“I’m fine.” He pointed at Jovita. “You’ll want to keep several guards on her. She’s still plenty capable of wielding a sword.”
Jorge ordered a few guards into the room, and Jovita grumbled as they pulled her to her feet.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” Jorge said. “I shouldn’t have let that happen.” His eyes flicked to the sword in Cas’s hand. “I was sure you didn’t even have a sword.”
Cas barked out a laugh. “I didn’t. I took this one from her.”
Jorge looked from the sword to the pieces of the chair on the floor. “I think perhaps you really are immortal, Your Majesty.”
FORTY-SIX
EVEN IF EM hadn’t known where Olivia was, she could have just followed the trail of dead bodies.
She spotted them almost as soon as she ventured beyond the outer castle wall, and she could see several in the distance, crumpled and still. Olivia had snapped their necks, a killing style that was much neater and quieter than her usual method. She was trying to be stealthy.
Em carefully stepped around one of the fallen men. From their uniforms, they were part of the watchmen, the humans who policed Royal City. One of them must have recognized Olivia.
She broke into a jog, even though she wanted to stall. The southeast tower loomed in front of her, the door ajar, and she had to force her feet to move forward. She wished the tower was farther away, she wished her sister wasn’t in it, she wished they were back in Ruina, cuddled up in bed with their mother.
Em slowed to a stop as she reached the door and tried to shake the thought away. It would do her no good to think about the past. If she’d learned anything from Olivia, it was that obsessing about the past, and trying to get back to some mythical great time, would only lead to more pain and suffering.
She pushed the door open. It caught on something, and Em had to push a little harder. It was a dead body, scooting across the floor as she shoved the door open. The guard who’d been on duty in the tower, from the look of his uniform.
The floorboards right in front of Em had been ripped up, revealing a hole in the ground. She knelt down, craning her neck to get a glimpse inside. She couldn’t see Olivia, but the passageway was pretty long. It would take her a while to crawl all the way to the castle and back.
A boom sounded behind her, and Em whirled around, heart pounding. The Olso and Vallos armies had arrived.
Em swallowed as she pressed her back to the door. She couldn’t let Olivia run loose, even if it meant leaving the fighting to the Lera army and the Ruined. Olivia would cause more damage if she got out of the tower.
She waited several minutes, the sounds of the attack growing louder behind her. She could hear horses running, people yelling, and cannons firing.
A rustling noise came from the hole, and Em straightened, gripping Cas’s sword a little tighter. A dirty hand appeared out of the hole first, gripping the edge of the dirt to pull her body up.
Olivia was a mess. She was covered in dirt, wearing the same clothes she’d had on the last time Em had seen her, her face drawn and pale. She spotted Em when she was halfway out of the hole and paused for a moment, surprise skipping across her features before she rearranged her face into an angry mask.
“Sounds like the army made it,” Olivia said, obviously trying to keep her voice casual. Em could hear the edge in it, the disappointment and anger at her failure.
“Aren felt them coming long before the lookouts spotted them,” Em said. “Lera has the advantage.”
Olivia let out a hollow laugh. “You can always count on Aren.”
“Yes, you can,” Em said softly.
Olivia’s eyes dropped to the sword in Em’s hand. “Are you planning on stabbing me with that thing?”
“No.”
“Then, what?”
“We’re going to wait in here until this is over. Then you’re going to leave, and take Ester and Carmen and whoever else came with you.”
“They’re not here,” Olivia said. “I don’t need help.”
Em raised her eyebrows. “Where’d they go?”
“Back to Ruina, like a bunch of cowards.”
“Oh.” She felt a flash of sympathy for Olivia. She had no one left. “I think it’s best if you join them.”
“I don’t take orders from you,” Olivia spat. She made a waving motion with her hand.
“What does that mean?”
“It means move away from the door.”
Em shook her head, trying to keep her face calm. Olivia was sure to lunge at her at any moment. “What were you planning to do when you got into the castle? Kill me?”
“Yes. And Casimir. That’s how I got Jovita to tell me about this stupid passageway. I promised to kill him. Though I’m sure she won’t cry over your death either.”
