Ruined - Amy Tintera Page 0,19
his bed, and he tossed a piece of dark hair out of his eyes.
“Good night,” he said.
She grasped the knob, mumbling a good-night as she wrenched the door open and walked out of his room.
SEVEN
CAS QUICKLY TURNED his head at the sound of footsteps approaching his door. He’d been alone most of the morning, and his first thought—or hope—was that it was Mary. He shifted against his pillows, running a hand through his hair.
The door opened to reveal Galo, and Cas tried to convince himself he wasn’t disappointed.
“Your Highness,” Galo said as he stepped into the room.
“Are we being formal this morning?”
“Seems appropriate, considering I let you get stabbed last night.” There was an edge to Galo’s voice, and he wouldn’t quite meet Cas’s eyes.
“Almost every member of the guard was in that room. I’m not sure we can hold you personally responsible,” he said lightly, but Galo didn’t crack a smile. “Did my father yell?”
“And your mother. And Jovita. They fired the guards at the door, the ones who let the man slip in.”
Cas leaned back with a sigh, pain rippling through his shoulder. “Do they know who he was?”
“I haven’t heard. The king is with him now.” Galo rubbed a hand over the scruff on his jaw. “I need to apologize for—”
“No, you don’t,” Cas interrupted. “I don’t want guards hovering at my side all hours of the day. You can’t protect me all the time.”
“That is actually our job. Protecting you all the time. Though it appears Mary is more than willing to pick up the slack.”
“Yes, she is,” Cas murmured, the image of her fist connecting with that man’s face flashing through his brain. Years of battling the Ruined had made her an excellent fighter.
“But I do need to apologize on behalf of your entire guard,” Galo said. “We wouldn’t blame you if you replaced all of us.”
“You know I’m not going to do that,” Cas said.
“It wouldn’t be the worst idea.” Jovita appeared in the doorway. She jerked her head, indicating that Galo should leave, and the guard quickly exited the room.
She stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “How’s the shoulder?”
“Fine. It’s not that bad of an injury, but the doctor insisted I stay in bed today.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t serious.”
Cas snorted. “Sure you are.”
Jovita gave him an annoyed look, but a smile tugged at her mouth as she plopped down in the chair near the window. “I would be very sad if anything happened to you, Cas.”
“I’m sure. You’d be devastated all the way to the throne.”
Jovita sat sideways in the chair, her long, dark braid dangling off the armrest as she tilted her head back. “You’ve caught me. It was me who hired that man to try to kill you at your wedding. I’m horribly jealous of you.”
“I knew it. Though I always thought you’d go with poison.”
“Much more theatrical this way.” She turned her head, grinning at him. “I’ve come with official news, though,” she said, swinging her legs around and sitting straight in the chair. “The man who stabbed you talked. He was a hunter.”
Cas’s eyebrows lifted. “A hunter? Of the Ruined?”
“Yes.”
“What did he want with me?”
“A small group of hunters have organized against the king. They’ve been demanding changes to the hunter policies for a while. Mainly that we make it a voluntary position.”
“Would people actually volunteer to hunt down and kill Ruined?”
“Not many, which is why the position is used as a punishment instead of prison.” She rubbed a few fingers across her chin. “What criminals want is irrelevant. We need hunters. The king had heard rumblings about them organizing, but clearly we need to start taking them more seriously. He hasn’t given up any others yet, but he must have had help. We’ll find them. In the meantime, we still have plenty of hunters making multiple Ruined kills every day.”
They were being hunted down and murdered, so yes, they defended themselves often. Mary’s words ran through his brain for the hundredth time since she’d said them. He’d never heard anyone even come close to defending the Ruined. No one used the word murdered. They were eliminated or killed or disposed of. Mary’s word hung in the air, taunting him.
“Do you ever wonder whether it was the right decision, to kill all the Ruined?” he asked slowly.
Jovita’s eyebrows shot almost to her hairline. “No.”
“Are they really all bad? Every single one of them?”
“Yes, every single one of them,” Jovita said, a hint of exasperation in her tone. She’d