“Wait here, Your Majesty,” Franco said, jumping to his feet and flying out of the room. Galo stood and positioned himself in front of the door.
Franco darted back into the room a few moments later, breathless and eyes wide. “They’re saying Emelina Flores is at the gates. Alone.”
The guards at the front gate eyed Em warily. She didn’t recognize them, but they clearly knew her. She pushed back the hood of her cloak so they wouldn’t think she was trying to hide.
The sun was sinking behind one of the towers of the Lera castle, and she was surprised to feel a rush of affection as she looked at the castle. She was hit by a memory of walking down the hallways with Cas, sunlight filtering in through the big windows.
A familiar dark-haired man ran out the door. Galo. “Open the gates!” he called.
The guards obeyed immediately, pulling open the iron gate to let Em walk through. The gate was plain but shiny and new, replaced after the warriors destroyed the last one. She stepped forward.
A whole parade of guards rushed out the front door and Em’s face broke into a smile. In the center, flanked by guards on all sides, was Cas.
He darted away from the guards and ran forward, pulling her into his arms. She laughed as she hugged him.
“Why are you here?” he asked without pulling away. “Is something wrong?”
“No, I came to talk. Officially, as the queen of the Ruined.”
“Does that mean I should stop hugging you?”
She buried her face in his neck. “No,” she said, her voice muffled.
He held her for a few more seconds, and when he finally let her go, she saw that every eye was turned to them. Guards lingered all around them, and Galo, Violet, and several other people were watching from the front door. Behind them, staff members were clustered on the stairs, craning their necks to catch a glimpse.
“Come on,” Cas murmured, taking her hand. The guards fell into step beside them as they walked into the castle. She noticed they all had one hand on their swords.
The staff members scurried out of the way as Cas took her upstairs to a room she’d never been to before. Cas opened the door and nodded for her to go in first. It was an office.
“Please wait out here,” he said to his guards, and closed the door behind him.
When he turned, Em forgot why she’d come. She forgot about Olivia and the Lerans on the other side of the door. The world narrowed to just Cas, to that smile he was giving her.
She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the pent-up energy of the last couple of weeks. He pulled her body flush against his with a sharp intake of breath. His lips parted. Her fingers closed around his hair. He grabbed a fistful of her shirt. She melted into him.
She hadn’t planned to stay even one night in the castle, but being in his arms again made rational thinking difficult. If he’d asked, in that moment, if she’d stay forever, she might have said yes.
He pulled away, just a little, and she took in a breath as she prepared to speak. He shook his head and pressed his lips against hers, then to her cheek, then to her jaw.
“No,” he mumbled.
“No?”
He pressed his lips to her neck, making her fingers tighten around his hair again. “Whatever you were going to say, no. Not yet.”
She smiled as he kissed her again, and they stayed that way for so long that she was a bit dizzy when they finally broke apart. His hair was mussed from her fingers, and she laughed as she smoothed it down. He caught her hand and kissed the back of her palm.
“I did come here to talk, I swear,” she said.
“It was dangerous for you to come here, you know. Now that you’re here I may never let you leave.”
She laughed. “That’s the dangerous thing about coming here, is it?”
“Yes. Keep it in mind for next time.” He kissed her once more, then pulled away and led her across the room to the chairs next to the window. He gestured for her to sit and took the chair across from her.
He leaned forward, taking her hands in his. “How is Olivia?”
“The same. I’m sorry about the people in Fayburn. I would have stopped it if I could, but . . .”
She swallowed, unable to meet his eyes.
He squeezed her hands. “I know.” He laughed, though it wasn’t amused. “I really know.”
“What does that mean?”
“Jovita. She’s building an army against me. Maybe against you as well. We’re keeping an eye on her.”
“I guess that was to be expected.”
He sat back, letting go of her hands. His expression darkened, and she waited, thinking he was going to share his thoughts with her. But the moment passed, and he smiled and changed the subject.
“Tell me why you’re here. Besides to kiss me. I know that’s the main reason.”
“I came to discuss a way for the Ruined and the people of Lera to live together.”
“Are the Ruined open to that?” he asked.
“Are the Lerans?”
His eyes darted away from hers. “I’m working on it.”
“I know. I am too. I spoke to the Ruined about what it would take for them to stay here in Lera, to help protect you from Olivia.”
“What would it take?”
“We discussed reparations. Money to start rebuilding a life.”
“Of course.”
She clasped her hands together. She’d never been so nervous speaking to Cas before. Her heart thumped in her chest. “They—we—think it’s best to strip the monarchy of some of its power.”
Cas didn’t respond right away. He just studied her, his expression unreadable.
“How much power?” he finally asked. “What exactly would I do as king, then?”
“We could figure that out together. I’m here to find out if you’d even be open to that discussion. And to plan a way for us to communicate in the future.”
“I’m open to it,” he said, but there was hesitancy in his voice.
“What?” Em asked.
He turned to look out the window. “When we were in Westhaven, I said I was going to give up the Lera throne and you told me that was the dumbest thing you’d ever heard. You said I had to stay and make things better.”
