Ruined - Amy Tintera Page 0,30

there. The space was huge, easily bigger than all her rooms combined. The floor-to-ceiling windows on the east wall showed off an impressive view of the ocean in the distance, and the deep-blue curtains were all open.

Several chairs and couches surrounded the fireplace, and the white carpet spread throughout the room was immaculate. A long wooden table with chairs on either side was in the middle of the room, and a generous spread of fruit and pastries sat in the center.

Besides two staff members, they were the first ones there, and Em took a seat next to Cas. The servants poured them tea and piled their plates with food. Em reached for a pastry covered in sugar, noting that there were no knives on the table. Her chair was made of wood, though, and could easily be broken. The king would probably sit at the end of the table, and she could smash the chair over one of his advisers’ heads, and then use a sharp edge to cut the king’s throat or maybe jam it into his chest.

“Feel free to speak up at this meeting, if you want,” Cas said. “I didn’t ask enough questions or talk when I first started attending, and everyone took it to mean I was bored and uninterested.”

She ran a napkin over her mouth. “Were you?”

“No. I just thought it was best to listen first. Get all the facts before forming an opinion.” He laughed. “My father is more of the type to form an opinion and then ignore facts later, so I don’t think he quite understood.”

She barely suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at the mention of his father. She stuffed the rest of the pastry into her mouth instead.

The warriors entered and took the seats across from Cas and Em. The staff served them food and tea as well, but the warriors all just sat there, regarding the provisions suspiciously.

Koldo’s full red cheeks made him appear younger than the other two, and he glanced at Iria and Benito, as if asking for permission to eat. Benito frowned at him.

“We didn’t poison it,” Cas said with a laugh, then took a sip of his tea. “If we were going to kill you, we would come up with something much better than poison.”

The warriors chuckled. “Perhaps we just don’t like the food here, Your Highness,” Iria said.

“Sure you don’t,” Cas said with a grin. He took a big bite of a meat pie on his plate. There was really no arguing that Lera had delicious food down to a perfect science.

“We don’t usually eat at meetings in Olso,” Benito said, but he reached for his tea, his huge hand engulfing the cup. Koldo’s eyes brightened, and he reached for a pastry.

The queen and Jovita entered the room, followed by four of the king’s advisers. They all took their seats, Jovita sliding into the chair next to Iria. The advisers sat down next to Em, opposite the warriors.

Em leaned closer to Cas, speaking in a whisper. “Is Jovita usually in these meetings?”

He nodded. “She’s being groomed to take over her late mother’s advisory spot. She’s only begun attending in the last year or so.”

The king strolled into the room, his usual big smile plastered on his face. The Olso warriors stood for him, and Em begrudgingly got to her feet with Cas.

“Good morning,” he said as he pulled his chair out and sat down. Chairs scraped against the floor as everyone else sat. “How was your first night in the castle?”

“Very nice, Your Majesty,” Benito said.

“You should visit the shore while you’re here,” the king said, sweeping his arm out to the window, in case they’d missed the view. “It’s lovely, you know.”

The warriors nodded without reply. Em suspected they would rather stab themselves in the eye than frolic on Lera’s beaches. She couldn’t blame them.

“Let’s get started right away,” the king said. “You’re here because your trade agreements with Vallos are no longer valid, since we control the country now. So tell me what you want.”

Iria slid a piece of paper across the table. “Those were our terms with Vallos. We’d request the same from you.”

The king frowned at the paper for a moment, then pushed it aside. Cas nudged it closer to him, and Em noticed him stealing a glance. The terms were most likely purposefully terrible, since the warriors had no intention of signing any new trade agreements. It was simply a distraction, so they could remain in Lera to