Allied (Ruined #3)(75)

“Jovita doesn’t have any useful information, not anymore. Especially not that we’re redrawing battle plans to include the Ruined.”

“Good. But you’ll need to decide what to do about her. If someone is able to get to her, what are your orders?”

He paused, thinking. “I’ll ask people to bring me any reports of Olivia or Jovita sightings, but other than that, let’s just wait.” He let out an annoyed sigh. “If somehow Jovita escapes, she should be brought here to the castle.”

“Alive?” Em asked.

“Alive,” Cas confirmed.





THIRTY-EIGHT


AREN TOOK IRIA up to Em’s old room, which was almost exactly the same as the last time Aren had seen it. All of Em’s clothes had been removed, but the blue bedding and extravagant furniture were the same.

Iria walked slowly to the bed and sat with a sigh, then pulled off her shoes. She was clearly in pain every time she walked.

“We should have a doctor look at your foot,” he said.

“It just needs to heal.”

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I can go find some food for you. Or do you need a bath? I can find a maid to bring up some warm water.” He didn’t know what to do, and he felt like if he offered everything, maybe something might be the right thing to say.

“I just want to rest,” she said, scooting back on the bed. She pulled back the blankets. That was clearly his cue to leave, but he lingered by the door anyway, hesitant to leave her alone.

“Do you mind if I come check on you in a few hours?” he asked. “I know it’s uncomfortable, staying in the Lera castle.” He almost added for me, too to the end of the sentence, but that wasn’t really true. His first visit to the castle had been horrible and terrifying, but this one was not. He was relieved to be back.

“Sure, that’s fine,” she said, pulling the blankets over her. She hadn’t changed her clothes, and Aren realized suddenly that she didn’t have any. She didn’t have anything, except for the clothes on her back.

He almost told her he’d find some, and anything else she wanted, but she’d already closed her eyes. She probably didn’t care about her things right now. He hadn’t, when they’d all burned. His possessions had been pretty far down the list of worries.

He walked out of the bedroom, then the sitting room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Em was walking down the hallway, and she stopped in front of her old door.

“Did those men have useful information?” Aren asked.

“Not really. They spotted Jovita. Still alive.”

Aren winced. Olivia certainly wasn’t treating Jovita well. Death might have been kinder.

“I know.” Em tilted her head toward Iria’s room. “Is she all right?”

“I think she needs some time to . . .” He wasn’t sure what she needed time to do. Not just heal, but to adjust.

“Is the injury serious?” Em asked.

Aren glanced over his shoulder at the maids clustered at the end of the hallway. “Come on,” he said, leading Em down the hall, to the corner room Violet had just shown him. It was smaller than Iria’s, just a single room and bathroom, but it was still impressive, with a huge wardrobe, a large desk, and giant windows that overlooked the south lawn. It was obviously used for important guests, and Aren wasn’t sure it suited him.

He shut the door behind Em and sat down in the desk chair. Em perched on top of the trunk at the end of the bed.

“Some of the guards attacked her,” Aren said. “She took a knife to the foot. They cut off a good portion of it.”

“Can she still put weight on it?” Em asked.

“She can. Or she will, eventually. It’s still painful. She’ll walk with a limp, though.”

“She might have a hard time with a sword as well,” Em murmured. “Balance, I mean. It’s fine. I’ll work with her.”

“Galo and I were talking about it, and we think we can make her a boot to wear that will help. It’s not a terrible injury, she just needs something to balance out the part of the foot she lost.”

“It’s lucky you got there so fast,” she said. “It could have been much worse.”

He’d been trying not to think about that. “How are things here?”

“We haven’t started any formal meetings yet. We’ve been working on armor and putting together battle strategies so the Ruined can fight with us. Plus, we were hoping you would return soon.”

“You were waiting for me?” he asked, surprised.

“There aren’t a lot of Ruined leaders left. Everyone looks up to you. And I think it might be better if you and Mariana take the lead in negotiations, considering my relationship with Cas.”

“I’d be happy to. I need a day or two to rest, though.”

“Of course. The other Ruined are downstairs, if you want to go see them. We offered to put some of them in a few rooms like this one, but they wanted to stay together in the guards’ quarters.”

Aren nodded. He didn’t feel the same, he realized. He wanted to be up here, close to Iria, not back in the tiny guards’ quarters.

He wasn’t sure how to balance his feelings for her with his responsibilities with the Ruined. He’d never known, but the answer was muddled now. Putting the Ruined first had always been natural, a given, but that wasn’t the case anymore.