Ruined (20 page)

CAS COULD HAVE
easily left Em and Aren behind as they rode away from the warriors, and he considered it as he stared into the black jungle. Em's horse carried two people, and was far slower than his as a result.

Em slid off her horse, leaving Aren hunched over on the saddle by himself. He looked like he might be asleep. She walked to Cas, holding out her canteen. He took a small sip and handed it back.

He didn't have a canteen, or any idea where he was going in the dark. Once the sun rose he could figure out which way was south, but he'd lost track of their position after being captured. He had a sword now, at least, but what chance did he really have by himself? If he'd come across Iria and the other warriors alone, he'd be dead.

He squinted at Em as she put the cap back on the canteen. Was this all part of the plan? Was she pretending to save him in order to use him further? Did she really want to take him prisoner and trade him for Olivia?

The dark jungle suddenly seemed like a better idea than staying with her. He must be at least halfway to the Southern Mountains. He could make the rest of the trip by himself.

“I won't blame you if you take off.” She turned around and walked back to her horse. “We should be to Gallego City by morning. If you want to ride with us until then, I promise you'll be safe.”

Gallego City meant Lera soldiers. It meant finding out if his mother and Jovita were alive, and having a guard to protect him. He hadn't even realized they were close to Gallego.

“I'll ride with you,” he said, and almost added the words “thank you,” but they died in his throat.

Em nodded, and it was the last time she looked at him that night. They rode in silence, her and Aren in front, and he found himself drowning in the frenzied sounds of the jungle, wishing one of them would speak. Now that he was temporarily out of danger the weight of the last few days felt like it might crush him. The images from his final moments in the castle played over and over in his head, until his chest was so tight he thought he might never take an easy breath again.

When the sun finally started to rise, he almost cried with happiness. His body was stiff and sore from a night on the back of a horse, but he sat up straighter, taking in the bright-green leaves
around him, the colorful bird perched on a tree not far away.

Aren had apparently regained his strength, because he slid off the horse and walked alongside Em. She glanced over her shoulder at Cas.

“We're close,” she said.

He craned his neck. “How can you tell?” he asked, his curiosity overruling his desire not to appear stupid.

“The area is well traveled.”

He glanced around, baffled. It was exactly the same jungle he'd been in the past three days. “What makes you think that?”

“Footprints, broken branches, crushed leaves, trash. When you're being hunted every day of your life, you learn how to look for signs of other people.”

He stared right back at her, refusing to show an ounce of sympathy. Because of her, he was the one being hunted now. She didn't deserve any sympathy.

She turned back around, and Cas ignored Aren's withering stare. After seeing what he could do last night, Cas thought it best to leave Aren alone.

They rode for several more minutes, until Em stopped and slid off her horse. Cas did the same, shaking out his aching legs as soon as his feet hit the ground.

“There's a chance the warriors have taken the city,” she said. “It's best to go by foot, to make sure. We won't want to be spotted.”

“We?” Aren exclaimed. “No. He can go by himself.”

“I'd like to know if the city is still under Lera control,” she
replied. “Will you stay here with the horses?”

Aren looked from Cas to Em and back again. He pointed a finger at Cas's face. “If you hurt her, I will break every bone in your body.”

Cas's fingers itched for his sword, even though he knew it would be useless against a Ruined as powerful as Aren. He crossed his arms over his chest instead. “She'll be fine,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Come on,” she said, jerking her head for Cas to follow her.

They walked until the signs of people became so obvious even Cas could spot them. The trees were thinner, a distinct dirt path free of leaves and debris winding out of the jungle. He'd only been to the city named after his ancestors once, a few years ago, and he was embarrassed to admit that he didn't even remember what route he and his parents had taken to get there. They had gone by carriage instead of taking a boat down the shore, but he hadn't paid attention to the path the guards carved out for them.

Em's hand hovered over her sword, though she didn't seem aware she was doing it. It stayed there as they walked, poised to pull the blade out at a moment's notice. He tried doing the same, but found that his mind wandered and he'd push a hand through his hair or cross his arms over his chest. If anyone snuck up on them, Em would have her sword immediately and he'd be stuck fumbling around for his.

She moved smoothly through the jungle, even in her dress. Her boots barely made a sound against the ground, and he noticed her stepping around twigs and leaves he wouldn't have thought
twice about stepping on. He followed her example, putting his boots in her smaller footprints.

“Was this all for Olivia?” he asked suddenly. The words shot out of his mouth as if they refused to be contained a moment longer.

“Yes,” she said, without turning around. “And a little bit of vengeance, if I'm being honest.”

“What if you had died in the castle?” he asked. “What if you hadn't escaped in time? You must have known that was a possibility.”

Her eyebrows knitted together as she glanced back at him. “It was more than a possibility. That's why Aren was there. The hope was that one of us would make it out. Given how strong his Ruined magic is, my money was on him.” She shrugged. “And if that failed, at the very least I had the warriors and a promise from the Olso king that he would do his best to stop Lera from executing all the Ruined.”

The word
executing
vibrated through his body, pricking emotions he didn't want to feel. If his father were here, he would say that Em's actions only proved his point—the Ruined deserved to die. They were too dangerous to live.

And Cas would have told him that Em was only one person, like her mother was only one person. He hadn't met Olivia, but perhaps the whole family was a black mark on the Ruined.

Or maybe we did this to them.
He beat down the words as soon as they bubbled up, but the sick feeling they brought remained. What kind of life must Em have lived, to be perfectly willing to
walk into that kind of danger? To marry him, knowing full well that it might lead directly to her death?

He wondered suddenly what Em had been like before—when she still had her parents and sister and before she knew how to walk without making a sound. Had she been angry and bitter about her lack of Ruined power? Or had she thrown herself into other things, like learning to wield a sword? Her skill with a blade certainly hadn't developed over the past year. She'd spent a lifetime honing that skill.

