Ruined (Ruined, #1)(35)

“No, we have that dinner tonight.”

“Dinner?”

“My father wanted to throw a celebration for the hunters before he sends them back.” He gestured to his shoulder, where Em could barely make out a bandage beneath his white shirt. “Trying to appease them, so they won’t attempt to kill me.”

She’d completely forgotten about the stupid dinner. She let out a long sigh. “I guess I should go get dressed.”

“I’ll meet you outside your room in half an hour?” Cas’s lips curved up. She quickly turned away, wondering if she’d be able to avoid looking at him for the rest of her time in the castle. It wasn’t fair that such a terrible person had that smile.

“Half an hour,” she said as she rushed out of the room.

Davina helped her into a red dress with a slit in one leg almost to her hip, then pulled a few strands of hair back in thin braids. The rest of her hair hung loose. The maid dusted powder on her cheeks and rubbed bright-red cream on her lips.

“There,” she said, standing back to admire her work. “You look lovely. The queen will be very happy.”

Em sighed. She did look lovely, but she was tempted to spread some dirt on her face just to spite the queen.

Cas appeared at her door right on time, his eyes sweeping over her as she stepped out of her rooms. His fingers brushed against her wrist, sending sparks up her arm, and she almost jerked it away.

“You look beautiful.” He seemed like he might want to take her hand, so she quickly crossed her arms over her chest and started down the hallway.

They arrived at the ballroom, where the dinner was already in full swing. The hunters sat with the king, queen, and Jovita at the long table in front, and the dance floor was full of laughter and energy as people spun and swayed.

Em watched the hunters carefully as she walked with Cas to the table. She had rarely crossed paths with a hunter who didn’t see the end of her sword, but a few had escaped her. She didn’t recognize any of them, and it was unlikely they would have recognized her either. Not in this dress, with lipstick on and a prince on her arm.

Jovita introduced the four men as Em was seated with Cas on one side and a young hunter named Roland on the other. Roland had only two pins on his jacket, and luckily seemed more interested in draining his wineglass as fast as possible than talking to her.

She took a few sips of her own wine, letting the liquid warm her veins and ignite a fire in her stomach. Aren stood at the far corner of the room, dressed in his Lera guard uniform. His expression was blank, but she knew it was only because he was struggling to keep his emotions under control. He could snap the necks of most of the royal family just by looking at them, and she was tempted to tell him to go for it.

“Cheer up, Roland,” one of the hunters—Willem, she thought—said, clapping the younger hunter on the back.

Roland tipped his wineglass back and wiped a hand across his mouth. “I’m cheerful on the inside.”

Em swallowed down her disgust for all of them and plastered a smile on her face. “How are things out there? The king said the Ruined are trying to cross into Olso?” It was the last thing she wanted to talk about, but it would be helpful to hear the hunters’ perspective. Find out how much trouble the Ruined were in.

“We keep spotting them near the border,” Willem said. “Killed a couple before we heard from the king that he wanted one for questioning.”

“Most are evading us,” Roland muttered.

Willem gave him a sharp look. “We’ll track them down eventually, Your Highness.”

“Are you going back soon?” she asked, hoping the answer was yes.

“We’re off first thing tomorrow,” Willem said. He grabbed a chicken leg as a server put a plate in front of him. “Some of the guards are going to have to take over questioning that Ruined we captured.”

“Better them than us,” Roland muttered.

“You’ll get used to it.” Willem chuckled, and Em glanced down at his rows of pins. Eleven—no, twelve. “I gave the guards a few pointers. Told them to take his whole hand next time, instead of another finger. They start figuring out how many fingers they can get by with, and cutting off a few doesn’t have much of an effect. But taking a whole hand”—he lifted his fist and lowered it quickly, miming chopping off a hand—“that takes them by surprise. Creates real panic so he’ll start talking.”

The room tilted, and she knew she was about to lose control.

No, not about to. It was gone.

“How lovely that you can talk so casually about torturing a fellow man,” she snapped. “You must be so proud of the trail of bodies you’ve left behind you.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cas’s head snap to her. Willem’s smile faded, and Roland muttered something she couldn’t understand, raising his glass in front of him.

She quickly stood, bile rising in her throat. She rushed away from the table so quickly she almost tripped over her dress. She had to hold the material away from her feet as she pushed open the ballroom doors.

“Mary!” Cas called from behind her. Footsteps pounded against the floor, and he was beside her, his fingers lightly wrapping around her arm. “Please wait.”

Her eyes had filled with tears, but she stopped and turned to him anyway. His expression softened. “Are you all right? What did they say to you?”