“I know. And you still can, but I don’t think their request is completely unreasonable. We’re in this situation because your father had unlimited power.”
“I’m not my father.” He said it sharply, his eyes cutting to hers. “I’m actually working really hard to not be like him.”
She leaned forward, reaching for his hand. “I know that. But the Ruined don’t. They have no reason to trust you, except for my word. And they don’t trust me that much. Not yet, anyway.”
He laced his fingers through hers with a sigh. “Even if I agree to it, I’m not sure my advisers will. We’re in a really delicate place right now.”
“Let’s get them together and talk about it, then. I need to know if it’s completely out of the question so we can . . .” She let her voice trail off. She didn’t know what they would do next. Go back to Ruina? Let Olivia take the country from Cas?
He strode to the door and glanced back at her. “I’ll gather up some of my advisers. Should I have the staff bring you anything? Are you hungry?”
“No, I’m fine.”
He nodded and walked out the door, closing it behind him and leaving her alone.
TEN
GALO LOOKED UP at the sound of a knock on his door. He walked across the bedroom and sitting room and opened the door to find Cas. Galo suppressed a smile. Cas could easily have people fetched for him, but this was the third time he’d come to Galo’s room.
“Is Em gone already?” Galo asked, holding the door open for Cas to come inside.
“No.” He shut the door behind him and leaned against it. He closed his eyes for a few moments, and the smile slipped off Galo’s face. Something was clearly wrong. “I’m pulling a few advisers into a meeting with Em. You should come.”
“I should?”
“Yes. I want your opinion.”
“I’d be happy to,” Galo said, torn between being flattered and dreading the awkwardness of another meeting. Surely Violet and Franco and Julieta and all the rest of them assumed he was only there because he was Cas’s friend. He didn’t have the experience or the title of any of them.
Cas didn’t move from the door.
“Is something wrong?” Galo asked.
“I’m realizing that maybe I was too optimistic.”
“About?”
“Everything. The Ruined. My marriage to Em. I think I was being stupid.”
“You’re not stupid.”
“Unrealistic, then.”
“Maybe,” Galo said after a brief silence. “But I never thought we’d come this far. I think your optimism is an asset, not a liability.”
Cas sighed and closed his eyes again. He stayed that way for several seconds, like he was gathering his courage before going back out.
Finally, he opened the door and gestured for Galo to follow him. Cas told Galo he’d meet him in the Ocean Room, and walked in the direction of his office.
Galo walked through the door to the Ocean Room and every head turned to him. It was the same small group from before—Violet, Franco, Julieta, and Danna.
He hadn’t been inside this room much, and he’d almost forgotten how impressive it was, with the large windows looking over the ocean. It was sunset, and the room was bathed in warm orange light. The meetings in this room were private, and until today, he was always on the other side of the door.
He walked to the long table in the middle of the room and pulled out a chair next to Julieta. Everyone got to their feet suddenly. Cas and Em walked through the door.
Em smiled at each person in turn, her eyes lingering when they landed on him. They barely knew each other, their only connection their mutual affection for Cas, but he found that he couldn’t stir up the discomfort he used to feel every time he saw her. He had liked her when she first arrived in the castle, simply because Cas seemed to like her, and Galo was surprised by that fact. Galo had thought it would take Cas months to warm up to his new wife, but it had been days. Perhaps sped along by Em saving his life, but still. Cas wasn’t quick to warm up to people.
Then Galo had hated her when it was revealed who she really was (and she’d punched him in the face on the way out of the castle, which hadn’t helped matters). He’d told Cas it seemed like she had feelings for him, but that had been a bit of wishful thinking on his part. He’d disliked her more than he’d let on.
But then Cas trusted her, and she saved his life after he’d been poisoned, and didn’t let him give up being king for her. Somewhere along the way he’d stopped hating her.
“Thank you for meeting with me,” Em said as she and Cas took their seats. Cas sat at the head of the table, Em next to him.
“Of course,” Franco said.
“Em and I were discussing a few things, and I thought it was best if you all be involved,” Cas said. He turned to Em expectantly, and she quickly looked away from him. Galo would have been able to tell that things were strained between them even if he hadn’t known Cas was upset.
Em sat up a little straighter. “The Ruined would like to stay in Lera. Ruina is destroyed, food and . . . everything is scarce there. I’ll be honest with you, Olivia feels the same way. She plans to stay. But she intends to take cities by force.”
Danna shifted nervously in her chair.
“She’s planning to take over cities one by one, until all the humans have fled here to Royal City. She’s already started.”
“With Fayburn,” Violet said.
“Yes. I couldn’t stop her, and I don’t think I’ll be able to stop her in the future, unless Ruined and Lerans work together. But the Ruined have some conditions before that can happen.”
“What are the conditions?” Violet asked.
“Wait,” Danna interrupted. “When you say Ruined and Lerans work together, do you mean we’ll fight Olivia together?”
“Yes. And the Ruined loyal to her. I didn’t want it to come to that, but . . .” Em looked down at the table and let her voice trail off.
“How will we do that?” Danna asked.