Em felt a sharp stab of disappointment, even though it was the answer she was expecting. She blew out a breath and nodded.
Olivia stared at her like she was expecting something else. “Is that it?”
“What do you want me to say? You were right. I led you into a battle where I knew you might die. We’re not that different. You just don’t . . .” She shook her head.
“What? What don’t I do?”
She didn’t have the ability to see outside herself for even a moment. Em was sure that Olivia would never understand Cas’s point of view, or Aren’s, or Iria’s, and certainly not Em’s. She didn’t budge, she didn’t compromise, and it didn’t matter how much Em begged her. She couldn’t change who Olivia was, and accepting that made her feel the tiniest bit better.
“Nothing.” Em leaned her head back against the door and spoke her next words quietly. “It just makes me really sad that we couldn’t find a way to make peace with each other. You’re the only family I have left.”
Olivia’s expression changed, and Em had to turn away. For a moment, she’d appeared startled and upset, and Em was afraid that if she looked for too long, she’d forget that Olivia could no longer be reasoned with.
Another boom sounded from behind her, and Olivia’s face snapped back into its angry mask. She took a step forward.
“Move.”
Em met her sister’s gaze. “Make me.”
Olivia lunged, arms outstretched. Her body crashed into Em’s and Em easily pushed her away. Olivia stumbled, almost falling into the hole, and made an annoyed noise from deep in her throat.
Em extended her sword in front of her. “I’d rather not use this.”
Olivia snorted. “You’re not going to use it.” She lunged at Em again, darting to the side to avoid the sword. Em slashed it across Olivia’s arm.
She’d expected her sister to yelp, or jump back, or at least flinch, but she barely seemed to notice. She grabbed the blade, making Em gasp. Blood trickled from her hand where she held it.
“It goes here,” she growled, aiming the sword at her chest.
Em realized too late that Olivia was reaching around her, fumbling for the door handle, and she fell backward as the door swung open. She let go of the sword as she stumbled, afraid it would plunge into Olivia’s chest as her sister fell with her.
Olivia’s elbow slammed into Em’s stomach as they hit the ground, and she wheezed. Olivia had her hands wrapped around Em’s throat suddenly, but her body was only half on top of Em’s, and she easily threw Olivia off.
Em scrambled to her knees but a hand grabbed her ankle, pulling her back down. Her face hit the dirt. She rolled over onto her back just in time to see Olivia leaping into the air, her eyes on Em’s leg.
Her boots slammed into Em’s ankle, and Em screamed as the crack reverberated in her ears. She clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the noise.
“There.” Olivia blew a piece of hair out of her face. “That should make you stay put for a minute.”
Em sat up, pain screaming down her leg. She gasped at the sight behind Olivia. The Olso army was pushing the Lera soldiers back, advancing closer to the castle gates. Smoke billowed from cannons, and bodies fle
w through the air, propelled by Ruined magic.
Out of the corner of her eye, Em saw Olivia grab her sword. She snapped her attention back to her sister. Olivia pointed the blade at Em’s neck. Em dug her fingers into the dirt, swallowing hard as she looked up at Olivia. Her sister wore an expression Em had never seen before—defeat. Anger, resolve, and resentment, but also defeat.
“You told me once that you didn’t really expect to make it out of the Lera castle alive,” Olivia said. “So this is fitting, right? This is how it was always supposed to go.” She looked from Em to the soldiers and back again, a sad smile on her face. “I don’t think I ever really expected to make it out of this alive either. We’re not the ones who live, Em. We’re the ones who fight alone, so others can live better.”
Olivia edged the blade forward so it touched Em’s neck. Her sister’s breathing was heavy, her chest heaving up and down in short, panicked gasps. Em stared up at her, relief exploding in her chest. Olivia wasn’t going to kill her. She couldn’t do it.
The blade lowered just a little. Frustration crossed Olivia’s face, and Em could have sworn she blinked away tears. She opened her mouth to speak.
Something whizzed through the air from behind Em. It slammed into Olivia’s head, sending her stumbling backward. Her face contorted with rage as she touched her bleeding forehead and squinted at the object on the ground. A rock.
