Ruined (25 page)

She stayed crouched over them until the particles had all mostly drifted to the ground, then pulled them up. “Run,” she said. “Run until you can breathe.”

Olivia stumbled as she stood, keeping the back of her arm against her mouth. Aren did the same, steadying her with his free hand. They took off together, Em following close behind.

Screams tore through the night, and Olivia came to an abrupt stop. They'd just cleared the Weakling, and she and Aren sucked in deep gulps of air.

“They're killing the Ruined.” Olivia clenched her fingers into fists and ran back in the direction of the fortress. Em almost yelled for her to stop, but the air had mostly cleared.

Aren and Em sprinted behind her.

“The Ruined were set up at different points around the fortress!” Aren called. “In a U shape. Over there!”

Olivia glanced back to see where he was pointing, then veered
to her left. They ran into the trees, then immediately stopped.

The Weakling was stronger here, clinging to the leaves and still floating through the air. Olivia and Aren took several steps back, letting Em walk into the thick of the trees.

Nic lay on the ground, blood seeping out of the Ruined marks on his neck. His lips had turned blue, and he was wheezing loudly, his red-rimmed eyes fixed on the sky.

Em bent down, grabbing Nic by the shoulders. Maybe if she pulled him away from here, he stood a chance. Maybe Olivia could heal him.

Nic gasped. Then his chest stilled, his head rolling to one side. Em swallowed, dropping his shoulders. She looked at Aren and Olivia, standing several paces away. Olivia was breathing heavily, fury dripping from every pore.

Yells sounded from the fortress, and Em stepped out of the trees to see the warriors charging at the Lera soldiers. It was a bad move, considering they'd probably just lost most of the Ruined they'd put into place.

Olivia stormed toward the fort, her arms outstretched. “You think you can hurt me?” she screamed. “Try again, cowards. TRY AGAIN!”

Four Lera soldiers were in the air suddenly, their bones shifting and contorting in ways that made Em's stomach rise into her throat. They hit the ground, dead.

Killing four people with Ruined magic should have immediately exhausted Olivia, but she didn't even slow down. She charged forward, yelling at Aren to help her. He ran after her.

Em darted into the battle and drew her sword, her heart thudding in her chest as a warrior raced past her. A few more steps, and she would be in the thick of the fight. Swords clashed and yells sliced through the night, sending the hairs on the back of her neck into full alert. The warriors and the Lera soldiers were hard to tell apart in the night, and all she could see was a huge swell of bodies, tangled together and crashing into one another.

Was Cas in there? Was he fighting alongside the Lera soldiers? Had he known they were going to release Weakling right after Olivia escaped?

No.
Of course he hadn't. He'd been with her the last few days, and then locked up in a cage as soon as he arrived.

A man was in front of her suddenly, and she didn't have time to worry about Cas. He launched his sword straight at her chest, and she quickly blocked the attack. His face was vaguely familiar from her time at the castle.

“Emelin—” His shout died as she drove her sword through his chest.

She whirled around, finding Iria fending off an attack from two Lera soldiers. Em jumped to her side. She blocked a sword just before it connected with Iria's arm. The Lera soldier blinked in surprise as Em appeared, and she took advantage of the second of weakness. She slid her sword into his stomach, then used her foot to knock him over.

“Thank you,” Iria said, breathing heavily as she extracted her own sword from the other soldier's chest.

Em surveyed the scene in front of them. Dead warriors dotted
the ground, far outnumbering the Lera soldiers. She desperately searched the crowd for Olivia and Aren, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Panic seized her chest as another soldier came at her. For several minutes everything became a haze of blood, bodies, and swords as she fended off attack after attack and tried to glimpse her sister in the brief moments between.

She pushed a bleeding Lera soldier away from her, kicking his sword out of his hand as he sank to his knees. She took a step back and hit something solid.

She whirled around. Cas.

He lowered his sword, shaking his hair out of his eyes. “Go,” he said, wrapping his fingers around her wrist. “Tell the Ruined to retreat now, or they're going to die.”

“I think most of them are already dead,” she said, fighting back tears.

His face crumpled, regret filling every feature. “I'm sorry. I didn't know.”

“I know.”

He squeezed her wrist, then let it go. “Please, Em. Get out of here.”

He turned away, jumping over a dead warrior as he ran toward the fortress. Iria stood not far away, watching as he went. She looked from him to Em, as if deciding whether she wanted to follow.

“Retreat!” Em yelled as loud as she could. “Warriors, Ruined, retreat!”

Iria echoed her, and the warriors began running. There were so few of them left that Em could count them as they ran down the hill—seven, twelve, eighteen. No more than thirty were left, as far as she could tell. They must have started with at least a hundred.

