Jorge asked Cas to move out of the castle foyer as the soldiers and guards rushed out to get into formation.
“We think the small library is the safest place for you,” Jorge said, lowering his voice so only Cas could hear. “We’ve just redesigned the closet in that room so that it locks from the inside. You should go there until this is over.”
“Will you come get me as soon as there’s any word about Em and Olivia?”
“Of course.” Jorge looked at Jovita, who still stood glaring with her hands tied. “What would you like to do with her?”
Cas sighed. “Let her have a bath, and then put her in the basement cells.”
Jorge nodded, and gestured for the two guards with Jovita to bring her. She shuffled forward, scowling at Cas from behind strands of hair that had fallen in her face.
Cas looked over his shoulder as they turned down a hallway, glancing at the familiar blade one of the guards was holding. “Is that her sword?”
“Yes. Mateo gave it to me to give back to you. He said it was a Gallego family s—”
Jovita whirled around so quickly Cas barely saw her reach for the weapon in her pocket. The ropes flew off her wrists, then she pulled the dagger from her pants and plunged it into the guard’s neck. Jorge lunged, but she launched her foot into his chest. He staggered back with a gasp.
Cas reached for the sword slipping from the dead guard’s hand, but it was too late. Jovita grabbed it, elbowing the other guard in the face as he tried to grab Cas.
Cas whirled around, preparing to run, but Jovita roughly shoved him through the open door and into the small library. He stumbled but didn’t fall, and quickly turned. Jovita slammed the door shut and clicked the lock into place. She pointed the sword at him and smiled.
He took a step back, taking stock of the room out of the corner of his eyes. Shelves of books lined the walls. A sofa and several chairs sat in the middle of the room, around a small table. More chairs were near the windows. But there were no swords in this room, and he’d given his to Em. His heart pounded in his ears as he stared at his cousin.
“They said you could barely hold a sword,” he said. “That you were standing on top of a building, ranting and raving.”
She moved a little closer to him. “I was. But you don’t think a Ruined could break me that easily, did you?” She blinked three times, twitching the last time. They had broken her, at least a little.
Cas closed his fingers around the back of the chair next to him. Outside the door, guards yelled, followed by a heavy thud. The wall rattled. They were breaking down the door.
Jovita held the sword steady, but she was breathing heavily, and she kept glancing to her left, like she saw something there. He was worried that her panic might actually make her more dangerous.
She lunged, blade aimed at his chest. He grabbed the chair, holding it up in front of his chest like a shield, and darted out of the way.
“They will never let you be queen,” Cas said. Jovita lunged again, aiming for his arm this time. She nicked him, blood seeping from the scratch. He tried to dodge her, but his back hit the wall.
He threw the chair at her head. She ducked, and it sailed over her and crashed into the wall, breaking into several pieces. A chair leg rolled across the floor.
Cas took advantage of the momentary distraction to dart around Jovita. He ran across the sofa, on to the table in the center of the room, and jumped down to grab the chair legs.
He spun around just in time to see her blade swinging at his face. He blocked it with the chair leg, the wood cracking as the sword hit it. He swung the leg as hard as he could, connecting with Jovita’s face.
She stumbled backward, blood dripping down her forehead. Cas hurled himself at her, knocking them both to the ground. The sword skittered across the floor.
She twisted beneath him, reaching an arm out to try and grab the sword. He yanked her arm back, holding it tight to the ground.
“They will never let you be queen,” he said again, slower. She kicked her legs and let out an annoyed scream. She blew a piece of hair out of her face and glowered at him.
“I wasn’t going to ask permission,” she said. “That’s your problem. You’re always asking permission.”
A crashing noise came from behind him. “Again!” Jorge yelled.
Jovita squirmed, managing to free one of her arms from his grasp. She wriggled away, making a beeline for the sword.
Cas grabbed the edge of her shirt, pulling her back and diving for the blade. His hand closed around the handle.
She grabbed for his ankle, but he barely managed to avoid her fingers. He jumped to his feet, the sword stretched out in front of him. He took several steps back, still breathing heavily. Jovita sat up but didn’t bother getting to her feet. There was no point in fighting anymore, now that he had the only sword in the room.
She leaned against the couch, tilting her head back as she let out a humorless laugh. “It was much more theatrical this way, right?”
His brow furrowed. “What?”
“We joked once, after that man tried to kill you at your wedding. I said I wouldn’t have used poison. I preferred something more theatrical.”
“But you did poison me.”
“Well, desperate times called for desperate measures. And that stupid Olivia failed to kill you again, it seems.” She waved her hand in disgust.
Cas walked to the door, reaching for the lock. The door shook as something heavy hit it. “I’m fine!” he called. He turned the lock, then looked at Jovita, hand on the doorknob. “You didn’t send that man to kill me at my wedding, did you?”
“No.” She lowered her head with a frown. “Not that I remember.” She blinked twice, pulling her knees to her chest and muttering something he couldn’t understand.
Cas opened the door to find the hallway packed with guards. Jorge held an ax, and he quickly lowered it.
“I got it!” a guard yelled, rounding a corner with a key held up in the air. He skidded to a stop when he spotted Cas. “Oh.”
“Are you all right, Your Majesty?” Jorge asked.
“I’m fine.” He pointed at Jovita. “You’ll want to keep several guards on her. She’s still plenty capable of wielding a sword.”
Jorge ordered a few guards into the room, and Jovita grumbled as they pulled her to her feet.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” Jorge said. “I shouldn’t have let that happen.” His eyes flicked to the sword in Cas’s hand. “I was sure you didn’t even have a sword.”
Cas barked out a laugh. “I didn’t. I took this one from her.”
Jorge looked from the sword to the pieces of the chair on the floor. “I think perhaps you really are immortal, Your Majesty.”
FORTY-SIX
EVEN IF EM hadn’t known where Olivia was, she could have just followed the trail of dead bodies.
She spotted them almost as soon as she ventured beyond the outer castle wall, and she could see several in the distance, crumpled and still. Olivia had snapped their necks, a killing style that was much neater and quieter than her usual method. She was trying to be stealthy.
Em carefully stepped around one of the fallen men. From their uniforms, they were part of the watchmen, the humans who policed Royal City. One of them must have recognized Olivia.