Aren ducked his head under a branch. Surprise lit up his face when he spotted Galo. “You’re here.”
“I’m here. Just for the last hour or so.”
Aren walked closer to him, sliding his hands into his pockets. Galo sometimes forgot how good-looking Aren was, and instead only remembered him suggesting Galo had done a terrible job guarding Cas. But he really was handsome, with his intense dark eyes and a smile that suggested he was far more innocent than he really was.
“Was the trip all right?” Aren asked. “No problems?” His smile faded quickly, and Galo realized Aren seemed exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his frame was thinner than last time he’d seen him.
“No problems,” he said.
Aren stood there awkwardly for a moment, like he was searching for something to say. “Thank you. For offering to do this,” he finally said quietly.
He sounded sincere, and Galo felt a tinge of guilt for second-guessing his decision to come. “Don’t thank me,” he mumbled.
“Why not?”
He just shrugged.
“I heard you quit the guard,” Aren said. “To come here?”
“No, I’d already quit.”
“Oh. Why?”
“It was the right thing to do.” He looked up at Aren, not trying to hide the edge in his voice. “You said it yourself, I wasn’t doing a very good job.”
“When did I say that?”
“In Vallos.”
Aren cocked his head, thinking. “Right. You didn’t quit because of what I said, did you?”
“Don’t give yourself so much credit.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. No one could have protected Cas from what happened. It’s a miracle he’s alive, actually.”
He eyed Aren warily, unsure how to react to that. This was the longest conversation they’d ever had, and it wasn’t going at all how he thought. “You meant it, a little,” he countered.
“I didn’t, I was just being a jerk. I was scared that night, with you guys arriving and having August and the warriors and Olivia in Sacred Rock. I just wanted you all to leave before Em got more attached to Cas.”
Galo couldn’t blame him for that. He’d also wondered if seeing Em again would just make things even more painful for Cas.
“It is best that you quit, though,” Aren said. “Cas would jump in front of a sword for you, and that’s the exact opposite of what you want, as a guard.”
Galo laughed softly. “True.”
“Plus it’s really boring.”
“You were barely on the Lera guard long enough to get bored,” Galo said with an eye roll.
“But I still did. That should tell you something.” He smiled at Galo. “Em’s with the Ruined right now. Do you have anything urgent to tell her?”
“We’re pretty sure Jovita has partnered with Olso and Vallos and will be attacking the Ruined soon.”
“Wow. Even Vallos this time, huh?”
“You don’t seem upset by this news,” Galo said with a hint of amusement.
Aren shrugged. “Business as usual. They’re not attacking right this minute, are they?”
“We think they’re still in Olso. We’ve set up a pretty good system to get messages back to the castle as quickly as possible, so we should have some notice.”
“All right. I’ll let Em know. Do you need anything?”
“I’m fine. I may need some food tomorrow, though. I’m going to stay a couple of days, then return to check on everything in the castle.”
“I’ll grab something for you.” He took a step back. “If you need me, I’m in the big blue house on the north side of Market Street. It’s far from where Olivia is staying, but still, I’d only come in an emergency.”
“Thanks, Aren.” Galo watched as Aren disappeared into the trees, the quiet closing in around him again. He leaned his head back with a sigh and tried not to think about Mateo.
THIRTEEN
EM SLOWLY WALKED away from Westhaven, Aren by her side. She glanced over her shoulder several times, squinting in the late-afternoon sun, but no one followed them. She hadn’t been able to slip away to see Galo last night, but Olivia had finally gone to the courthouse with Jacobo.
“What are we going to do if Jovita and her army come for us?” Aren asked. He’d relayed his conversation with Galo from last night to her. “Can we fight off a large army ourselves?”
Em swallowed. An idea had started to form, but it was so horrible she wasn’t sure she could say it out loud. Once she said it, the betrayal of her sister would be complete. She could never go back.
“I’m surprised August is partnering with Jovita,” she said, to avoid answering. “Last time I saw him I got the impression he’d realized that attacking Olivia never goes well.”
“He probably took some time to think about it and remembered she murdered his entire family.”
“Right,” Em said quietly.
They ducked under a low branch and found Galo sitting on his pallet on the grass. He’d clearly heard them coming, and he waved as they approached. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Aren sat down and crossed his legs. “No problems during the night?”
“No problems. I didn’t see anyone.”
Em dropped the bag she’d brought to the ground and knelt down to open it. She grabbed the books first, three hardcovers she’d picked from the abundant bookshelves in her house.
“Here,” she said, holding them out to him. “I know you’re going back tomorrow, but I thought you might be bored.”
“Thank you,” he said with a hint of surprise.
She pulled out the cloth bundle tucked into the side of the bag and handed that over as well. “It’s just some bread and cheese and dried meat.”
“Thank you,” he said again. “What is your food situation like over there?”
“Good.” She sat down across from him and crossed her legs. “There aren’t many of us, and the shops were well stocked. Though it turns out we don’t have anyone who knows how to make bread. We had a few disasters in the bakery.”
Galo grabbed the roll she’d given him. “It looks fine.”
“We found some recipes and figured it out, but it’s still not quite right,” Aren said. “Edible, though.”
He tore off a chunk and chewed. “Tastes good to me.”
“Galo said Cas has been letting people come into the castle to ask him questions about the Ruined,” Em said to Aren.
Aren lifted his eyebrows. “How is that going?”
“Um, I don’t know. Everyone in Royal City knows you stopped Olivia from storming the castle the night we took it back, so they’re intrigued, at least.”
“Barely,” she said.
“Barely?” Galo repeated.
“I barely stopped Olivia from storming the castle.” She focused on a spot on the ground. “I’m not sure I can stop her again.”
“Together we can,” Aren said with a confidence Em doubted he actually felt. “It exhausts her to use her powers on me, and she can’t use them on Em at all.”