She spotted Olivia, Aren leaning heavily on her as they staggered down the hill. Em ran for them, sheathing her sword. She took Aren's other arm, swinging it around her shoulders.

Olivia was splattered with blood—her clothes, her arms, her face. It was everywhere.

“Are you all right?” Em asked.

Olivia nodded, her eyes flashing. She turned to Aren. “Don't worry. I'll teach you how to stay strong when you use your powers.”

“Yeah?” he asked, his voice full of hope.

“Definitely.” She smiled at him, wiping at the blood on her cheek.

They dragged Aren down the hill and through the trees. The warriors had scattered, and the area around them was quiet, still. The silence was almost too much, after the noise of battle.

“Where are we going?” Olivia asked.

“To see if there are any Ruined left alive.”

Olivia gasped suddenly, and Em's words died in her throat. An arrow stuck out of Olivia's left arm, and she staggered back, Aren crumpling to the ground without her support.

Another arrow whizzed through the air, so close to Olivia's face that it left a tiny scratch on her right cheek.

Em whirled around. She couldn't see anything.

Olivia yanked the arrow out of her arm. A blue liquid seeped out of the wound. They'd tipped the arrows with Weakling.

A body slammed into hers suddenly, and she realized too late she'd forgotten to look up. Of course the soldiers were in the trees. She knew that trick well.

Arms grabbed her around the waist, the neck, the legs. She twisted in their grasp, desperately trying to see Olivia, but one of them put her in a chokehold, yanking her around so all she could see was forest.

And the queen.

Fabiana didn't smile, but the satisfaction was written all over her face.

She jerked her head. “Back to the fortress. She dies in public for her crimes.” She pointed behind Em. “You can kill Olivia here. Bring me her head.”

Em kicked her legs, but the arms holding her held even tighter. Olivia was still screaming, and Em was too scared to turn around and look for Aren. Was he already dead?

“Please just let her go,” Em begged as the soldiers dragged her behind the queen. “You can have me, but please let Olivia go.”

“I already have both of you,” the queen said, casting a glance over her shoulder. “Your negotiation skills could use some work.”

“Please.” Em's words sounded desperate, but she didn't care. “If you let Olivia go, you won't see any of us again.”

The queen didn't bother responding to her at all, and tears
and rage swelled in Em's chest. It was hopeless. She'd failed to save Olivia. Failed to save the Ruined. She would die having accomplished nothing.

Footsteps pounded against the ground, and the queen drew her sword as Em looked around hopefully. Now would be an excellent time for the warriors to make an appearance.

Cas's face appeared through the leaves, and the tiny ball of hope in her stomach grew bigger.

He was out of breath, and his eyes bounced from Em to his mother. His expression was wild, and Em could tell he'd come expecting to find this situation.

The queen lowered her sword with a sigh. “Cas, please go back to the fortress.”

“Release her,” he said, pointing at the soldiers holding Em. They didn't move.

“I understand why you can't do it yourself,” Fabiana said. “But someone has to.”

“No, we don't.” Cas's voice shook, but he stood tall. “There's been enough killing on both sides.”

“The damage she's done to our kingdom is immeasurable,” the queen said. “If you just let her go, you will lose control of your people. I promise you that. They will see you as weak.”

Cas shook his head. “I think you and I have different definitions of weak. I'm not going to be that kind of king. I won't order her execution.”

“I know you won't,” the queen said quietly.

Em caught the glint of hope from Cas, the way he barely
lifted his eyebrows at his mother, as if asking whether she was going to back down.

For a moment, he looked utterly optimistic.

The queen swung around, so suddenly one of the soldiers jumped.

She sank her blade into Em's stomach.

The world turned black, then red, and black again. Em's knees hit the ground, but she didn't remember falling. Someone yelled, “No!” It was either echoing through her ears or he was saying it over and over.

She started to sway and hit a warm body.

“Please, no,” Cas said in choked voice, and she realized she was on the ground, against his chest. She looked down and saw blood on his hands. Was he hurt?

No. That was her blood.

“I'm sorry,” he said against her hair. “I'm so sorry.”

She shook her head, because she didn't want him to be sorry. He didn't need to be sorry. She couldn't speak, but she managed to find his hand on her stomach and squeeze it.

I could think of worse ways to go.
Cas's words from yesterday floated through her brain, and she almost laughed. Maybe she did.

Then there was screaming.

Horrible, terrified screaming.

And a man's head was rolling, rolling, rolling across the ground.

