Allied by Amy Tintera

Author:Amy Tintera
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2018-03-06T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-FOUR

EM WOKE TO the sun in her eyes. She blinked, the room around her slowly taking shape. The Lera castle. Cas’s bedroom. He hadn’t closed a window last night, and the breeze rustled the curtains, letting in streaks of sunlight.

She turned. Cas was dressed but barefoot, standing at the half-open door and speaking softly to someone she couldn’t see. He closed the door and turned, his eyes lighting up when they met hers.

“I’m sorry. I was trying to let you sleep.”

“What’s wrong?” She propped herself up on her elbows.

He crossed the room and climbed onto the bed. “Nothing’s wrong. That was just Franco. I asked him to push our morning meeting to later.”

She lay back down with a sigh and rubbed her forehead. The sun peeking through the windows was bright. She’d slept late.

Probably because she’d barely slept at all since leaving Olivia. She’d been so foggy-headed yesterday that she barely remembered how she got to Cas’s room.

The Ruined were mad at her. And scared. Ivanna was dead, and Em had underestimated what a good job she was doing keeping the Ruined calm. Gisela might have taken Em’s head off yesterday, if Em were human.

“I need to go check on the Ruined. Did they eat? We need to find them some clothes, too. And I should probably scout the area around Royal City with a few Ruined tonight, to see if we spot Olivia. Maybe some guards should come with us? Do you think—” She stopped talking suddenly as Cas stretched out beside her and pulled her into his arms. She closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest, losing her train of thought. He smelled like the Cas she’d known when she was here as Mary. The air of the castle clung to him, with scents of fresh flowers and pastries and the ocean.

“A maid brought you some clothes, they’re in the wardrobe,” he said, his lips brushing the top of her head. “So feel free to dress and see the Ruined whenever you like. I’ll see what we can do about getting the Ruined clothes and other essentials. And you can go out looking for Olivia if you want, but I like you better right here.”

A smile crossed her lips. She didn’t think she’d smiled in days, but the smile came easier than she would have thought. His words last night—We’re together now. Everything will be fine—had seemed so naive at the time, but now, as she wrapped an arm around his waist and held him tight, they didn’t seem so far-fetched.

Guilt crept into her chest. She couldn’t stop thinking about Olivia’s words—You’re choosing that boy over me, over your people. She knew her sister was just trying to get under her skin, but the words still stung.

Because she had chosen Cas over her sister. And she would do it again. Like Ivanna said, it was bigger than that, bigger than just the two of them, but Em couldn’t deny that she was happy to see him again.

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