Em looked behind her, but she didn’t see who had thrown the rock. She couldn’t see anyone in the shadows of the castle. All the soldiers were at the front of the castle, not the southeast side.
Em scrambled to her feet, yelping at the pain that seared through her leg, and grabbed for the sword in her sister’s hand. Olivia let go of the blade without a fight. Blood poured down her face and into her left eye, but she didn’t wipe it away.
Em watched as Olivia looked left, to the dark buildings of Royal City. If her sister ran now, she would certainly make it out alive. Olivia looked right, to the battle raging in front of the castle. Yells rose up from the mess of soldiers, bodies scattered on the ground near the fighting.
Olivia turned right. She strode toward the battle, her coat billowing behind her, arms waving wildly.
Lera soldiers began flying through the air.
FORTY-SEVEN
IRIA DARTED OUT from behind a bush and ran for Em. Her foot protested, but the pain was dull now, only a hint of what it had been.
Em was trying to run, but she was dragging one leg behind her, and Iria easily caught up with her. She laid a hand on Em’s shoulder.
“Em,” she said.
Em jumped, relief crossing her face when she turned to see Iria standing there. Iria wrapped an arm around Em’s waist, letting Em lean against her for support.
“Was that you? With the rock?” Em asked.
“Yes. It was all I could do.” She gestured to her clothes. “I don’t have Weakling armor. She would have killed me on sight.” Iria followed Em’s gaze to where Olivia was headed to the front lawn of the castle. Hundreds of soldiers stretched out in front of the castle, swords, battle-axes, and other weapons flying. A few arrows whizzed over their heads.
The Olso and Vallos armies had clearly taken significant casualties—bodies were strewn about—but they showed no signs of retreating. She spotted several warriors swinging their swords at Lera soldiers.
Olivia was approaching from the east side, running toward the back of oblivious Lera soldiers. A body flew straight up in the air. Screams rippled through the crowd.
Em grabbed Iria around the waist, trying to hobble forward.
“We need to get you inside,” Iria said. “You’re injured.”
“We need to get to Olivia.” Em let out a cry as she tried to walk too fast, pain shooting up her leg.
Iria grasped the material of Em’s shirt, bringing her to a stop. She knelt down. “Get on my back. It’ll be faster.”
There was a brief silence, like Em was thinking of protesting, then Iria felt her arms loop around her neck. Iria stood, grabbing underneath Em’s thighs to keep her steady.
She’d lost some strength in the last few weeks, but not all of it, and she was able to break into a run with Em on her back. Olivia had disappeared into the mess of soldiers, screams rising up from the crowd. Iria followed them.
An arrow whizzed by, narrowly missing Iria’s ear. She felt Em jerk to dodge it.
Iria ran straight into the crush of bodies. She was surrounded by Lera soldiers shouting orders to each other.
“Olivia!” Em yelled at the soldiers. “Did you see Olivia?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Iria saw the glint of a sword, and she darted to the side, clutching Em’s legs. An Olso warrior was charging at them, battle-ax lifted above his head. A Lera soldier leaped in front of Iria, slicing his blade across the warrior’s chest. He crumpled to the ground.
“She went that way,” the Lera soldier said, breathing heavily as he pointed behind Iria.
She whirled around and ran farther into the crowd, ducking around a group of guards protecting a Ruined so exhausted she could barely stand.
To her right, a Lera soldier was fighting off a warrior with a sword, and Iria tried to edge around them. She felt Em take in a sharp breath, her fingers digging into Iria’s shoulder.
August appeared out of the crowd. He pulled his blade from the chest of a Lera soldier and pushed him to the ground. His eyes were wild, blood splattered across his uniform, as he searched the faces around him.
He spotted Em first. When he looked at Iria, his eyes went round, his lips parting in shock. Clearly news of her escape hadn’t reached him yet.
Em slid off Iria’s back. Iria grabbed for her, not wanting to lose Em while she was injured, but she scurried out of sight. August broke into a run. He jumped over a dead soldier, his gaze fixed on Iria.
