“First Ruined negotiation today,” she said. “We have to get dressed.”
He let go of her hand and rolled over to look at her. He attempted a smile, but she could see the nerves all over his face. She probably looked the same way.
They’d spent the last week or so in a bubble—settling into the royal suite, spending every night together, and pretending that there weren’t several people who wanted to kill them. Em spent a lot of time trying to ignore the ache in her chest, the reminder that one of the people who wanted to kill her was her own sister. But today was a harsh dose of reality—the Ruined and the Lerans would decide if they could actually get married.
They’d handed the discussions over to other people after telling everyone their intentions. Aren spoke for the Ruined, and several of Cas’s advisers were making decisions for the Lerans. They’d yet to have formal discussions since Em had first brought up the idea of stripping the monarchy of some of its power. There was the possibility that everything could fall apart today.
“I want to go down and see the Ruined before we start. Galo was going to stop by this morning,” she said. Cas had offered Galo the job of Ruined ambassador, and Galo had accepted. He’d spent the last couple of days discussing smaller things with them and preparing for the meeting.
They dressed mostly in silence, and Em gave Cas a quick kiss before stepping out of the suite. She headed downstairs, to where the Ruined were gathered in the guards’ common area. Galo sat with Aren, Mariana, and Davi, and he nodded as he stood. Aren smiled when he spotted Em and waved her over.
“We were just about to go up,” Aren said.
“It’s a bit early, isn’t it?” Em asked, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach.
“I want to introduce Aren to a few of the advisers. He’s never officially met a few of them.”
“Will you introduce me as the bad one?” Aren asked. “I have a reputation to maintain.”
“I’ll try to slip it into the conversation.” Galo laid a hand on Aren’s arm and steered him to the door. Aren laughed at something Galo said as they walked away. Mariana stopped next to Em, following her gaze to where Aren and Galo were disappearing through the door.
“I think they’ve become friends,” Em said.
“I should hope so,” Mariana said. “Otherwise I don’t know why that human would go to Olso with Aren.”
Still, Aren and Galo becoming friends was more than Em would have hoped for just a few weeks ago. Galo had never seemed to have much interest in the Ruined beyond obeying Cas’s wishes, and Aren wasn’t inclined to like any human, with the exception of Iria.
“How are things going down here?” Em asked.
“Not bad, actually. A few of the guards invited some of us to play cards last night.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. They looked very suspicious when I said I had the power to ruin the mind, like I was going to cheat, but they warmed up. Plus I told them I saved my power for things much worse than cheating at cards.”
“How did that go over?”
“Good, actually. I told them some of the things I could do, and we’re going to practice together later. They haven’t been great at integrating the mind power into the battle plans, so I’m trying to show them how it can help.”
Em felt a tiny burst of relief among her nerves. She’d stepped back from the Ruined on purpose lately, hoping they would find their own way in the castle. It appeared to be going better than expected.
Davi and Gisela joined them, and they headed upstairs to the Ocean Room for the meeting. Violet and Franco were already there, as well as Cas’s other advisers, Julieta and Danna, and three men who Em had met a few days ago. Aren and Galo were talking to one of them.
Cas was already seated, and he rose as Em entered the room. Everyone else followed suit. He extended his hand to her and she took it, letting him guide her to a spot next to his at the table.
Aren took a seat next to Galo, and Em watched as Mariana took the seat on the other side of Galo. Davi and Gisela sat on the opposite side of the table, next to Julieta. Em couldn’t help but think it was a good sign that the Ruined hadn’t all lined up on one side of the table, ready to fight the scary humans.
“Thank you for coming,” Cas said, addressing the Ruined.
“Thank you for having us, Your Majesty,” Aren said. Em didn’t think she’d ever heard Aren call Cas “Your Majesty.” It didn’t even sound like he was making a joke.
“Let’s get started, then,” Aren said. “We’re satisfied with the plan you’ve laid out for the Lera monarchy. We agree that King Casimir will still be the head of the government, and he will share power with elected representatives. He will still command the army, and will have the power to introduce and veto laws. All treaties with other kingdoms will have to be approved by both the monarchy and the representatives, and he will have to seek approval before declaring war on any other kingdom.” He slid a paper across the table to Franco. “We’d like to change the definition of war, though. King Salomir never officially declared war on the Ruined. Certain acts should be considered a declaration of war.”
Franco glanced at the other advisers, then nodded. “Agreed.”
“All the other powers you’ve laid out for the king are fine.” Aren looked at Cas. “You’ve seen this?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re fine with it? You understand that you’ll require approval from the elected representatives for almost everything? And they will have the power to abolish the monarchy entirely, if the issue is supported by enough citizens.”
“I understand.”
“Good. In terms of representatives, we don’t agree that the number of representatives be determined by the population of the province. That means the Ruined will have one representative to dozens of Lera representatives. Our vote will mean nothing. We need more than one.”
“How many more?” Franco asked.
“Six, with the agreement that you need at least three Ruined votes to pass any law.”
“But there are so few of you,” Danna protested. “Why should you be overrepresented in our government?”
“Because we don’t trust you,” Aren said. “If you allow us only one seat, what’s to stop you from overruling us at every turn? What’s to stop you from blocking every policy that benefits the Ruined?”
Danna rubbed her forehead. “I see your point, but I still think it will be a tough sell to the people.”
“It wouldn’t be permanent. We could revisit the issue in ten, twenty years.”
“It’s not unreasonable,” Galo said. “You can’t give them one seat. That’s barely symbolic, and you know it.”
Julieta shifted, her lips pursed. “Fine. We’ll discuss six. What’s next?”
Em caught Galo’s eye and nodded slightly in gratitude. He smiled.
“Each citizen of Lera has certain rights,” Aren said. “We want all those rights, as well as two Ruined amendments. First, that the mere possession of Ruined power is not considered a crime.”
The advisers all looked at Cas. He nodded.
“Agreed,” Franco said.