Allied (Ruined #3)(86)

“She’s going to kill him,” Jovita said with a hint of pride. “And you.”

“How?”

Jovita giggled. “I know secrets. I know passageways.”

Terror zipped up Em’s spine. There was a secret passageway out of the castle—it was how Jovita and the queen had escaped when Olso attacked. But Em had never been told about the passageway during her time as Mary, and she hadn’t asked Cas about it since. She had no idea where it was.

She looked at Mateo to see a matching horrified expression on his face.

Olivia could be in the castle right now.

“Get her on a horse,” she said, pointing to Jovita. “We need to get back to the castle.”





FORTY-FOUR


AFTER SHE’D FINISHED sparring, Aren steered Iria in the direction of the kitchen, refusing to let her go back to her room until she’d eaten dinner with him. He grabbed some bread and cheese from the staff kitchen, and then headed into the gardens. He sat down at a table near the middle of the garden.

“This is where I’d always go to avoid Lerans,” he said as he broke off a piece of bread and handed it to her. “I thought you’d appreciate it.”

She laughed softly. “Thanks, Aren.”

“They’re not so bad, though. The Lerans. I’ve made friends with a few.”

“I noticed. I’m not opposed to making a few friends.” She smiled at him. “Though I don’t mind being alone with you either.”

He’d been tearing off a piece of bread when she said that, and he dropped it, feeling heat rush to his face. Her cheeks had turned pink.

“I wanted to let you know that I understand,” she said. “When you said you had to leave me here to stay with Em. She wasn’t ready to declare all-out war on Olivia. They needed you.”

“You needed me,” Aren said.

“Not so much, at that moment. You came through when I really needed you. And I didn’t think you would, honestly.”

His eyebrows shot up. “You didn’t think I would rescue you from the prison? I told you I would.”

“Sure, but no one would have blamed you for breaking that promise. You had to cross into Olso and figure out a way to get into our highest-security prison.” She lifted one shoulder. “I’m really grateful, is what I’m saying.”

“I would do it again,” he said softly.

A smile twitched at her lips. The bruises on her face had healed, the color back in her cheeks, and he found it difficult to look anywhere else. He wanted to lean across the table and brush her hair away from her face and kiss her.

He’d never been so hesitant to kiss a girl before. This used to be easy for him. He’d had plenty of girlfriends in the past, and he’d rarely felt the kind of nerves he was experiencing at the moment. Past Aren would have kissed her several seconds ago. Several weeks ago, actually.

He felt a familiar tug, and he almost ignored it, too wrapped up in Iria to care. It came again, more insistent.

He took in a sharp breath and shot to his feet. He could feel the frenzied excitement of hundreds of humans, their energy different than the constant flow from around Royal City.

“What?” Iria asked, alarmed.

“I feel someone coming. Lots of someones. Enough to be an army.”

“You can do that?”

“Yes.” He extended his hand to her and pulled her to her feet. It was probably the Olso army, and he wasn’t letting her out of his sight this time. They ran inside, Iria moving surprisingly well in her new boot. Her limp was still there, but she was learning to move quickly again.

“Galo!” he yelled as he ran into the castle. “Cas!” He probably shouldn’t have been casually shouting for the king in the castle, but it was an emergency, and he didn’t have time for formalities.

He sprinted up the stairs to find Cas emerging from his office. Galo and Mateo appeared behind him, along with Franco and Violet.

“What is it?” Cas asked.

“There’s an army coming,” Aren said.

“What? No. Our lookouts would have seen,” Franco said. “I didn’t hear them give the signal.”

“Aren can sense people farther out than we can see,” Galo said.

“Sound the alarm,” Cas said. Violet and Franco took off running and disappeared down the stairs. “Where is Em?”

“She and Mariana went into town with Mateo a little while ago,” Aren said.

Fear flashed across Cas’s face, but he recovered quickly. “Prepare the Ruined. I know you haven’t had a chance to get them training with our soldiers, but we need them to help if they’re willing.”

“They’re willing.”

“Can you tell exactly where they are?” Cas asked. “And how many?”

“No,” Aren said regretfully. “I think they’re southwest, but I’m not a hundred percent sure. You’ll have to wait until the lookouts can see for an exact number, but I would count on a lot.”

“That’s fine,” Cas said. “Go get the Ruined and coordinate with General Amaro.”

Aren nodded, reaching for Iria’s hand again, but she was focused on Cas.

“I can tell you the most likely plans of attack, if you’d like,” she said. Aren looked at her in surprise.