She drew her sword from her belt, trying to remember how good August was with one. She didn’t think she’d ever had the opportunity to spar with him.
His blade came for her, and she blocked it, bumping into someone behind her as she stepped back. August’s sword crashed down again, a snarl on his face. She ducked and weaved, blocking his attacks and barely keeping her balance as the crowd pressed into them.
“Olivia!” Em’s voice cut through the noise, and August froze. His gaze snapped to the right, where the yell had come from.
Iria took advantage of his distraction to duck behind some soldiers. She ran in the direction of Em’s voice, which was still calling Olivia’s name.
Several Lera guards turned and bolted, almost knocking her over as they passed by. A hole had opened up in the crowd around her, and she suddenly saw why—Olivia stood a few paces away.
Blood poured down her face from where Iria had hit her with a rock, and she was gasping for breath. She turned in a circle, like she was looking for something.
“Olivia!” It was Em’s voice again, though Iria still couldn’t see her. Soldiers began running from all directions—headed for Olivia this time. Shields went up. Iria could smell the Weakling as soldiers closed in with their armor and shields on all sides.
Iria realized suddenly that Em hadn’t been calling Olivia’s name because she was searching for her sister, or trying to get her to stop. She’d been warning the Lera soldiers so they could get in position.
Olivia spun in a circle as the soldiers closed in. She flung her arms and sent a couple of soldiers flying, but most stood their ground, hidden behind their shields. She lowered her arms, her eyebrows furrowing as she turned. Her anger gave way to pure confusion for a moment.
A hand closed around Iria’s arm, and she turned to see Em next to her.
“The shields are working,” Iria said. Her eyes darted to where Em was clutching her sword. She was shaking.
None of the soldiers were making a move toward Olivia, Iria realized. A few glanced at Em, obviously waiting for her to charge her sister.
Rage took over Olivia’s features as her gaze caught on something. Aren.
He was standing a bit above the crowd, elevated by something Iria couldn’t see. He was facing away from Olivia, taking care of Olso warriors who had suddenly charged him.
Iria’s mind went blank. She pushed Em aside. Her feet moved forward and she was running, shoving aside scared Lera soldiers. She yanked a shield out of a soldier’s hand, ignoring his yell of protest. Her hand tightened around her blade. She sprinted forward as fast as she could.
Iria drove the sword into Olivia’s back and through her heart.
FORTY-EIGHT
GALO CLAPPED A hand over his mouth as he watched Iria’s blade tear through Olivia’s chest. Olivia’s back arched and she gasped as she fell to her knees. Iria pulled her sword out and took several quick steps back. Olivia crumpled to the ground.
Galo glanced up at Aren, who had his eyes squeezed shut and his face turned away. But Aren allowed himself only a few moments before he opened his eyes again and looked at the second wave of warriors running toward them.
Galo looked back at Olivia, but the crowd had swallowed her up. Iria was pushing her way through, half carrying a sobbing Em.
“Will you make sure Em gets inside?” Aren called to Galo.
He nodded and rushed to Iria, gently removing Em’s arm from around Iria’s shoulder. “I’ve got her,” he said. “I’ll make sure she gets inside.”
“Her leg is injured,” Iria said, pointing.
Galo reached down and scooped Em up into his arms. He turned and broke into a run, Em bouncing in his arms. He had to dodge a rush of guards running out of the castle and into the fight.
They crossed over the castle threshold, the sounds of fighting muffling as the doors closed.
“Violet! Is Cas—”
“In hiding,” Violet finished, eyes flicking to Em. “What’s—”
“She’s injured, but fine. Olivia is dead.” He said the second sentence quietly.
Galo heard the sound of running footsteps and turned to see Mateo headed toward him. He took Em out of Galo’s arms. “I’ll take her to Cas. Be careful.”
Galo gave him a quick smile before turning to race back out of the castle. Past the gates, hundreds of Lera soldiers fought off the Olso and Vallos troops against the setting sun. Smoke rose from the north corner of the castle, where a cannonball had hit the building, but the damage looked minimal. The southwest tower was on fire, and he watched as a piece of it crashed to the ground.