“No,” Em said quietly.
“And he doesn’t blame you for what your mother did. There comes a time when we have to accept that people make their own choices, and we’re not responsible for those choices, even if they’re our family. You’ve expected Casimir to stand against his family’s choices, even if it meant losing them. It’s time to expect the same from yourself.”
Em took in a shaky breath. She hadn’t thought of it like that, but Ivanna wasn’t wrong. She had expected Cas to turn away from Jovita, and his mother, when she was still alive, in order to do the right thing. She hadn’t really even considered how hard that would be for him. It had seemed so obvious to her—his family had committed genocide, and Cas had to make it right. But now that she was faced with a similar problem in Olivia, she realized just how terrible it must have been for him.
“And don’t forget that Olivia isn’t the only powerful Ruined,” Ivanna added. “Killing one Ruined won’t solve our problems, not long-term.”
“You’re right,” Em said quietly.
“I often am,” Ivanna said lightly.
Em linked her arm through Ivanna’s as they started walking again.
“Thank you,” Em said. “I don’t have a lot of people to talk to these days.”
“I noticed. I’ll be taking this walk every morning, if you’d like to join me.”
“That would be nice.”
They walked in a loop, until the sun rose higher in the sky, and they turned in the direction of Mariana’s house. She’d taken up residence two blocks over, on a quiet street with matching houses.
Mariana answered the door with a smile, though her eyes nervously scanned the street behind Em and Ivanna.
“No one followed us,” Em said. She looked Mariana up and down. She was wearing a soft pink dress that reached the floor, her arms bare. Her black hair was braided into a crown around her head, with the ends tucked into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her dark brown skin was radiant, and Em wondered if she’d done something different, or if she just hadn’t seen Mariana well rested in a long time.
“You look lovely,” Em said.
“Thank you.” Mariana swung her hips so the dress swayed. “I found the dress in a box. I don’t think whoever lived here wore it anymore, so I helped myself.”
“It’s beautiful,” Em said as they stepped inside. Mariana was only a year older than her. If none of this had happened, she’d probably be wearing pretty dresses to the Ruina castle and dancing with Aren or some other handsome Ruined boy.
Aren sat at the dining table to her left, along with Davi and a few other Ruined. Ivanna and Davi were in their fifties, two of the only remaining older Ruined and part of the Ruined council. The entire Ruined council was present, actually, with the exception of Jacobo. He never left Olivia’s side these days.
About thirty other Ruined were packed into the dining room, leaning against the wall and sitting on the floor. They’d only invited Ruined Em truly trusted, those who were horrified by what Olivia was doing and were willing to work with Cas.
Em slid into the seat next to Aren. His handsome face was tight with worry, which had been his constant expression since Iria had been taken back to Olso.
“Did Olivia leave again this morning?” Mariana asked as she took a seat across from Em, in between Ivanna and Davi.
“She’s still sleeping. She said she was going to train some of the Ruined today,” Em said.
“They’ve been in that field behind the bakery,” Ivanna said. “They bring out a few of the hostages for practice.” Em rubbed her forehead. Olivia had taken several humans hostage, and locked them in the town jail. Since discovering that Aren drew power from humans, she’d been trying to do the same.
“I did get word that she’s feeding them, at least,” Patricio said quietly. He was a young Ruined, with the power to ruin the body, like Aren. Em had never known him well, but he was close to Mariana, and she’d vouched for him. Beside him was Selena, who Em remembered as a little girl, but she must have been about fourteen now. Her face was solemn, making her look even older.
“She needs them alive,” Aren muttered.
“I’d suggest sneaking in to free them, but she’ll just go get more,” Em said. “I think we have to leave it for now.”
“If we’re not going to do anything to help them, then I don’t understand why we’re still in Lera,” Davi said.
“Olivia will kill everyone if we leave,” Em said. “You’ve heard her plan to conquer the north? At least if we stay, we can hold her off for a while.”
“I’m sorry, but how is that our problem?” a young woman named Gisela asked. She leaned against the wall behind Davi and Mariana. She was close to Em in age, with pale skin and straight black hair, and was often in motion, whether it was pacing, tapping her fingers, or tugging on her hair. She had the same power as Olivia and Aren, but Em knew she didn’t have even half the strength that they did.
“You don’t mind if Olivia kills all the people in Lera?” Aren asked.
“I mind, but I’m not ready to stick my neck out to defend them. They’ve never done anything to defend us.” Murmurs of agreement rose up around the room.
“I know the people here don’t deserve our help,” Em said. “I know we can never fully forgive them for what they did to us. But we don’t have to be the same as them. We can be better, and not let them suffer the same fate that we did.”
Several people turned to Aren. They still did that sometimes: consulted a Ruined with power to back up what Em was saying.
“I agree,” Aren said. He rolled his eyes as he said it, like he was tired of playing this game. “I’m not just leaving Olivia here to murder anyone she chooses.”
Em gave him a grateful look. They’d had a serious conversation about leaving right after arriving, and Aren hadn’t been convinced at first that they should stay. He wanted to go to Olso to break Iria out of prison. Em felt terrible asking him to stay, but he was the most powerful Ruined alive. Em needed his help to stop not just Olivia, but the Ruined loyal to her as well.
“But if half the Ruined leave, Olivia can’t carry out this plan to invade all the cities,” Mariana said.
“We’re not half,” Em said, looking around the room. Maybe a third of the Ruined were solidly with her. “And clearly Olivia isn’t counting on your support anyway. Notice that she isn’t training any of you.”
“I guess you’re right,” Mariana said, chewing on her lip.
“What’s your plan, then?” Ivanna asked. “You’re going to stop Olivia from taking over Lera?”
“Eventually, yes,” Em said. “I think if we partner with the Lera army, we stand a chance of fighting off Olivia. But for now, I’d like to get a head count of all the Ruined. I’m not sure how many we have total, so let’s find that out. Then, if you guys are willing, I’d like to start finding out who would agree to work with King Casimir.”
“Work how?” Mariana asked at the same time Gisela said “No.”
Em looked at Gisela. “No?”
“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s my answer about working with Casimir. No.”
“We have to start thinking long-term,” Em said, trying to keep the desperation from her voice. If she couldn’t convince the Ruined to help Cas, he was doomed. “Are we going back to Ruina?”
“Why not?” Gisela asked. “It’s our home.”
Patricio scrunched up his face, a look mirrored by several other Ruined in the room. “Not really, not anymore. There’s nothing left. They took our home.”
“We’d have to start completely from scratch,” Em said. “It will take years to rebuild even half of what we had.”
“You’re suggesting we stay here instead?” Mariana asked.
“It’s a possibility. But if we stay, we have to deal with the king eventually. None of this is ours.” She gestured to the house around her. “Invading a town and stealing everything isn’t a long-term plan.”
“Olivia has a long-term plan,” Gisela said. She raised her eyebrows at Em, as if to challenge her.