Page 127 of Of Nine So Bold

Watching us all, the duke smiled like a cat with a mouse between its paws. “But if anyone should disagree with my decision to protect Erenelle—” he leveled a pointed look on Ignatius, “—they are welcome to stay behind in Aneira with thehonoraryZeniryans and their king.”

Worried murmurs raced through the crowd. Nearby, Clay muttered something about bigoted assholes, and Dex had already turned his attention to scanning the terrain like he was plotting the best way out of here. Shaking his head with disgust, Niko looked at the misty wall like he couldn’t believe what the leadership of Erenelle had become.

“You forget,” Ignatius said tightly, “you need my blessing on the waters of Syloria to establish the legitimacy of your rule. The magic there has chosen every king and queen for a thousand years. You swore when I agreed to support your position as de facto king in the mines that once we returned to Erenelle, that tradition would be honored.”

The duke leaned closer to Ignatius, and my vampire hearing picked out his murmured words. “I think you will find, scholar, that the puddles at Syloria and your pretensions of authority are irrelevant now. I am alreadymorethan legitimate to these peasants. I freed them, after all. I control the barrier that will let them go home and that will make them feel safe against the scourge of Aneira. I hardly need you or your precious temple at Syloria to tell these commoners I’m their king.”

His contemptuous sneer made me sick.

“So your first act upon escaping imprisonment—” Casimir raised his voice just loud enough that the crowd could hear without ever seeming like he was doing it on purpose. “—is to reject the traditions of your people and scorn the magic that declares who is fit to be their ruler? Moreover, you would make an enemy of the very nation that helped free you?” He shook his head, a cautioning look on his face. “You should know I have averylong lifespan, Duke Ensid. If you go through with this, I will never forget or forgive how you treated my people.”

More murmurs passed through the crowd, apprehensive and displeased.

Duke Ensid arched an eyebrow. “Icouldhave left you to die in those caves, Your Highness.”

“Without our assistance, you would have died right along with us.”

“And yet you think that gives you the right to dictate our border policy.” The duke scoffed. “I have the blood of the king, my dearly departed cousin?—”

“Third cousin,” Lars pointed out coldly.

“And thus the wall of our nation will answer to me,” the duke continued like he hadn’t spoken. “This proves my legitimacy!” He drew himself up taller, looking down on us like we were scum beneath his boots. “Erenelle is done with the cowardly approach of compromise with other nations. We are done letting foreign powers and foreign values influence our decisions. We have seen where that leads. Imprisonment! Torture! All while those who were bornlesserthan us think they can tell us what is right and good and— Wait, what is the dwarf doing?”

I spun.

Niko was walking toward the wall.

“Berinlian preserve us,” Ignatius gasped. “Stay back, boy! It will kill you!”

Ignoring him like he couldn’t even hear the scholar, Niko lifted a hand.

Terror shot through me. “Niko, stop!”

I lunged after him, shifting fast.

But not fast enough. His palm came to rest on the misty surface.

A deep and resoundinggongrang out. It reverberated from the wall like a massive bell whose chime was so low, it became more sensation than sound. The gray fog rippled like water, radiating away from his hand.

The fluctuations grew until the surface bucked and roiled like waves on the high sea. Green tendrils of light spread from beneath Niko’s palm, twisting through the colorless fog like radiant emerald vines. Around them, the pale blue of the bright winter sky began to peek past the mist.

And then white joined it, closer to the ground. Flecks of brown and green too, here and there.

I gasped. That was the snowy terrain on the other side of the?—

Like ice melting beneath the sun, the mist before Niko faded away, creating an opening tall and broad enough for even the largest of giants.

Silence hung over the crowd.

Niko turned. “It told me what to do,” he said quietly.

I stared. “How? It?—”

“This is a trick!” the duke shouted. “A dwarf lie!”

Niko shrugged. “Or we just don’t need royal blood after all.” His smile faltered when he saw our stunned expressions. “Right?”

“That… that’s not it, boy.” Ignatius shook his head. “This means you’re descended of Erenlian royalty too.”

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