“Now,” he barked.
She slowly sat up, scanning the room for the doctor. She’d been in the medical wing for days, and it wasn’t a surprise that her time was up. Still, part of her hoped that the doctor would jump in and say she wasn’t ready to be moved yet.
“Doctor cleared you for release back into the general population,” the guard said, dashing her hopes.
“You mean solitary.”
“I mean general population.” His lips twisted into a terrible smile and fear seized her chest.
She’d be attacked by the other prisoners. They knew that; it was why she’d been in solitary before. They must have found a way to convince the warden to lock her up with everyone else.
Her knees shook as she stood, and pain rippled through what was left of her foot. She leaned heavier on her good leg as she took a tentative step forward. The doctor appeared from behind a curtain. He looked her up and down.
“She should come every day to get those bandages changed,” the doctor said. He grabbed her shoes from the floor and held them out to her. “Just wear one on your good foot.” She obeyed, slipping her foot into the flimsy shoe and holding the other one in her hand.
“Fine.” The guard jerked his head, indicating for her to walk in front of him.
Iria took a few more steps forward, wincing as she did. She was limping, badly, and panic shot through her body. She couldn’t run. She’d barely be able to fight with a sword in this state—she’d stumble after the first attack. Of course, she’d never have access to a sword again, so maybe that didn’t matter.
She lowered her chin into her chest and frantically blinked back tears. Crying when she entered the general population would only make things worse. She had to at least pretend to be tough.
The guard unlocked the door leading to the prisoner cells, and she lifted her head as they walked through. The cells were lined up on either side of her on two levels, stretching out a good distance in front of her. They walked past about twenty cells. She kept her head up, but didn’t dare to glance to her sides.
The guard stopped. “Against the wall!” he yelled to the inmate inside.
Iria took in a deep breath as she looked up at her new cellmate. It was not good news.
The woman was older than Iria, probably in her thirties or forties, with dirty-blond hair and a body built for hard labor. Her expression mutated into disgust as she stared at Iria. They’d never met, but every prisoner must have known she’d show up here eventually.
She walked to the back wall and leaned against it as the guard opened the door. When Iria didn’t move, the guard grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved her inside. Pain splintered through her foot as she landed on it, and she pressed her lips together to keep from yelping in pain.
The door banged shut behind her.
Her new cellmate stared at her, arms crossed over her chest. The cell consisted of a bunk bed, the bottom one clearly in use, and a sink and a toilet in the left corner. It felt too small for one person, much less two.
“I’m Iria,” she said, just to prove she wasn’t scared. Her voice sounded too weak to be convincing.
The woman took a step forward. “Julia.”
Hope ticked in her chest. Maybe this woman wasn’t so bad after all. Not everyone was fiercely loyal to Olso—in fact, an imprisoned citizen might not like her home country much at all.
Julia grabbed her by the collar, extinguishing the tiny spark of hope. She yanked Iria’s face closer to hers. The fabric pulled tight across her neck, making it difficult to breathe.
“Bit small for a warrior, aren’t you?”
Iria tried, and failed, to tug Julia’s hand from her shirt collar. “I’m tougher than I look,” she wheezed.
Julia barked a laugh and released her. Iria stumbled back and sucked in a breath.
“I’m in for life,” Iria said, straightening her shoulders and leveling her gaze at Julia. “You should be careful. I have nothing to lose.”
Julia’s fist smashed against her cheek suddenly. Iria hadn’t seen it coming, hadn’t even realized Julia was so fast. The force of the punch hit her so hard her back hit the cell bars. Stars danced in her vision.
“None of us have anything to lose,” Julia sneered.
EIGHTEEN
THE RUINED TRAVELED for two days, and Olivia barely spoke to Em during that time.
Em glanced at her sister as she laid a blanket on the grass. Around her, the other Ruined were preparing to sleep. Aren had just disappeared to check on Galo. Mariana stood at the edge of camp, surveying the jungle around them. She was on watch tonight.
Jacobo spread his blanket out not far from Em. Olivia had clearly told him to keep an eye on her. He was her constant shadow.
Ivanna walked to Em, extending a cup to her. “Tea?”
“Thank you.” Em took a sip.
“How are you?” Ivanna asked. “You look tired.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.” Truthfully, she hadn’t slept well in days. It was hard to sleep while traveling anyway, but she kept having nightmares about Olivia, lost in the woods and calling for help.
Ivanna squeezed her arm. She looked like she was about to say something, but Olivia strode toward them, hands on her hips. Ivanna slipped away.
“We should ditch the wagons,” Olivia said.
“We need the wagons,” Em said. “They have food for us and the horses, extra water, weapons, blankets, and all sorts of other things we might need.”
“They’re slowing us down,” she protested.
“It’s not about speed. We’re going to cut off the troops in a few days anyway. We gain nothing by getting there faster.” Em would have preferred to go slower, actually. Put off the inevitable for as long as possible.
Olivia wrinkled her nose, but she didn’t protest. She glanced around at the Ruined, who were eating and talking quietly.
“You did a good job, Liv,” Em said quietly, honestly.
Olivia regarded her suspiciously. “With what?”
“Getting the Ruined prepared. You’re even better at it than our mother was.”
Olivia snorted. “What do you want?”
“Nothing!”
“Please.”
“Seriously. I was just . . .” Em shrugged, staring at the ground. Feeling guilty. “I just thought you should know.”
“Thank you,” Olivia said shortly. She began walking away, but then abruptly turned back, her lips set in a hard line. “Tell me the truth.”
“About what?”
“You went to see Casimir, didn’t you? That time you said you were going for feed.”
Em considered for a moment. “Yes,” she said finally. “I went to see him. He gave me the feed, actually.”
Olivia’s nostrils flared. “Why’d you come back?”
“I always intended to come back. I just wanted to see him.” Em met her sister’s gaze. “You said I could have him. We agreed. You do what you want, but you don’t harm Cas.”
“We did agree to that.”
“Have you changed your mind?”
“No.”
“I’ll give him up if we can go back to Ruina,” Em said, even though the thought of never seeing Cas again was horrifying. She had to try one last time. “If we turn now, it won’t take us that long. We have plenty of supplies.”