Ruined - Amy Tintera Page 0,105
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.”
END OF BOOK ONE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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.