Ruined (Ruined, #1)(75)

“Thank you,” she whispered again.

“Assuming the Olso warriors don’t kill me, I’ll convince my advisers that it’s best to focus on them, and not you. I think we’ll have our hands full for quite a while.” His expression turned serious. “If you promise not to attack Lera again.”

“If you promise not to execute the Ruined simply for their magic.”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.” She began to smile at him, but the relief of their arrangement was quickly overshadowed by the fact that this meant they would likely never see each other again. He wore a matching expression, and she reached out, finding his hand.

When the jungle fell into darkness that night Em’s eyelids felt heavy and her feet and legs ached. She suggested they rest for the night and Cas agreed. He pulled her close to him as soon as they sat down in the dirt against a large tree trunk. Her body began sending off sparks immediately, the exhaustion she’d felt a few seconds again vanishing.

“Don’t let them take away your rightful position as queen,” Cas said quietly, resting his chin on top of her head.

“What?” She put one hand on his chest.

“You should be queen of your people, whether you have Ruined magic or not. Maybe especially because you don’t. Your mother’s biggest failing was her overreliance on magic. You proved that you don’t need any to defeat your enemies. They should be celebrating you, not telling you you’re useless.”

“Quite a compliment, coming from one of my ‘enemies.’”

“You can tell them I said that. Or maybe don’t, if you think it will actually hurt the cause.” She smiled, and he put one hand on her neck and ducked his head down to kiss her. Her body responded immediately, and she was suddenly shifting, sliding onto his lap with one knee on either side of him.

His fingers burned fire across her neck. His lips joined them and she had to grab his shoulder with one hand to keep herself steady. But it was a hopeless act, because she was anything but steady.

He whispered her name, “Em,” as his mouth found hers again and she felt a rush of relief that they’d never really kissed before. It would have torn her apart to hear Mary’s name when he was kissing her, to wonder if he would still want to kiss her if he knew who she really was.

She ran her fingers through his hair and was rewarded with a moan of approval. Cas sat up straighter, one hand on her waist to keep her in his lap. She thought he couldn’t get any closer, but he drew her against him until she could feel his heart beating next to hers. If he’d asked her in that moment to run away with him, to take his hand and hide from everyone, she almost certainly would have said yes.

A light touch on her knee made her grasp his hair tighter. He pushed her dress up her thigh, his fingers trailing sparks over her skin. That spark was going to catch and she was going to be consumed by flames at any moment. She was sure of it. But there was nothing that would stop her kissing him.

His hand disappeared from her thigh and was on her back, finding the buttons of her dress. There were far fewer than the last time he’d unbuttoned her. He quickly had three undone and her dress slipped down her arms.

His hands pressed into the bare skin of her back, his fingers curling like he was about to completely lose control. She was right there with him.

Cas’s hands stilled suddenly, and she heard the noise half a second later. Horses.

She pulled away from him and his hands disappeared from her back. Her body still buzzed from his touch, and it took a moment for her eyes to focus.

A group of warriors surrounded a wagon in the distance. They weren’t scouting the area, but it looked like they were keeping whatever was in the wagon heavily guarded.

“It’s a wagon,” she said quietly. “Is that the one you were in?”

He shifted beneath her, and she slid off him so he could see. He squinted in the dark, then leaned back against the tree. “That’s the one.”

She lifted her shoulders, straightening her dress, and Cas motioned for her to turn around, a smile on his face. He buttoned her back up, planting a soft kiss on her shoulder when he was done.

“Could have been bad, if they were closer,” she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. She turned around, settling next to him. “We never would have heard them coming.” Five or six armed warriors against her and Cas? They would have been dead for sure.

“I could think of worse ways to go.” He glanced back at the road. “I wish I could help them.”

“There are too many of them. Maybe if we still had Aren, but without him . . .”

“I know,” Cas said softly. “I just feel helpless. I’m supposedly the king now, and I’ve never felt less in control.”

She laced her hand through his, lifting it to her lips. “You’ll be in control again. If there’s anything I can do to help with that, you know I’m more than willing.”

He released her hand, pulling her closer to him and planting a kiss on top of her head. “I know, Em.”





THIRTY-FOUR


THREE STEPS SEPARATED Cas and Em. If three steps were too many, what was he supposed to do when there were thousands?

He closed the distance and brushed his hand against hers. She smiled at him as she stepped over a patch of leaves, letting her fingers curl around his for a moment.