Allied (Ruined #3)(27)

“You’re going right this minute? We can’t even talk about it?” Mateo asked, his brow furrowed in frustration.

“There isn’t anything to talk about. I need to—”

“I talked to some of the guards, and a few of them are willing to go,” Mateo cut in. “There is no good reason for you to—”

“There is a perfectly good reason,” Galo interrupted. Angry words boiled up inside him, and he took a step back. “I can’t argue about this right now. They’re waiting for me.” He turned on his heel. Mateo called his name, but he wasn’t allowed to leave his post while on duty. Galo walked faster.

Outside, two soldiers were on horseback, prepared to escort him part of the way. They’d saddled a horse for him as well, and he quickly attached his bag to the saddle and climbed on.

“Let’s go,” he said, turning the horse away from the castle.

They rode east for several hours, until they reached the spot on Em’s map where she said Galo should go by foot. He dismounted his horse and waved good-bye to the soldiers as they rode back in the direction of Royal City.

According to Em’s map, he was about an hour’s walk from Westhaven, and he hiked slowly through the tall grass, keeping a close watch on his surroundings.

He found the area where he was supposed to wait, in a thick patch of trees, not far from a small stream. Em had written on the back of the map that she’d hidden a sleeping bag beneath a rock, and he found it easily. He pulled it out and plunked down on top of it.

The sun was sinking low in the sky, and it was quiet except for the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. He hadn’t been alone in so long—since before becoming a guard—that the quiet immediately caused panic to well up inside him. Maybe Mateo had been right. It was stupid to run straight into danger when he’d just escaped it. Surely there was someone else who could have done this?

It was too late to go back now, but he certainly could have left things better with Mateo. He should have at least hugged him before he left. If Olivia took Galo’s head off, Mateo would remember Galo’s being a jerk the last time he saw him.

He’d been running through all the things he should have said to Mateo for an hour when he heard the sound of footsteps. It was almost dark, but he leaned over to try to see through the trees. Aren. He recognized the broad shoulders and long, quick strides right away. Galo had spent a lot of time watching Aren when he was a guard in the castle. He’d always seemed off, and Galo had spent a lot of time trying to figure out why.

Aren ducked his head under a branch. Surprise lit up his face when he spotted Galo. “You’re here.”

“I’m here. Just for the last hour or so.”

Aren walked closer to him, sliding his hands into his pockets. Galo sometimes forgot how good-looking Aren was, and instead only remembered him suggesting Galo had done a terrible job guarding Cas. But he really was handsome, with his intense dark eyes and a smile that suggested he was far more innocent than he really was.

“Was the trip all right?” Aren asked. “No problems?” His smile faded quickly, and Galo realized Aren seemed exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his frame was thinner than last time he’d seen him.

“No problems,” he said.

Aren stood there awkwardly for a moment, like he was searching for something to say. “Thank you. For offering to do this,” he finally said quietly.

He sounded sincere, and Galo felt a tinge of guilt for second-guessing his decision to come. “Don’t thank me,” he mumbled.

“Why not?”

He just shrugged.

“I heard you quit the guard,” Aren said. “To come here?”

“No, I’d already quit.”

“Oh. Why?”

“It was the right thing to do.” He looked up at Aren, not trying to hide the edge in his voice. “You said it yourself, I wasn’t doing a very good job.”

“When did I say that?”

“In Vallos.”

Aren cocked his head, thinking. “Right. You didn’t quit because of what I said, did you?”

“Don’t give yourself so much credit.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. No one could have protected Cas from what happened. It’s a miracle he’s alive, actually.”

He eyed Aren warily, unsure how to react to that. This was the longest conversation they’d ever had, and it wasn’t going at all how he thought. “You meant it, a little,” he countered.

“I didn’t, I was just being a jerk. I was scared that night, with you guys arriving and having August and the warriors and Olivia in Sacred Rock. I just wanted you all to leave before Em got more attached to Cas.”

Galo couldn’t blame him for that. He’d also wondered if seeing Em again would just make things even more painful for Cas.

“It is best that you quit, though,” Aren said. “Cas would jump in front of a sword for you, and that’s the exact opposite of what you want, as a guard.”

Galo laughed softly. “True.”

“Plus it’s really boring.”

“You were barely on the Lera guard long enough to get bored,” Galo said with an eye roll.

“But I still did. That should tell you something.” He smiled at Galo. “Em’s with the Ruined right now. Do you have anything urgent to tell her?”