Allied (Ruined #3)(81)

She reached around Jovita and pulled the ropes loose until she could free her hands. Jovita greedily grabbed the canteen and drank, tipping it back until she got every last drop.

Olivia handed the last of her dried meat to Jovita, who immediately tore off a piece with her teeth.

“I’m going to be honest with you,” Olivia said. “Things aren’t going so well for me right now.”

Jovita snorted. She may have lost her mind, but she hadn’t lost her hatred of Olivia.

Olivia gestured around her. “As you can see, everyone has left. I won’t be taking over Lera. But there is one thing I can do.”

Jovita gnawed on her meat and stared at a point beyond Olivia’s head.

“I can sneak into the castle and kill Em. And Cas, if you’d like.”

Jovita’s eyes snapped to hers, but she said nothing.

“How did you get out of the castle, the night the warriors attacked?”

“I’m not telling you that.”

Olivia raised her eyebrows. It seemed Jovita hadn’t completely lost her mind after all.

“Why not?” Olivia asked. “If I get in, I’ll kill Casimir. Isn’t that what you want?”

“They’ll kill you,” Jovita said. “There are too many guards. Even you won’t make it out alive.”

That, unfortunately, was true. With Jovita’s help, Olivia could get in, and she could probably kill a lot of people, including Em’s beloved Cas, but she’d never make it out. Even if she managed to kill everyone in the castle, she’d be so weak she’d barely be able to walk. Guards would get her before she made it over the castle walls.

But it was the only plan that didn’t make her want to rip her hair out. She wouldn’t join Em in protecting the people who had killed their mother and father. She wouldn’t sulk back to Ruina to be queen of nothing. Killing Em would make her immortal. The Ruined would always talk about it, how she fought until the very end, all alone, and defeated the greatest Ruined traitor they’d ever known.

“You know how powerful I am,” Olivia said to Jovita. “You don’t think I can kill Casimir? I can kill everyone in that castle.”

Jovita stared at her as she chewed. She blinked several times, like she was seeing something that wasn’t there. It was an aftereffect of a Ruined controlling the mind, especially when the control had gone too far. Jovita would likely see things that weren’t there for the rest of her life.

“Not everyone,” Jovita finally conceded. “I need some guards. And some soldiers.”

“Sure,” Olivia lied.

“And you have to leave when you’re done,” Jovita said seriously.

“Of course.”

Jovita studied her like she knew Olivia was lying. She shrugged. “You couldn’t stay, even if you wanted to. It’s just you now.” She swept her arms out dramatically, perhaps to display just how alone Olivia was. “Can’t run a castle all by yourself, can you?” She laughed.

Olivia swallowed down the urge to take Jovita’s head off right then. “Tell me how to get in.”

“You have to promise not to kill me after I tell you,” Jovita said.

“What’s the point? Would you really believe me if I promised?”

Jovita frowned.

“Listen. I’ll let you go, because, honestly, this state you’re in amuses me more than killing you. But even if I did kill you, wouldn’t you prefer to tell me how to get to the castle first? Either way, I’m going to go kill Em and Casimir. You’re in no shape to take your revenge now, so let me do it for you.”

Jovita chewed on her lip, considering.

“Fine, I promise,” Olivia said, rolling her eyes.

Jovita still seemed skeptical, but perhaps she had enough reasoning left to know what Olivia said was true—if anyone was going to kill Casimir, it was going to be Olivia.

“There’s a secret passageway in the kitchen,” Jovita said. “It ends in one of the lookout towers, but it’s totally hidden from view. Even the guards stationed in the tower don’t know it’s there.”

“How do I find it?”

“Pull up the floorboards.”

“Which tower?”

“Southeast.”

Olivia smiled. “Thank you, Jovita. Ester was right about working with you people.” She grabbed the ropes and stood to secure Jovita to the tree again.

“Hey! I thought you were going to let me go.”

“I will,” Olivia said, and she meant it. She turned to walk in the direction of the Olso and Vallos armies. “I just need to wait for the right moment.”





FORTY-TWO


IRIA SAT ON the edge of her bed, considering how many more days she could stay in this room without losing her mind, when a knock sounded at the door.

“Come in!” she called.

The door opened to reveal Aren, holding a wad of clothing and a pair of boots. His expression was so bright and hopeful she felt a smile twitching at her lips.

He dropped the clothes on the bed. Sparring clothes. Her smile faded.

“These are for you,” he said, holding up the boots. “I worked with a few of the guards to make something that would be good for running and sword fighting. It’s just a first attempt, so don’t worry if it’s uncomfortable. We can adjust it.”