“She does glare at me a lot, doesn’t she?” Galo had gotten the distinct impression that Bethania had never met anyone from Lera, and she would have preferred to keep it that way.
“Yes, she does.”
Galo leaned his head back against the chair. “I did serve the late queen. She didn’t even have a good reason to betray Olso, unlike Iria.”
“She wasn’t in love with the Lera king?”
Galo let out a short, loud laugh. “No. They’d never met before she arrived as a traitor from Olso. If they were ever in love, I never saw it.” He lowered his eyebrows in thought. “I’m actually not sure any Gallego has ever married for love. Cas would be the first.”
“Assuming your people actually let him marry Em.”
“I’d like to see it happen,” Galo said quietly. “It feels like the only good thing that could come out of this.”
When Bethania returned, she had an envelope full of papers and a basket of food. She ignored Galo and thrust the envelope at Aren.
“Take a look at these. It’s the best I can do on short notice.”
Aren pulled the papers out and spread them on the table. Galo edged closer, peering over his shoulder. There were some old articles from a local newspaper about the prison as it was built, with a few details about the layout and security. There were also several rough sketches of what he assumed was the inside of the building.
“I’ll explain those,” Bethania said, removing bread and meat from her basket. “I went and talked to a friend who used to work in the prison.”
“Are they going to help us?” Galo asked.
“No. I wasn’t direct with my questions. I tried to just keep it a general conversation about how Iria would be housed in the prison. Like I was concerned, as her friend.”
Aren looked up from the papers. “There’s a chance they’ll figure out you were helping us. Won’t you also be tried for treason?”
“Possibly, though the case against me would be far less solid than Iria’s.” She waved her hand like she wasn’t concerned.
“You know . . .” Aren glanced at Galo. “I think if you wanted to come with us, back to Lera, that would be fine.”
Galo nodded. “King Casimir would welcome you.”
“Ugh.” Bethania screwed up her face. “No offense, but ugh.”
Galo pressed his lips together to keep in a laugh. “I just thought it might be a good alternative to prison.”
“No, thank you. Iria’s made her choice, and I’m making mine. I’ll take my chances here.”
“All right,” Aren said. “But if you change your mind . . .”
Bethania shook her head and took a seat next to him on the couch. “Let’s talk about these plans. I think your best bet is to go in on the east side, because there’s no prisoner exit near there. No one has ever tried to break into the prison before.”
“So we’d hop the fence on the east side, and go in . . . ?” Aren asked.
She pulled a sketch forward and pointed. “North. Here. There’s a door that’s usually used for bringing in kitchen deliveries. I can’t tell you exactly where you’ll end up, but let’s assume near the dining hall and kitchen. If you go at night, it will be empty.”
She grabbed another sketch. “This is a general outline of the prisoner cells, as much as I can guess. One of the articles says there’s a long hallway that leads from the dining room to the cells, so I’ve drawn that here.” She ran her finger along the hallway. “She’s probably in solitary, which is separate cells to the west. If you head this way, you should find them. The door leading to them will be guarded, and there will probably be guards inside as well. If she’s not there, then you’ll need to go search for her in the general population. You’re going to want to hope that doesn’t happen.”
“But chances are she’s in solitary?” Galo asked.
“Yes. She’s unsafe with the general population, given her reputation. But there’s a chance they’ll put her in with everyone else at some point, if only to torment her. Luckily you’re probably here early enough to have avoided that.”
“So we should go tonight,” Aren said.
“Yes. I’m not going to be able to get any more information than this for you. Not anything that would be particularly helpful, anyway. And they may know a Ruined crossed into Olso, if any of the warriors you attacked at the border survived. It’s best you go now, before they have a chance to beef up security or move her.”
“Is there a spot Galo can wait where he won’t be seen?” Aren asked.
Galo looked up with a start. “What? You don’t think you’re going in there alone.”
“It’s incredibly dangerous, and just being with you both has made me plenty strong. If you—”
“You can’t do it alone, Aren. Besides, if you don’t make it out, what do you think happens to me? They’re not going to send me back to Lera.”
“It’s true. They’ll put him in prison,” Bethania said. “Maybe have him killed if they decide he’s not useful.”
“Don’t sugarcoat it,” Galo said dryly, to hide the burst of panic he’d just felt. King August knew who Galo was, and it hadn’t occurred to him that they might use him against Cas, or torture him for information about Lera. Galo knew more about Lera’s military, royal family, and castle than maybe anyone else in Lera.
Aren was staring at him like he’d noticed Galo’s sudden panic. “Why did you come here?” he asked, his bafflement coming through in his voice.
“Because you asked for help. Why did you come here?”
“For Iria, of course. But you don’t even like me. Or Iria.”
Bethania looked from Galo to Aren, confusion etched across her face.
“I like you,” Galo said. “I don’t really know Iria.”
“You don’t know Iria?” Bethania asked.
“Not really.”
Bethania exchanged a baffled expression with Aren.
“You needed help,” Galo said. “And there’s no one left to help you, because my king killed them all. And I sat there and said nothing while it happened. So I figured this is the least I could do now.” Saying it aloud helped to lessen his fear. He wouldn’t make a different choice, even if he could go back and change it.
Aren blinked. “Oh.”
“So I’m going in the prison with you. You’ll protect me.”
“You say that with such confidence,” Aren said.
“You’re not confident.”
Aren blew out a breath, closing his eyes for a moment. “Have faith, Aren,” he said quietly.
“Does he usually talk to himself like that?” Bethania whispered. Galo just chuckled.
“We’re going together, then,” Aren said with a smile. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
TWENTY-NINE
EM ROUNDED THE corner and slowed as she spotted two guards stationed outside of Cas’s office. She wondered if they were always there, or if this was a new development because the Ruined were there.