Cas's arms gripped Em tighter, and she blinked a few times,
trying to make her vision work again. There was blood all over the ground. There were no more guards or soldiers, just pieces of them scattered about.

Olivia stepped into the middle of the mess. Stretched her arm out.

The queen's chest swelled outward, an inhuman sound escaping her mouth.

Her chest opened with a crack that made Cas's entire body jerk. Something flew through the air, landing in Olivia's hand. Blood dripped down her arm as she slowly unfurled her fingers one by one, letting the queen's heart drop to the ground with a
plop
.

Olivia turned, her eyes narrowed at Cas. “Move.”

He didn't obey right away, but Olivia yelled it again as she came closer to Em. His warmth was gone suddenly, her head laid gently on the ground.

“You're all right,” Olivia said, the anger absent from her voice. She put her hands on Em's stomach.

Em sucked air into her chest, the world suddenly coming back into sharp focus.

“Go,” Olivia said, glancing over her shoulder.

Em rolled her head to one side to see Cas standing a few paces away from his dead mother. His face was a frozen mask of fear and horror.

“Go, she's going to be fine,” Olivia said through clenched teeth.

Cas stared at Em, as if waiting for confirmation. She barely
nodded. Her body was weak, but she could feel Olivia's magic working, stitching her back together.

His entire body shook as he hesitated another moment, his gaze locked on hers. Tears filled his eyes when she nodded again.

He took off running.

Em returned her attention to her sister. Olivia's eyes were wide and wild, her mouth stretched into a bizarre grimace. The expression was a crazy blend of happiness and rage.

“You're going to be fine, sister,” Olivia said softly. “You and I, we've barely started. When we're done, they'll all be on their knees, begging for forgiveness.”

Em fought back tears, though she wasn't sure what she was crying for. It was exhaustion, or defeat, or the look on Cas's face as he stood next to his mother. Whatever it was, the tears leaked out and slid down her cheeks.

Olivia moved her hands from Em's stomach, reaching up to smooth a piece of Em's hair back. She smiled.

“Don't cry, Em. They will fear us soon enough.”

Ruined
was truly a group effort. So many people read, encouraged, or just gave me a good kick in the pants when I needed it. A big thank-you to:

My editor, Emilia Rhodes, who made this book so much better than I thought it could be.
Ruined
has so many moving parts that I thought we'd never get them all working together, but you made it easy.

My agent, Emmanuelle Morgen. Thanks for sticking it out when I could see a thousand ways to execute the story and wanted to try every single one of them.

Jennifer Klonsky, for taking such good care of me with the last book and making sure this one got into the right hands.

Alice Jerman, for all your support on this book and the Reboot series.

Michelle Krys, for the early read and excitement. Thank you for helping me find the best beginning and for the fabulous blurb.

Shannon Messenger, for the early read and character notes. You helped me bring Em and Cas to life. (And thanks for talking me off a writing ledge in Vegas.)

Kiera Cass, for the fabulous blurb. I'm so thrilled to have your words on the front of the book.

Jenn Reese, for the conversations about fantasy and being patient with my millions of questions. Also, thanks to Amaris and Tracy for the epic brunch talks!

Thank you to the design team at HarperTeen for giving
Ruined
such a gorgeous cover. It's prettier than I ever imagined.

A big thanks to the whole team in marketing and publicity at HarperTeen for always taking such good care of me, especially Gina Rizzo—thanks for the early excitement about
Ruined
and always being a smiling face at RT!

My GFA girls—Natalie, Michelle, Amy, Lori, Corinne, Gemma, Deb, Ruth, Kim, and Stephanie—thank you for being there to share the highs and the lows. You're the best writer friends a girl could ever have.

Natalie Parker, for planning the most epic retreats and introducing me to basically all my writer friends.

Michelle Rosenfield, for being a terrific friend, seeing all those movies with me, and letting me vent on more than one
occasion. Also, thanks to Ethan for the walks around the lake. Luna misses you.

Sara and Sean, Mely and JP, Nick, Louise, Josh, Chris and Megan—thanks for coming out to events and being fabulous, supportive people.

Thank you to all the bloggers who read and supported the Reboot series, but especially Stacee (Book Junkee), Erin and Jaime Arkin (Fiction Fare), Dianne (Oops I Read It Again), Katie (Mundie Moms), and Sash (Sash and Em). I love seeing your smiling faces at events or in my Twitter feed.

Thank you to my parents and family, with my apologies for the dead and/or evil parents in this book. I promise they're not based on you.

And last but certainly not least—thank you to my sister, Laura, my first and best critique partner and the reason this book became a sister story. Sorry I made the little sister the crazy one.