She stood slowly, never taking her eyes off him as she walked to the cell door. She stepped out of the cell and darted quickly past Cas, like she was afraid he was going to grab her. She ran up the stairs at full speed.
“No good-bye, then,” Galo said as he watched her go.
“I’m heartbroken,” Cas said dryly. He walked up the stairs, Galo following behind him, and watched as guards escorted Jovita down the hallway. It was strange that he’d been so scared of her a few months ago that he’d agonized over killing her. Now she just seemed like a sad reminder of the past.
Aren rounded the corner, and Jovita shrank toward one of the guards as soon as she spotted him. He laughed as he came to a stop next to Galo.
“At least I still scare some people,” he said. “My reputation has taken a hit recently. No one refers to me as ‘the bad one’ anymore.”
“I’m sure there are still a few people in Olso who call you that,” Galo said.
“Thank you. That makes me feel better.” Aren bumped his shoulder against Galo’s. “Come on. I think most of the Ruined are already waiting.”
“We have a meeting,” Galo explained as he stepped away from Cas. “We have a few things to discuss before the Vallos king arrives tomorrow.”
Cas sighed. The new king of Vallos had reached out to start peace talks, and Cas didn’t look forward to his visit. The kingdoms of Vallos and Olso had made it clear that they did not support Lera’s decision to let Ruined participate in government. He’d yet to hear from August at all on the subject of a peace treaty. Violet said he was probably too embarrassed after their humiliating defeat at the Lera castle. Rumor had it that everyone had heard that Iria, the most notorious traitor in Olso, had been the one to defeat Olivia Flores. There had even been a movement to pardon her and let her return home. She’d told Cas that August would never agree to that, and even if he did, she had no interest in returning to Olso.
“Iria’s waiting for you in one of the sparring rooms,” Aren said.
“I know, I’m headed up there now,” Cas said.
Galo winced. “You’re sparring with Iria? Poor girl.” Cas laughed.
Aren whacked him on the shoulder as they began walking away from Cas. “Hey.”
“Have you ever sparred with Cas? It’s a humbling experience.”
“I have no use for a sword.”
“How do you always manage to say that so smugly?”
Aren laughed, and their voices faded as they disappeared around the corner. Cas walked to the stairs and started up them, smiling at a maid as he passed her. The castle buzzed with noise around him. They were back to full staff, and new guards came in every week. The castle was almost back to how it used to be.
It felt empty without Em, though. She’d been gone for almost three weeks.
She’d actually laughed when he suggested burying Olivia in Lera. Olivia would come back from the dead just to kill them both if she buried her in Lera, Em had said. Cas couldn’t argue with that.
Em decided that Olivia would probably want to be with her mother, so she decided to take Olivia’s ashes back to Ruina. Cas had protested, pointing out that Em had a broken ankle, and the Ruined who had been loyal to Olivia had gone back to Ruina, but she wouldn’t be swayed. Ten Ruined went with her, including Mariana, who assured Cas they’d be fine. We made it this far, she’d said. We’re certainly not dying now.
That hadn’t completely eased his worries, but he did have to admit that she was right. The Olso warriors had retreated, and it looked like they had no plans to invade again. The new Vallos government was too scared of angering Lerans united with Ruined to make a move against Em. And Aren said that the war between Ruined died with Olivia.
Cas reached the top of the stairs and headed in the direction of the sparring room. He found Iria waiting in the middle of the room, sword already in hand.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said. “I was seeing Jovita off.”
“Was she grateful? To be going to the fortress?”
Cas pulled on his sparring jacket and grabbed a sword. “I don’t think grateful is the word. She might have lost her mind, but she remembers her hatred for me just fine.”
“I’d take that as a compliment. It would have been worse if she hadn’t thought of you at all.”
“Excellent point.”
“Thank you for doing this with me,” Iria said.
“I enjoy it,” he said. “Besides, Galo is busy and important these days, and most of the guard lets me win. You never let me win. I mean, I always do, but I have to actually work for it.”
“There is never any danger of me letting you win at anything.”
He laughed as he raised his sword. Iria stepped forward and they sparred in silence for several minutes, Cas tagging Iria twice. She moved smoothly now, her foot healed and her limp slight when she was wearing the boot. She hadn’t chosen a specific post in the Lera government yet, but General Amaro had suggested that she might start a program similar to the warrior program in Olso, to train elite Leran fighters.
She stepped back suddenly, nodding at something behind him. He turned to find Mateo standing at the door.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty,” Mateo said, a smile spreading across his face. “But the queen has returned.”
Em tilted her head back and closed her eyes, the sun warm on her face. She rode in the open-air wagon pulled by horses, her legs stretched out in front of her, the left one still bandaged at the ankle.
She was alone in the wagon, Mariana and Patricio on horseback on either side of her, the other Ruined riding just ahead. Royal City stretched out to her left, and the castle was so close it was hard not to jump out of the wagon and run to it.
Instead, she sat up a little straighter and looked at the place that had become her home. She was glad she’d returned to Ruina one last time, if only because it confirmed it wasn’t home anymore. It was right to take Olivia’s ashes to the remains of the castle, and it was right to leave them there.
The Ruined who had returned after abandoning Olivia didn’t seem surprised by Olivia’s death, though Ester had told Em in no uncertain terms that Em had Olivia’s blood on her hands. Em had plenty of blood on her hands, but she knew Olivia’s didn’t belong there. She could tell Ester knew it too.
Even though Em didn’t blame herself for what happened to Olivia, she hadn’t been able to stop imagining how it could have been. If they’d never left Ruina, if August had never come with the warriors, if Olivia had gone back with Ester and the others instead of coming to the castle. Em imagined a different future for her sister, one where she grew old and learned from her mistakes. A future where she took her power to heal—a power that no Ruined possessed now—and helped people. A future where she learned that the satisfaction she felt from her rage wasn’t happiness. The future that Em imagined for her sister was probably much better than any one Olivia would have actually lived, and she tried not to think about that too often.
“On your right,” Mariana said quietly, and Patricio and Em both turned their heads. A group of humans stood not far away, staring at them with contemptuous expressions on their faces. One woman put her arm out, like she was shielding the girl next to her.