“The Ruined will be a major help to you,” Em said. “We’re working on figuring out how many Ruined will stand with me, but I have thirty for sure, and we think it will be at least sixty when we’ve finished talking to everyone. Do you have any Weakling?”
“I don’t think so,” Cas said. He looked at Galo. “Do we?”
“No, we had some in the fortress, but none here.”
“There are fields of it in Ruina,” Em said. “And there’s no one there to stop you from taking it.”
“Do we have anyone we could send?” Cas asked Galo.
“I think so. It wouldn’t be many, but a smaller group could travel faster.”
“Is it worth it?” Cas asked Em. “Does Weakling even work on Olivia?”
“Barely, but it does slow her down. And it certainly hurts the other Ruined. We could line shields with it, put it in necklaces like your mother used to. Even stitch it into clothing. I would recommend it, regardless of our agreement,” Em said. “Olivia will come after you.”
“We’ll send someone right away, then,” Cas said. “Now tell us your conditions.”
“We want reparations,” Em said. “Homes to replace the ones that were lost, money to start rebuilding a life.”
All heads turned to Cas.
“I think that’s reasonable,” he said. “But that’s not the condition they’re going to care about, Em.”
“They want to strip the monarchy of some of its power,” Em said.
“No,” Violet said immediately. Cas looked at her in surprise. “The people love you. Absolutely not.”
“I agree,” Julieta said. “Jovita has just attempted to take over the throne, and she probably will again. Removing power from the monarchy right now could be disastrous.”
“The Ruined won’t help you if Cas goes unpunished,” Em said.
“You think he should be punished?” Violet said.
“I’m not completely innocent here,” Cas broke in. “I never even tried to stop my father from attacking the Ruined.”
“You’d agree to this?” Violet exclaimed.
He sighed. “Maybe?”
“Jovita will be delighted,” Julieta grumbled.
“Why does Cas need to be punished, but you don’t?” Violet said to Em. “You destroyed our alliance with Vallos when you murdered their princess. You led the attack that killed half the people in this castle. But it’s only Cas who needs to pay for their actions?”
Em stared at Violet solemnly, almost devoid of emotion. Galo didn’t think Cas particularly loved Em’s ability to push aside emotion to get things done, but Galo admired it.
“We want to open negotiations with you,” Em said. “If one of your conditions is that I also need to be stripped of power, then I can take that back to the Ruined.”
“I don’t think it’s much of a negotiation if your starting offer is to make Cas little more than a figurehead,” Franco said.
“That wasn’t our starting offer. I talked them down. They wanted Cas to give up the throne entirely.”
Galo looked at Cas. There was a time, only a few weeks ago, when Cas would have gladly given up the throne. He’d made that offer to Em. But Galo suspected that Cas wasn’t so willing anymore. He’d worked hard to take the throne back from Jovita, and he’d earned the respect of his people.
Violet let out a long sigh.
Em turned to Franco. “Didn’t you oppose King Salomir’s decision to attack the Ruined?”
“Yes,” Franco replied.
“But the king didn’t care. If we limit the monarchy’s power, that won’t happen again. Other people will be involved in the decision. Why is that so bad?”
“What other people?”
“We were thinking of elect
ed representatives. Ruined and Leran. They would have certain powers that the monarchy doesn’t. They could overrule the king or queen.”
“Cas doesn’t make unilateral decisions the way his father does,” Franco said. “It’s not the same.”
“Sure, but you can’t guarantee that will be the case for the next monarch. Or the one after that. This is bigger than just me and Cas. It’s about the future of both our people.”
Franco tapped his fingers on the table, like he was considering it. Cas caught Galo’s eye. Galo tilted his head with a small shrug. He could see Em’s point.
“Give us some time to think it over,” Cas said to Em. “Can you come back after we’ve had time to discuss?”
“I don’t know if I can get away again without Olivia getting suspicious,” Em said. “We were hoping you could send a messenger. Someone you trust not to just carry messages, but deal with us and make smaller decisions. And to be clear, it will be incredibly dangerous. I’ll do my best to protect whomever you send, but I can’t always control Olivia. They’ll need to do their best to avoid her.”
“Not a great pitch,” Franco said, scrunching up his face.
“I know. But if we’re going to communicate about negotiations and my plan to stop Olivia, we need a way to talk to each other.”
“What is your plan to stop Olivia?” Julieta asked.
“I don’t have one yet,” Em said quietly.
“Great,” Violet muttered.
“We can send a messenger,” Cas said, shooting Violet a look. “But it has to be a volunteer. I don’t feel right assigning this to someone. It would have to be a person we trust, who isn’t scared of the Ruined.”
Cas’s eyes flicked to Galo. He saw the idea occur to Cas at the same time it occurred to him. Cas discreetly shook his head.
“I was thinking we go to the soldiers first, maybe General Amaro might have some thoughts?” Cas said quickly.
Galo didn’t hear Danna’s reply. It was an insane mission. The chances of getting someone to volunteer were slim at best. Everyone knew Olivia killed any human who came near her, so why would someone volunteer to do it willingly?