at Davi. “Understood?”
Davi’s face paled. Em clenched her hands together. She and Olivia hadn’t actually talked about that. The Wartime Loyalty Amendment hadn’t been in effect since their mother was a teenager. It didn’t allow for the slightest disagreement with the royal leaders. It had not been popular.
“Understood,” Ivanna said, her voice clipped. “Your Majesty.”
“Fabulous.” Olivia clapped her hands together. “I think we’ll all work well together, don’t you?”
Em glanced at the faces around her. Davi and Ivanna both looked like they wanted to smack someone. Mariana and Aren appeared nervous. Only Jacobo mirrored Olivia’s smile.
Em had a feeling the council was already doomed to failure.
FIVE
“WHAT DO YOU think, Your Majesty?” Aren asked Em with a hint of amusement, and she smiled at him. He was more proud than amused, and he got the feeling she knew it.
“They look perfect.”
Aren squinted at the line of log cabins in the distance. He’d set out on foot with Em, Olivia, and Mariana to find the coal miners’ cabins that morning, and it had only taken a couple hours to reach them. Olivia and Mariana walked ahead of them.
There were about thirty cabins. Half of them were old, with patchy roofs and lopsided porches. They’d been there since Aren could remember. The rest were new, built by the Lera intruders.
“They must have had a lot of people here, working the mines,” Aren said. “I didn’t realize Lera had such an interest in coal.”
“Olso does,” Em said. “My mother said it’s why they maintained such good relations with us.”
“What do they use it for?”
“Good question.”
“Their ships!” Mariana called, turning around to face them. She stopped, letting them catch up. “They use the coal in their ships to power them. I was in one on the way from Olso to Lera.”
“Power them how?” Em asked.
“They said it’s an engine that runs on steam. I’d never been on a ship that fast.”
Olivia frowned over her shoulder at them. “So we probably haven’t seen the last of the warriors, then.”
“I’m sure we haven’t,” Em said.
Olivia made a face before turning back to the cabins. “These are depressing.”
“Better than tents,” Aren said.
“How long do you think it will take to rebuild the castle?” Olivia asked.
“Years,” he said.
Olivia turned to him in horror. “Years?”
“That’s what Ivanna said.”
She shook her head. “No. I’m going to talk to her about speeding things up. The Ruined will never be taken seriously in these dinky little cabins.”
Aren didn’t think it mattered much where they lived. Castle, tent, cabin—it was all unsafe. The castle that had once been his home was gone, and he didn’t particularly care about building a new one. His parents would never live there with him again, so it would never feel like a home.
Olivia broke into a jog, her dark ponytail bobbing. “Let’s at least pick the best one for ourselves, Em!”
Em laughed. “Whichever one you want!”
“We’re going to have to put a lot of Ruined in each cabin,” Aren said. “Don’t put me with Jacobo. He snores.”
“You can be with me and Liv,” Em said.
“Really? I thought that since you guys were queens now you’d get your own cabin.”
“We have limited space.” Em shrugged. “Besides, I’d prefer you nearby.”
He bumped his shoulder against hers with a grin. “Anything for my queen.”
“Anything? Because I’d like a hot bath and a huge meal with some fig tarts, please.”
His stomach rumbled. They’d been surviving on nuts and seeds and the fish they’d caught in the river. Food was going to be a real problem soon. Not much grew in Ruina. “You and me both.” He grabbed his canteen off his belt and took a sip. “There were some advantages to being in Lera, weren’t there?”
Em nodded wordlessly. She was obviously trying to keep her expression neutral, but something dark passed over her features whenever Aren mentioned Lera or Cas.
He didn’t understand Em’s affection for Cas. He didn’t want to understand it. She would never see him again anyway. At least, he hoped she would never see him again. He didn’t want to see any Leran ever again. It was best that Cas was gone, even if it made Em sad.
The wind blew across the back of his neck, making his skin prick, and he swiped at it, rolling his eyes at the sky.
I know, I know, he said in his head.
The wind didn’t let up, like it was positive he knew nothing. Like it knew he wasn’t listening to his mother’s words on repeat in his head: The kindness you show others comes back around for you one day.
The wind was right; he wasn’t listening to his mother’s words. He’d been kind his whole life, right up until his parents were murdered and his home burned to the ground. Action had made life better, not kindness.
He stole a look at Em’s somber face again. They’d been friends since they were toddlers. They could usually talk about anything.
He opened his mouth to tell her that, but the words died in his throat. He always lost words when he needed them most.
They reached the cabins, and Olivia emerged from one in the middle. “The old ones are better,” she said. “The new ones are smaller.”
“We should take one of the smaller ones,” Em said. “It’ll just be me, you, and Aren.”
Olivia blew out a breath of air. “Fine.” She winked at Aren like she wasn’t actually annoyed. She looked a lot like Em, with the same olive skin and dark hair, but a smaller, more fragile version. It was hilarious, considering.
A flash of movement caught his attention, and his head snapped to the left. Two men were scrambling out of the last cabin. One was injured, dragging his left leg behind him, and his friend held on to his arm. They walked away from the mines, to the sparse trees to the north.
“Seems we have some stragglers,” Olivia said.
“Leave them,” Em said. “They can barely walk.”
Olivia set her lips in a hard line. “Did they let us go when we could barely walk?” She gestured at Aren. “Did they let him go after burning half his skin off?”
Aren tucked his hands behind him, suddenly acutely aware of his wrecked flesh. He didn’t actually mind the scars that covered much of his upper body—they were a reminder that he’d survived the raid on the Ruina castle, despite the Lera king’s best efforts—but he didn’t particularly want to be held up as an example of how bad things could get.
He shrugged when Olivia looked at him expectantly. Honestly, he hadn’t planned to chase down those miners. The chances of them making it alive to Vallos on foot were slim at best.