Damian’s jaw tensed. “Your hunters killed my family, yes.”
“Our hunters killed your family,” Cas repeated, because it was true. “What did you do before the Lera invasion?”
“What do you mean, what did I do?”
“You were about sixteen when we invaded, correct? Were you in school? Did Ruina have schools?”
“No. Parents educated their kids at home.” He hesitated. “But I was educated at the castle with Em and Olivia.”
“Em is Emelina?” Cas asked.
“Yes.”
“You were friends with the Flores sisters? Or related to them?”
“Friends.”
“Your parents must have known Wenda Flores, then.”
“Everyone knew Wenda,” Damian said, throwing an arm across his forehead. “It’s not like here, where you isolate yourself from your people like you’re scared of them.”
“Did you have training?” Cas asked. “Battle training?”
Damian barely lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. He wasn’t answering that question.
“Were you involved in the raid on the Vallos castle?” Cas asked, thinking of Mary’s troubled expression yesterday when she asked about Damian.
Again, Damian just shrugged.
“Were you raised to hate everyone who wasn’t Ruined?”
Damian dropped his arm from his forehead, turning his head to look at Cas. “No.”
Cas glanced at Galo. The guard had his arms crossed over his chest, a serious expression on his face. He barely nodded at Cas, as if telling him to go on.
“Did you ever kill anyone before Lera invaded?”
“Ruined don’t kill each other. I didn’t have much contact with anyone else.” He snorted. “Can’t say that you guys have made a very good impression.”
“No, I guess not,” Cas said quietly.
A crease appeared between Damian’s eyebrows as he studied Cas. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then shut it, his frown deepening. Cas stepped back to join Galo against the wall. He ducked his head, his words only for the guard.
“Do you ever wonder,” he said to the ground, “if maybe we’re the dangerous ones, not the Ruined?”
Galo paused before answering. “All the time.”
FIFTEEN
“PLAN NUMBER ONE.” Em put one finger in the air as she paced across her bedroom. “We simply try to keep him alive until we’re ready to launch the attack. Then the castle will be ours anyway, and Damian can go free.”
Aren nodded, leaning against the wall and staring out the window. The sunlight streamed across his face and onto his blue guard shirt. “He’ll have to endure torture for a while,” he said softly.
“I know.” Em swallowed. “Plan number two. You volunteer for a shift down there, kill the other guard, and you and Damian make a run for it.”
“If he’s in any shape to run. Not to mention that me freeing Damian and disappearing will cast suspicion on you.”
She moaned, pushing her hands into her hair. “Forget plan number two. Or! Revise it. Make it look like Damian killed the other guard, used his Ruined magic to get out of the cell, and escaped by himself.”
“He’d still have a tough time getting over the castle wall. And evading the guards once he’s free.”
“Do you have any better ideas?” she asked, exasperated.
“No. Is there a plan number three?”
“I find out where Olivia is as soon as possible, and all of us get out of here.”
“That’s the worst one yet. Destroying your cover before we’re ready to launch the attack makes this all for nothing. They’ll heighten their defenses.”
“I never said they were good plans. And I don’t hear you throwing out any ideas.”
He turned so his back was to the wall, lifting his head to the ceiling. “Plan number four. Let Damian die.”
Em grabbed one of the bedposts, squeezing it almost to the point of cracking.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Aren said. He blinked several times, but not before she saw the tears in his eyes. “It’s taking all my willpower not to rush down there and kill everyone even in the general vicinity of his cell. But all of this is bigger than him. You know that.”
She eased her fingers off the bedpost. “I know that.”
“Plan number one. It’s the only option. Get them to hold off as long as you can.”
“Maybe he can give them a few pieces of information, pretend to be useful so they’re less inclined to kill him,” she said. “I want to talk to him. Can you volunteer for a shift in the dungeon?”
“Sure. They haven’t assigned guards for the overnight shift yet.”
“Is there more than one down there overnight?”
“Two. But I can use my Ruined magic to tie his stomach into knots. He’ll be too sick to stay.”
“Good. Tell me when we’re ready.”