He shifted his gaze to her to find her glancing back at him again. Something about her face was different since he'd found out who she was. It wasn't just that he knew who she was; it was as if something had shifted inside her. He hadn't realized she'd been tense around him, but he recognized the absence of it now.

He quickly looked away. He wished he could shut off his brain and stop wondering about her. It must have been easier to be his father, to be certain in his hate for the Ruined, to be unable to see shades of gray.

She stopped, putting a hand out behind her to indicate he should stop as well. Her fingers curled around the hilt of her sword, but she didn't pull it out, and he followed her lead.

Two figures passed through the trees. Cas and Em both hit the ground at the same time, crouching in the dirt. The men's voices were low, muffled, but their white-and-red jackets were clearly visible from this distance. Warriors.

A small open-air wagon passed by with two Lera soldiers bound together in back. He swallowed, wondering how many
of the soldiers had been captured on their way to the Southern Mountains. Would his mother and Jovita even be able to make it? What would they find when they arrived?

He stood as the warriors headed in the direction of the city. He took a few steps forward until he could see a small cluster of wooden buildings. Warriors swarmed all over the area. They'd taken the city.

“I'm sorry,” Em said softly.

His anger at her flared up without warning, and he barely held back from screaming
Whose fault is that?
at her. But the last thing he needed was to attract the attention of those warriors, or any others in the area. His jaw tightened, and she lowered her eyes, like she could tell what he was thinking.

They turned away and headed back into the cover of jungle. His shoulders slumped as he walked, and Em kept glancing at him like she wanted to say something. Apparently there was nothing to say, because she was quiet on the walk back.

Aren's voice rang out suddenly, loud and clear. “I told you, she's not here.”

Em came to a halt.

“Keep him quiet,” another voice hissed, barely audible.

Cas crept forward with Em until they could see the source of the voice. Iria, Koldo, and Miguel stood a few paces away, Miguel with his arm in a makeshift sling and a sour expression on his face. There were three others, and Francisco was on the ground with a gruesomely twisted neck. The other three were in a circle around Aren, who had his hands bound and a strip of white cloth
tied around his head as a blindfold.

“She took off. We had to split up,” Aren said, much louder than necessary. He was trying to warn Em.

Cas glanced over to find a pained expression on her face as she watched. She reached for her sword and began pulling it out, like she was going to attack.

He grabbed her hand, stopping her. She swallowed, throwing another desperate glance at Aren.

“Spread out,” Miguel said. “She can't have gone far, if he's here.” He jabbed a finger at Iria. “Not you.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, taking a step closer to Aren. “I'd prefer to stay with him anyway.”

“Koldo, watch her,” Miguel spat. “Otherwise the Ruined might be gone when we get back.”

Em wrapped her fingers around Cas's, tugging him gently. Regret was etched across her features as she glanced back at Aren. She was going to leave him.

They stepped away from the warriors carefully, quietly, then broke into a run. Cas jumped over vines and weaved around holes in the dirt as he followed Em. His legs were longer than hers, and he could have gone faster. He could have sped around her and taken off in his own direction and left her behind. He didn't. He stayed behind her, for no other reason than it seemed exactly the right thing to do.

When they slowed to a stop they were both breathing heavily, and Cas put his hands on his hips as he surveyed the area. A rustling sound came from somewhere to his left, and he spun
around, searching for the source. Nothing.

Em darted behind a tree, pressing her back to it, and Cas did the same across from her. He carefully withdrew his sword. Footsteps echoed through the jungle.

The footsteps slowed, then stopped.

A bead of sweat trickled down Cas's forehead, but he didn't dare move to wipe it away. He was still breathing heavily, and he worked to become silent.

The footsteps drew closer, until the tip of a white jacket appeared in Cas's peripheral vision. Miguel.

He turned. His eyes met Cas's.

Cas spun away from the warrior, before he even attempted to attack. Miguel dove for him. Cas flicked his sword up, shoving it straight into the warrior's stomach. Miguel opened his mouth to yell, his sword spinning in his wrist haphazardly.

Em's sword sliced across the warrior's neck. His head toppled to the ground.

The body slumped into the dirt, and Cas noticed that Em had to look away, her face crinkling in disgust.

“Take his sword,” she said. “It's better than the one you have.”

Cas dropped the rusty sword and grabbed the warrior's.

“Let's go.” She broke into a run.

When they came to a stop again, Cas pointed in the direction of the river. “A boat would be easier.”

She took a sip of her water and handed it to him, wiping a hand across her mouth. “Of course it would. But we don't have one.”

“A lot of the people who live around here have rowboats,” he
said. “I remember it from my last visit to Gallego City. We could snatch one.”

“Sure, we could try.”

“I want to be clear about something,” he said slowly. “We were sending Lera soldiers to hunt you down and bring you to Lera for execution.”

“I figured.”

“You should be brought to justice for what you did.”

“And your father should be brought to justice for what he did.” She held his gaze.

“That doesn't excuse what you did.”

“I'm not saying that it does. I'm merely pointing out the facts.”

A hundred different emotions surged through Cas's chest at once—anger, guilt, sadness, helplessness—and he tried to find one to cling to. Anger was easiest. Anger could cover up all the other emotions, swallow them whole, and leave him with nothing but a burning fire in his stomach.

But a king had to be calm. Rational. He needed to act the way a king would.

“We're going to the same place,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “It would be easiest for us to stick together. But as soon as we get there, I will have no problem ordering the Lera guard to arrest you.”

“So I should abandon you as soon as we get close, is what you're saying.”

“I'm saying I'm not your friend. But I need your help, and
you need mine, and I can put my anger aside for a few days if you can.”