“I knew you weren’t dead,” she said, her voice thick with tears. “I told them you would have found a way to escape.” She released him, holding on to his arms as she inspected his clothes. “Why are you wearing a staff shirt?”
“Some of the staff helped me escape.”
Jovita was on the other horse, and she jumped down and briefly hugged Cas. “I’m glad you’re all right,” she said.
“Sure you are,” Cas said with a laugh. She smiled tightly, not quite meeting his eyes. Perhaps his cousin hadn’t been entirely sad about his disappearance, and her sudden direct path to the throne.
“Come on,” the queen said. “We should keep moving. Tell us your story on the way.”
“Is Fort Victorra still under our control?” Cas asked.
“Yes,” his mother said. “We sent one guard to ride ahead and check, and he said it’s still secure and they’re preparing for an attack. We’ve sent soldiers to protect the Vallos border as well. We want to keep the warriors in the north for now.”
“And Olivia?” he asked.
“We’ll dispose of her when we arrive,” the queen said. “I didn’t send word for them to kill her. I figured there were more important things to take care of.”
He flinched at the casual way his mother talked about killing Em’s sister. They definitely needed to get to the Southern Mountains, to safety, and to prepare for an attack. His mother and Jovita were right about that.
“Have you seen the warriors come through with a wagon?” he asked. “I saw them last night.”
“One of our scouts saw a wagon,” Galo said. “They’re ahead of us.”
“They have a lot of the staff in that wagon, and a few guards,” Cas said. “I was in there with them for a while. Last night there were only five guarding the wagon.”
“Six, last we heard,” Galo corrected.
Cas surveyed the group, counting. Eight guards, that he could see, plus his mother and Jovita. “Is this all of you?”
“No, there are four scouting the nearby areas,” Galo replied. “Two ahead and two behind.”
“That’s plenty. Do you think we can catch up to the wagon?”
“No,” Jovita said sharply. “We don’t have time.”
“We’re headed that way anyway,” Cas said. “And given how we were treated in the wagon, I can’t imagine the warriors have anything good planned for them.” He turned to Galo. “How far ahead and behind are the scouts?”
“Not far. One of the two comes back often with reports.”
“Good. Next time they come back, we’ll have them stay with us. At least four guards will go with my mother and Jovita, and they can continue on to the mountains. The rest are with me, and we’ll be taking that wagon.”
“No, you will not,” the queen said. “There is no one of use in that wagon, and we are not risking our lives to save them. Everyone back on your horses. Joseph, Cas will ride yours.”
The guards looked from the queen to Cas, clearly unsure what to do. His mother put a hand on his arm.
“Cas, your safety is more—”
“It wasn’t a suggestion,” he said, his voice rising. She blinked, dropping her hand from his arm. “There are thirty people in that wagon, and they all helped me escape. Thirty people we will take with us to the Southern Mountains, to help defend our hold on Vallos.”
Jovita put her hands on her hips. She gave Cas a look like he was an absolute idiot.
“Pick four guards to accompany you,” he continued.
Joseph immediately stepped forward, and the queen motioned to a few others.
“Leave Olivia alone for now,” he said, trying to keep his voice casual. “The last thing we need is her causing any trouble. Focus on securing the building. We’ll deal with her later.”
The guards all nodded, but his mother studied him, a hint of suspicion in her eyes.
He quickly turned away. “Let’s go.”
It took less than an hour to catch up to the wagon, and a guard who went ahead informed Cas that the warriors were resting, letting their prisoners out for a bathroom break.
Only two of the Lera guards had bows and arrows, and all eight stood in a circle around him. There were five men and three women, and he didn’t know any of them particularly well, except Galo. But they all listened intently as he outlined his plan, nodding as he gave orders.
“I’m going to make it my mission to open that wagon,” he said, his voice low as they weren’t that far from the warriors. “Either the men or the women will still be inside, because they only let one group out at a time usually. No one in that wagon has a weapon, but we could use the extra bodies.”
“Are you sure you won’t wait here?” Galo asked, and Cas immediately shook his head. “Or just let us go ahead and you can come in after we’ve killed a few of them.”
“No. I’m good with a sword; you need my help.”