Allied (Ruined #3)(15)

“I did get word that she’s feeding them, at least,” Patricio said quietly. He was a young Ruined, with the power to ruin the body, like Aren. Em had never known him well, but he was close to Mariana, and she’d vouched for him. Beside him was Selena, who Em remembered as a little girl, but she must have been about fourteen now. Her face was solemn, making her look even older.

“She needs them alive,” Aren muttered.

“I’d suggest sneaking in to free them, but she’ll just go get more,” Em said. “I think we have to leave it for now.”

“If we’re not going to do anything to help them, then I don’t understand why we’re still in Lera,” Davi said.

“Olivia will kill everyone if we leave,” Em said. “You’ve heard her plan to conquer the north? At least if we stay, we can hold her off for a while.”

“I’m sorry, but how is that our problem?” a young woman named Gisela asked. She leaned against the wall behind Davi and Mariana. She was close to Em in age, with pale skin and straight black hair, and was often in motion, whether it was pacing, tapping her fingers, or tugging on her hair. She had the same power as Olivia and Aren, but Em knew she didn’t have even half the strength that they did.

“You don’t mind if Olivia kills all the people in Lera?” Aren asked.

“I mind, but I’m not ready to stick my neck out to defend them. They’ve never done anything to defend us.” Murmurs of agreement rose up around the room.

“I know the people here don’t deserve our help,” Em said. “I know we can never fully forgive them for what they did to us. But we don’t have to be the same as them. We can be better, and not let them suffer the same fate that we did.”

Several people turned to Aren. They still did that sometimes: consulted a Ruined with power to back up what Em was saying.

“I agree,” Aren said. He rolled his eyes as he said it, like he was tired of playing this game. “I’m not just leaving Olivia here to murder anyone she chooses.”

Em gave him a grateful look. They’d had a serious conversation about leaving right after arriving, and Aren hadn’t been convinced at first that they should stay. He wanted to go to Olso to break Iria out of prison. Em felt terrible asking him to stay, but he was the most powerful Ruined alive. Em needed his help to stop not just Olivia, but the Ruined loyal to her as well.

“But if half the Ruined leave, Olivia can’t carry out this plan to invade all the cities,” Mariana said.

“We’re not half,” Em said, looking around the room. Maybe a third of the Ruined were solidly with her. “And clearly Olivia isn’t counting on your support anyway. Notice that she isn’t training any of you.”

“I guess you’re right,” Mariana said, chewing on her lip.

“What’s your plan, then?” Ivanna asked. “You’re going to stop Olivia from taking over Lera?”

“Eventually, yes,” Em said. “I think if we partner with the Lera army, we stand a chance of fighting off Olivia. But for now, I’d like to get a head count of all the Ruined. I’m not sure how many we have total, so let’s find that out. Then, if you guys are willing, I’d like to start finding out who would agree to work with King Casimir.”

“Work how?” Mariana asked at the same time Gisela said “No.”

Em looked at Gisela. “No?”

“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s my answer about working with Casimir. No.”

“We have to start thinking long-term,” Em said, trying to keep the desperation from her voice. If she couldn’t convince the Ruined to help Cas, he was doomed. “Are we going back to Ruina?”

“Why not?” Gisela asked. “It’s our home.”

Patricio scrunched up his face, a look mirrored by several other Ruined in the room. “Not really, not anymore. There’s nothing left. They took our home.”

“We’d have to start completely from scratch,” Em said. “It will take years to rebuild even half of what we had.”

“You’re suggesting we stay here instead?” Mariana asked.

“It’s a possibility. But if we stay, we have to deal with the king eventually. None of this is ours.” She gestured to the house around her. “Invading a town and stealing everything isn’t a long-term plan.”

“Olivia has a long-term plan,” Gisela said. She raised her eyebrows at Em, as if to challenge her.

“A plan that includes killing everyone,” Aren said.

“A plan to doesn’t include working with someone who murdered all of our families,” Gisela shot back.

Em swallowed a wave of panic. At least half the Ruined in the room were nodding in agreement with Gisela.

“What would convince you?” she asked quickly. “If you could have anything you want from King Casimir, what would you ask for?”

“Some people mentioned that the king should pay us reparations,” Ivanna said. “And I have to agree. They took everything from us.”

“Good,” Em said. “That’s reasonable.”

“I’d like my parents back,” Gisela said. “Ask him if he can give me that.”

“We can’t change the past—” Em began.