“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.
“A plan that includes killing everyone,” Aren said.
“A plan to doesn’t include working with someone who murdered all of our families,” Gisela shot back.
Em swallowed a wave of panic. At least half the Ruined in the room were nodding in agreement with Gisela.
“What would convince you?” she asked quickly. “If you could have anything you want from King Casimir, what would you ask for?”
“Some people mentioned that the king should pay us reparations,” Ivanna said. “And I have to agree. They took everything from us.”
“Good,” Em said. “That’s reasonable.”
“I’d like my parents back,” Gisela said. “Ask him if he can give me that.”
“We can’t change the past—” Em began.
“I don’t want money, I want my parents—” Gisela interrupted.
“You’re being completely unreasonable,” Aren cut in. “She’s just trying—”
“One at a time!” Ivanna yelled over their voices. Gisela leaned back against the wall, a scowl on her face. Silence fell over the room.
“What if he gives up the throne?” Mariana finally asked.
Em looked at her quickly. “What?”
“It’s his family that did this to us. Maybe someone else should lead Lera.” She looked at Gisela. “Would that convince you?”
Gisela shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I don’t think I can ask for that,” Em said. “I’m not even sure that’s a good idea. He’s sympathetic to us. We may not get so lucky with a new leader.”
“If he’s the only person in all of Lera sympathetic to us, this won’t work anyway,” Ivanna said.
Em swallowed. She had a point.
“It’s not . . . entirely unreasonable,” Aren said reluctantly. “There should be consequences for what his family did to us. But maybe he doesn’t need to give up his throne entirely.”
Gisela made an annoyed sound.
“We could ask that they strip some power from the monarchy,” Aren said. “So that he has less authority as king.” He looked at Gisela. “That’s a good compromise, wouldn’t you say?” She just shrugged.
“Would he even agree to that?” Mariana asked.
“I don’t know,” Em said.
“Is there any way we can communicate with him?” Ivanna asked.
“Em could go to the castle,” Aren said, and Em looked at him in surprise. “What? There are plenty of horses in the barns around town, and it would only take half a day to ride there.”
“What will I tell Olivia?” Em asked.
Aren rubbed the back of his neck in thought. “Maybe go for more food? Or feed for the horses? We are actually running a little low on feed, I think.” He glanced at Mariana for confirmation. She nodded in agreement. “If Cas could give you a wagonful, you could come back and say you stole it.”
“Olivia will still be suspicious,” Gisela said.
“She’s already suspicious,” Em said.
“We have to set up a way to communicate with them. You can go have an initial talk with Cas, then set up a way to talk in the future,” Ivanna said. “None of this matters if they aren’t willing to negotiate with us.”
Dread settled into Em’s chest. She’d been the one who convinced Cas to go back to Lera when he wanted to give up his throne. Now she was going to tell him they wanted to strip him of his power?
She glanced at Gisela. Olivia has a long-term plan. If Em didn’t act, she might lose the few Ruined she had on her side.
She nodded grimly. “I’ll go talk to Cas.”
EIGHT
EVERYONE WAS LYING to Olivia.
Everyone who mattered, anyway.
Olivia stared at her sister. Em stood in the kitchen, stirring a pot of soup on the stove. Her stance was casual, like she’d just remembered something and wanted to mention it to Olivia.