“A diarchy,” Olivia repeated. “We will rule together, as equals.” Her eyes were alight with excitement, like she thought this announcement would be met with wild enthusiasm.
She was met with skepticism instead. A murmur went through the crowd, and every pair of eyes landed on Em. Perhaps that was a good sign. The day they’d removed her from the throne, she’d known something was wrong. No one wanted to look at her.
But today, they all stared at her. Not everyone wore a kind expression, and she swallowed hard. Maybe she should say something. Explain that all she wanted was to make Ruina safe for them again. To build a home they could be proud of.
“We plan to rebuild Ruina into something even better,” Olivia said before Em could get a word out. The crowd just blinked at her. They didn’t have faith in either of them, apparently. Em wasn’t sure if that made her feel better or worse.
A long silence followed Olivia’s words. Pink spots appeared on her sister’s cheeks. “We’ll let you know more soon,” she snapped. “Right now, we’d like to see Mariana, Aren, Ivanna, Davi, and Jacobo.”
Ivanna and Davi were seated next to each other, two of the only older Ruined left. Ivanna nodded at them, but Em could see the skepticism on her face.
Aren stood, reaching out to squeeze Em’s arm as they waited for the others to join them. Once they had all made their way through the crowd, Olivia led them to the tent she and Em shared. It was a tight squeeze, but they all managed to fit, sitting cross-legged in a small circle.
“I imagine you know why you’re here,” Olivia said. “Em and I are putting together a council to advise us on Ruined matters.”
Between the five Ruined Olivia had called, all the Ruined powers were represented—Aren controlled the body, Jacobo and Ivanna the elements, and Mariana and Davi the mind. Em and Olivia had come to the decision about the council easily—there weren’t that many qualified Ruined left.
Ivanna pushed her gray hair behind her ear. “I appreciate that, but I think we need to talk about leadership.”
Olivia cocked her head. “Do we?”
“Yes. You are aware that after you were taken, the Ruined abolished the monarchy and elected a new leader?”
“Illegally abolished the monarchy,” Olivia corrected. “And your elected leader is dead.”
Davi glared at Em. “Because she let him die.”
A lump rose in Em’s throat. She could have done more to save Damian. She’d tried so hard to stop the Lera king from executing him, but she could have acted faster. She’d made that clear when she told the Ruined the story. She didn’t want to have any secrets from them.
“I was there too,” Aren said tightly. “I had to hold Em back. If you want to blame someone, blame me.”
“Yes, let’s blame them,” Olivia said flippantly. “The only two among you who actually got anything done. If it weren’t for Em and Aren, you would all still be running for your lives. Or dead. But let’s continue to talk about your leader, who got himself caught.”
“He was helping us cross into Olso!” Davi said, his face turning red.
“To help Em and Aren take down Lera. His sacrifice isn’t forgotten.”
“Is there someone you would prefer to lead?” Em asked quietly. Olivia frowned at her.
“No,” Jacobo replied, but he was smiling at Olivia.
“Well, we …” Ivanna cleared her throat. “There are some who would prefer an elected leader. Why wasn’t Aren even given the opportunity to—”
“Decline,” Aren said immediately.
“Aren, you’re the most powerful one here, besides Olivia,” Davi protested. “And you went to Lera at great risk to yourself.”
“Because of Em’s plan,” Aren said. “Forget it. I won’t accept.” He gestured at Olivia. “Besides, I’m the second most powerful person here. Why wouldn’t you want the first to lead you?”
“Valuing Ruined power over everything else has gotten us nowhere,” Ivanna said. “Wenda Flores was powerful but had no talent for negotiation. She just killed everyone who didn’t agree with her.”
“That’s a perfectly valid negotiation tactic,” Olivia said. Em winced. Her sister was just proving Ivanna right.
“Em has a talent for negotiation,” Aren said. “I think the whole point of this diarchy is that they balance each other out.”
Ivanna glanced at Em, but didn’t quite meet her eyes. “We’ve never had a useless leader before.”
“And yet you just said we overvalue Ruined power,” Em said. “Which is it?”
Ivanna snapped her mouth shut. Silence fell over the group.
Olivia chuckled for no apparent reason, and every head swiveled to her. “Do you think this is a debate? Just because a few of you want an elected leader doesn’t mean it will happen. Our community was fractured a year ago. We’re putting it back the way it should be.”
Ivanna set her mouth in a hard line and said nothing. Davi began to protest.
“Besides, Aren will marry one of us,” Olivia said. “Then he’ll rule as well.”
Em’s eyebrows shot up at the casual mention of Aren marrying her or Olivia. Aren gave her a completely baffled look. Em pointed to herself and shook her head, which made him chuckle.
Cas’s face flashed through her vision. She was already married. She’d married him as Princess Mary, but every moment of their relationship after that was real. She couldn’t imagine marrying anyone else. Her chest hurt just thinking about it.
“Moving on,” Olivia said. Em tried to pry her thoughts away from Cas, and only half succeeded. “We’ve picked a position for each of you. You may decline and suggest someone else for the position, if you choose. Aren, we’d like you to be director of combat. You’ll handle Ruined training and weapons. Everything we need to prepare for battle. Davi, director of health. You’ll be in charge of clean water and making sure everyone has clothes and is generally in good health. Ivanna, director of rebuilding. You’ll manage getting the castle back up and rebuilding the city. You three will report to me.”
“The other two will report to me,” Em said. “Jacobo, we’re asking you to be director of nutrition. We need someone to oversee fishing and hunting and farming. And Mariana, we’d like you to be director of foreign affairs. You’ll help me maintain relations with the Olso warriors.”
Mariana nodded enthusiastically. She was young, near Em’s age, and clearly excited to be chosen for the job.
“We’re leaving tomorrow for the miner’s cabins, and we’ll need your help getting everyone ready. We want the five of you to be the voice of the Ruined. To relay what’s happening to us, and to carry out our orders to them. Any problems with that?” Em asked. Everyone shook their head. “Good. Some of these positions are old, but some of them—like rebuilding—we’re making up as we go along. We’re open to ideas.”