“Do we have anyone we could send?” Cas asked Galo.
“I think so. It wouldn’t be many, but a smaller group could travel faster.”
“Is it worth it?” Cas asked Em. “Does Weakling even work on Olivia?”
“Barely, but it does slow her down. And it certainly hurts the other Ruined. We could line shields with it, put it in necklaces like your mother used to. Even stitch it into clothing. I would recommend it, regardless of our agreement,” Em said. “Olivia will come after you.”
“We’ll send someone right away, then,” Cas said. “Now tell us your conditions.”
“We want reparations,” Em said. “Homes to replace the ones that were lost, money to start rebuilding a life.”
All heads turned to Cas.
“I think that’s reasonable,” he said. “But that’s not the condition they’re going to care about, Em.”
“They want to strip the monarchy of some of its power,” Em said.
“No,” Violet said immediately. Cas looked at her in surprise. “The people love you. Absolutely not.”
“I agree,” Julieta said. “Jovita has just attempted to take over the throne, and she probably will again. Removing power from the monarchy right now could be disastrous.”
“The Ruined won’t help you if Cas goes unpunished,” Em said.
“You think he should be punished?” Violet said.
“I’m not completely innocent here,” Cas broke in. “I never even tried to stop my father from attacking the Ruined.”
“You’d agree to this?” Violet exclaimed.
He sighed. “Maybe?”
“Jovita will be delighted,” Julieta grumbled.
“Why does Cas need to be punished, but you don’t?” Violet said to Em. “You destroyed our alliance with Vallos when you murdered their princess. You led the attack that killed half the people in this castle. But it’s only Cas who needs to pay for their actions?”
Em stared at Violet solemnly, almost devoid of emotion. Galo didn’t think Cas particularly loved Em’s ability to push aside emotion to get things done, but Galo admired it.
“We want to open negotiations with you,” Em said. “If one of your conditions is that I also need to be stripped of power, then I can take that back to the Ruined.”
“I don’t think it’s much of a negotiation if your starting offer is to make Cas little more than a figurehead,” Franco said.
“That wasn’t our starting offer. I talked them down. They wanted Cas to give up the throne entirely.”
Galo looked at Cas. There was a time, only a few weeks ago, when Cas would have gladly given up the throne. He’d made that offer to Em. But Galo suspected that Cas wasn’t so willing anymore. He’d worked hard to take the throne back from Jovita, and he’d earned the respect of his people.
Violet let out a long sigh.
Em turned to Franco. “Didn’t you oppose King Salomir’s decision to attack the Ruined?”
“Yes,” Franco replied.
“But the king didn’t care. If we limit the monarchy’s power, that won’t happen again. Other people will be involved in the decision. Why is that so bad?”
“What other people?”
“We were thinking of elected representatives. Ruined and Leran. They would have certain powers that the monarchy doesn’t. They could overrule the king or queen.”
“Cas doesn’t make unilateral decisions the way his father does,” Franco said. “It’s not the same.”
“Sure, but you can’t guarantee that will be the case for the next monarch. Or the one after that. This is bigger than just me and Cas. It’s about the future of both our people.”
Franco tapped his fingers on the table, like he was considering it. Cas caught Galo’s eye. Galo tilted his head with a small shrug. He could see Em’s point.
“Give us some time to think it over,” Cas said to Em. “Can you come back after we’ve had time to discuss?”
“I don’t know if I can get away again without Olivia getting suspicious,” Em said. “We were hoping you could send a messenger. Someone you trust not to just carry messages, but deal with us and make smaller decisions. And to be clear, it will be incredibly dangerous. I’ll do my best to protect whomever you send, but I can’t always control Olivia. They’ll need to do their best to avoid her.”
“Not a great pitch,” Franco said, scrunching up his face.
“I know. But if we’re going to communicate about negotiations and my plan to stop Olivia, we need a way to talk to each other.”
“What is your plan to stop Olivia?” Julieta asked.
“I don’t have one yet,” Em said quietly.
“Great,” Violet muttered.
“We can send a messenger,” Cas said, shooting Violet a look. “But it has to be a volunteer. I don’t feel right assigning this to someone. It would have to be a person we trust, who isn’t scared of the Ruined.”
Cas’s eyes flicked to Galo. He saw the idea occur to Cas at the same time it occurred to him. Cas discreetly shook his head.
“I was thinking we go to the soldiers first, maybe General Amaro might have some thoughts?” Cas said quickly.
Galo didn’t hear Danna’s reply. It was an insane mission. The chances of getting someone to volunteer were slim at best. Everyone knew Olivia killed any human who came near her, so why would someone volunteer to do it willingly?
“I’ll do it,” Galo said.
Every head turned to him. Em blinked in surprise.
“I’ll do it,” he said again.
“No, you can’t . . .” Cas’s voice trailed off, like he couldn’t think of why Galo couldn’t.
“It should be me,” Galo said. “I already know some of the Ruined. I know Olivia. Some of the soldiers have only seen her from a distance. They won’t even know who to avoid.” He said the words partly to convince himself. He needed something to make himself useful, a way to prove he was actually good at something besides wielding a sword. This was the perfect opportunity.
“That’s a good point,” Em said to Cas. “And Aren already knows Galo. Aren is always wary of new humans. He’ll appreciate having someone he already knows he can trust.”
Galo tried not to make a face. While he had warmed up to Em, the same couldn’t be said of Aren. He’d been cold and reserved on the Lera guard, and then cocky and annoying in Vallos.
Cas cracked his knuckles as he considered. He clearly didn’t want to let Galo go, and he had the power to order him to stay.
“You’re sure you want to go?” he asked Galo quietly.
“Yes.”
“Then you should go.” Cas let out a sigh, but he smiled at Galo. “Get ready to leave in a few days. Pack light. You’ll have to go on foot part of the way.”
“I’ll draw you a map of where you can wait for us,” Em said. “It’s a little ways outside of town. Me or Aren will check the spot every evening, to see if you’ve arrived.”
He tried not to grimace. Aren was the best choice, in terms of protecting him. In fact, if he wanted to stay safe in Westhaven, he probably shouldn’t leave Aren’s side. That was unfortunate.