Allied (Ruined #3)(40)

“Good.” Olivia resisted the urge to look at Em. “And did anything seem . . . off?”

“Off?” Ester blinked in confusion.

“Did you spot anything odd?”

“I don’t think so.” Ester gave her a strange look. “They looked like every other human army I’d ever seen.”

“Right.” A burst of nerves exploded in her stomach. She thought she’d figure out Em’s plan before they encountered the army.

“Olivia?” Em called from behind her. “Has Ester spotted the army?”

“Yes,” Olivia said. She turned to face Em and the rest of the Ruined. Her mind raced as she tried to decide what to do next.

“When do you want us in position?” Em asked after several seconds of silence.

Olivia’s eyes skipped over the Ruined until she found Aren. He was in the back, slipping off his horse. He looked over his shoulder, in the direction they’d just come from.

“Jacobo, find a tree to keep watch,” Olivia said. He took off toward a tall tree and began climbing. “Everyone else, get in position and secure your horses, but stay on the ground for now. Hide when Jacobo gives the word. I’m going to do a quick scout of the immediate area. I need to know where the warriors can hide.”

Em nodded and dismounted her horse. She didn’t glance back at Olivia.

Olivia stepped away from the Ruined and darted through the trees once she was out of sight. She caught a quick glimpse of Aren as he broke into a run, headed south.

She ran behind him. Her breath caught in her lungs, either from anger or lack of exercise. She’d spent so much time on her magical training she hadn’t thought about her physical limitations.

She forced herself forward, almost losing him twice. But he ran in a straight line, and it was easy to keep him in her sights, even at a slower pace.

He finally stopped. She darted behind a tree and watched as he approached Galo, who was on a horse. He said something to Galo and the human nodded.

Aren ran back in the direction he came and Galo turned his horse to ride south. Olivia let out a frustrated breath as she broke into a run again to follow Galo.

She lost sight of him quickly and instead followed the sound of horse hooves pounding the ground. They stopped very quickly, and she skidded to a halt when the Lera soldiers she’d seen before came into view. There were still just ten of them.

Olivia braced her hands against her thighs and took a moment to catch her breath. She couldn’t hear what they were saying from this distance, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t have time to waste. She needed to get back to the Ruined before the Olso army attacked.

She straightened, closing her eyes for a moment as she steadied herself. She stepped out from behind the tree.

Galo spotted her first. His body stiffened and his eyes rounded with fear. He said something to the soldier next to him. The soldier quickly grabbed the bow off her back and pointed an arrow at Olivia.

She waved her hand, throwing Galo and the soldier in opposite directions. The remaining nine soldiers sprung into action all at once. Several grabbed their swords. One tried to hide behind his horse. Another just started running.

She snapped their necks, one after the other. Each one slumped to the ground as the others screamed. The screams died with the last thump of a body hitting the dirt.

Galo was several paces away, slowly getting to his feet. She strode to him.

“Galo, right?” she asked.

If he was scared, he was doing a good job of hiding it, she noted with some disappointment. He just stared at her without a word.

“You should kneel when a queen approaches you, Galo.” She waved her hand and he fell face-first to the ground. She crooked her finger to make him slide across the dirt toward her. He yelped as his face collided with a large rock.

“Get on your horse,” she said, pointing. “And don’t even think of trying to take off. I’ll snap your neck.”

He didn’t move.

“I’ll also snap your neck if you don’t get on that horse in the next three seconds,” she said. “One . . . two . . .”

Galo quickly walked to the horse and swung his leg over the saddle. She would have smiled if she didn’t want to tear out his heart so badly.

Blood poured from a cut over Galo’s eyebrow and streamed down his face. He kept glancing around, like he thought someone would pop out and save him.

She got on the horse behind him. He leaned forward, like he didn’t want her to touch him. The feeling was mutual.

“Go,” she said.

“Where?” His voice was quiet, serious. He probably thought he was about to die. He was right.

“To the Ruined. You know where they are.”

The horse began moving forward. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt to keep steady behind him.

“Faster,” she said. Galo urged the horse forward.

It didn’t take long to get back to the Ruined on horseback. She spotted Jacobo still in his tree, his gaze fixed to the west. The rest of the Ruined weren’t in position yet. They’d moved the horses somewhere that Olivia couldn’t see, and were milling around, anxious looks on their faces. Several turned and spotted Galo and Olivia.

She ordered Galo to stop and slid off the horse. Ester strode out in front of the Ruined, her brow crinkled.

“Is that a human?” she asked.