Ruined (Ruined, #1)(82)

Cas’s gaze flickered to Jovita, an uneasy feeling unfolding in his chest. “I’m not hiding away while our soldiers fight.” He turned to his cousin. “Jovita, go get Colonel Dimas and tell him to meet me downstairs. I want a briefing on the plan.”

“Your mother and I already talked to him,” Jovita said.

“Good. Now go and tell him the king wants to speak with him in a few minutes.”

Jovita’s jaw twitched, but she walked past him and ran down the stairs. He headed after her, his mother following him.

“Part of being a good king is making sure you stay alive to actually rule,” she said, her shoes pounding the floor as she ran after him. “Charging into battle to save a few staff members in a wagon and—”

“We saved them and I’m still here, Mother.”

“It’s not smart.” She grabbed his shirt, pulling him to a stop. “Why did you take the guards off Olivia?”

“We need everyone fighting.” He tried to keep his face blank, but his mother frowned suspiciously.

Cas turned away, jogging down the stairs. His mother stayed put, and he could feel her eyes burning into his back. He stepped off the stairs and out of her line of sight. He was going to have to sneak Olivia out, and he wasn’t looking forward to the fallout once his mother realized what he’d done.

Colonel Dimas walked through the front door and nodded at Cas. “Your Majesty. I’m glad you made it here safely.” He led Cas outside and took him around the entire building, giving Cas a brief rundown of their defense strategy as they walked. Many of the guards and soldiers were obviously weary, their uniforms wrinkled and dirty from travel. But they stood tall in straight lines, ready for battle. Cas looked down at his grungy blue staff shirt.

“Can I get a guard uniform?” he asked the colonel as they returned to the front lawn. “It’ll be easier to fight if I blend in.”

“Will you be joining us, Your Majesty?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll have someone find one.”

Cas thanked him and turned on his heel, shaking his head when a guard made a move to follow him. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

He walked through the front doors and across the large room. There were two arches on the back wall leading to the rear rooms, and he glanced over his shoulder before ducking through the left one. The guards watched him, but none made a move to follow.

He headed across the parlor, sidestepping the table and cluster of chairs in the center of the room. If he remembered correctly, the doorway at the back left corner of the room led to the dungeons.

He pulled open the door and quickly descended the stairs. A heavy wooden door was at the bottom, and he pushed it open to reveal a long hallway with cells on either side. Galo stood in front of one of the last cells, and he looked up at the sound of the door opening.

“This is Olivia?” Galo asked, pointing to the cell in front of him. His face was pulled tight with worry, and Cas quickly walked toward him. All the cells he passed were empty. Oddly, it smelled strongly of flowers or perfume the farther he went into the cells.

“Is she all right?” Cas asked.

The last cell was the only one occupied. It held a teeange girl. She was chained to the bed, facing the wall instead of out at the bars. A blindfold covered her eyes. She wore loose pants and a white shirt, both smudged with dirt and grime. Her dark hair was wild. She had more Ruined marks than Damian. The pale lines covered her arms and crept up her neck into her hair.

“I think that’s her,” Cas said quietly.

“Have they had her chained to that bed the whole time?”

Cas ran a hand down his face with a long sigh. “I don’t know.” What had he expected? That she had several rooms and a nice bed? That she was allowed to bathe regularly and given enough to eat? Neither had happened, given the state of her.

He held his hand out. “Do you have the keys?”

Galo handed them over. “They’re labeled. It’s the green one.”

He held the green key up to the lock. “Olivia—”

The dungeon door banged open and he jumped away from the cell. His mother and Jovita strode down the hallway, followed by four guards.

The queen extended her hand as she stopped in front of Cas. “Keys, Casimir.”

He took a step back, his shoulder brushing against Galo’s. He cleared his throat, trying to sound authoritative. “Could you all please give me a moment?”

“You can’t release her.” The queen shook her head. “I know that’s why you’re down here. I know Emelina put ideas in your head about the Ruined, but you can’t just let Olivia go. You don’t know what she’s capable—”

“She’s chained to the bed!” He pointed at her, anger rising in his chest. “She’s not capable of anything!”

“It’s a failed experiment, Cas,” Jovita said. “We’ll admit that. We learned a few things, and we thought Olivia’s healing powers could be useful, but she couldn’t be conditioned to—”

He pointed at the guards. “Get them out of here.”

None of the guards moved. His mother looked at him apologetically. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

The guards sprang forward. Hands closed tightly around Cas’s wrists. He tried to jerk away, but they held firm. One of them pried the keys out of Cas’s hand.