Allied (Ruined #3)(43)

Galo took in a sharp breath. Aren curled his fingers around a vine, preparing to shout for the Ruined to attack.

August jerked his head at the men around him and cut his horse to the left. Away from the Ruined.

Jovita and the other hunters looked over their shoulders, frowning in confusion as they watched the Olso and Vallos soldiers take off.

“Is he . . .” Galo let his voice trail off.

“He’s leaving her,” Aren said. “They’re not prepared to fight, so he’s abandoning her.” It was a smart choice, maybe the only one Aren had ever seen August make. The warriors weren’t prepared to fight, their bombs and weapons packed away. By the time they got ready, Olivia would have already killed them all.

Of course, that meant there were only a couple of hundred humans for Olivia to fight off. She could handle a few hundred without a problem. Em’s plan had failed.

A loud whistle rang through the forest. The signal from Olivia to attack. Jacobo dropped from the tree right next to Jovita’s horse. Jovita’s face changed from confusion to horror as she realized what was happening. A couple of hundred hunters were surrounded by Ruined on all sides.

“August!” Jovita yelled, like she’d thought he’d simply made a mistake. She clearly didn’t know him very well.

Chaos erupted around Jovita and the hunters. Olivia dropped from her tree, and at least thirty other Ruined emerged from their hiding spots. Jacobo used his magic to shake the ground beneath the hunters and several fell off their horses. The animals darted away in fear.

Olivia killed three men with the flick of her wrist, but she was staring at the retreating army. A warrior fell off his horse as she killed him.

“Cowards!” she screamed after them. She whirled around and pointed at Aren. “Help me stop them!”

Aren stood slowly and shook his head. If August had stayed, he and Em and their Ruined supporters would be running right now. They’d be putting as much space between themselves and the armies as possible. But Aren could see Em, rooted to the ground as she watched the army leave.

Olivia turned left, then right. The Ruined who were supposed to be helping her were moving back, away from the hunters. Davi and Mariana ducked behind trees. Several other Ruined followed.

An arrow whizzed through the air, and Aren gasped as he watched it barely miss Olivia’s face. It soared past her ear and found a different target—Jacobo. The arrow pierced his chest, making him stumble backward, blood dripping out of his mouth. He crumpled to the ground.

Olivia whirled around, finding the hunter with the arrow. Blood spurted from his chest and he slumped to the ground. The hunters around him fell as well.

“Why aren’t you helping?” Ester screamed at the hiding Ruined. Ivanna and Em were nearby, crouched behind a bush, but neither of them moved. Ruined-made lightning streaked across the sky.

Olivia’s face contorted with rage, but her anger at being deserted didn’t slow her down. She spun and flung her arms, the hunters around her dropping to the ground as she killed them. Galo, still crouched on the ground near Aren’s feet, made a strangled noise as he watched.

The two hundred hunters were fewer than fifty in a matter of minutes. Priscila pulled a tree down with her Ruined magic, crushing several more hunters beneath it. Other Ruined formed a circle around Olivia, guarding her as she surveyed the area. There were about twenty hunters left, all of them running for their lives. They darted through the trees in every direction.

Olivia pointed to each hunter as she killed them. One fell only a few paces from Aren. Another straight ahead of him. A few disappeared into the jungle, but Olivia killed the others.

Aren sucked in a breath. Human bodies littered the ground all around them. Olivia had killed almost every one of the two hundred hunters. And as far as he could tell, they’d only lost one Ruined—Jacobo was slumped on the ground, an arrow still sticking out of his chest.

Priscila collapsed against a tree, and several other Ruined followed suit. Olivia’s eyes met Aren’s, and he could see the exhaustion there. Blood was splattered across her white shirt. Her hands shook just slightly.

Em stepped out from behind the bush, Ivanna and several other Ruined following her. Mariana appeared next to Aren, looking at the scene in front of Olivia with wide eyes.

“Are the Lera soldiers still there?” Em asked Galo.

“No, she killed them all.”

Em closed her eyes briefly. “Right. Of course she did.”

“Oh, Em!” Olivia called. Her voice shook with rage.

Em slowly turned to face Olivia. Aren gestured for Galo to get behind Mariana.

Olivia took a step forward. She scanned the area, clearly searching for something. She knelt down and pulled a sword from beneath a dead hunter.

Olivia stood, sword pointed at Em. She lunged.





TWENTY


EM’S SWORD WAS in her hand. She hadn’t even thought about it. When someone came at her with a weapon, she grabbed her sword.

But this someone was Olivia. Her sister was racing straight at her, blade pointed in front of her.

Em tightened her fingers around the handle of her sword but didn’t lift it. She stood there, motionless, watching as Olivia drew closer. Em waited for her to slow down or lower the sword. She kept coming.

Em raised her sword at the very last minute. Olivia’s blade hit hers. It would have been Em’s chest if she hadn’t reacted in time.