Page 143 of Of Nine So Bold

Trepidation quivered through me as the others murmured agreement and started after Ignatius into the belly of the earth yet again.

Gods, this had to work. They had to stay safe.

The vampire inside me wouldn’t let the duke survive if this went otherwise.

38

ROAN

“They’ll be okay,” Niko murmured to Gwyneira as Casimir and the others disappeared down a side hall after Ignatius.

They damn well better be.

I kept my thoughts to myself as my eyes slid to the duke darkly. The arrogant bastard was watching us, ignoring his son and nephew as they left the room. The rest of his loyal henchmen were around him, and while the looks on their faces were as sadistic as ever,hisexpression was just strangely satisfied.

What the hell was he after?

The demon growled in my mind, echoing my question with a hefty dose of bloodthirsty threat thrown in. If Gwyneira asked for him to return, he was more than happy to oblige—especiallyif it meant he got to remove that bastard from our list of concerns.

“I guess we should head this way, then?” Niko prompted.

I barely restrained a scowl. Clay wasn’t wrong. If this went a certain way, then Niko would need to stopaskingpeople what to do and starttellingthem instead.

A smirk twisted the duke’s lips. The demon growled louder in my mind.

Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to turn away. One problem at a time. First I needed to keep Niko and Gwyneira alive and safe.

Then we could worry about how many of these bastards we might need to kill if our lives decided to go sidewaysyetagain.

“Come on.” My voice was curt and cold, but it was the best I could do. Jerking my chin at the two of them, I kept my eyes on the duke as we walked away.

Thicker shadows closed in as we left the main chamber behind, and all of them made the demon want to take control, if only because they might hide something to threaten us. There weren’t as many holes in the roof here, keeping any trace of light from entering from the outside. But in a number of rooms, the windows were shattered, letting leaves and dirt in to cover everything.

A squeak came from the shadows, and my eyes heated with the demon’s flames as my gaze snapped toward the sound. My night vision improved immediately, picking out more shapes in the darkness.

Paralyzed, an opossum stared at me, one pink paw hovering in midair as if it had frozen halfway through a step.

I let out a breath of relief, but inside my head, the demon still growled. It didn’t trust that the harmless, terrified creature wasn’t a trap anyway.

Idiot.

Behind me, Niko shooed the poor thing onward, murmuring reassurances. I swore the little creature actually squeaked like it was thanking him for saving it before its paws finally scrambled through the debris and it bolted away.

Figured, though. I was the monster. Niko was emphaticallynot.

Nature knew that.

My stomach twisted, the thought bringing up the anxiety I’d been trying to ignore all day. Last time I saw Niko, it hadn’t gone well.Catastrophicwas probably the better term. All the secrets I’d kept had come home to roost, and while yes, the others had since forgiven me, Niko had been so hurt, he’d left. He’d gotten captured by Aneirans.

And he’d suffered the gods knew what kinds of torture until we could finally rescue him.

I tried to breathe through the worry as I kept walking, the grit of years of accumulated dust and debris crunching beneath my boots. If Niko needed to have it out with me, I’d let him. Hell, I’d do anything he wanted if it’d make this up to him. Gods knewsorrywasn’t enough for what he’d gone through.

The shadows grew deeper as we left any trace of the main chamber’s light behind. The corridor became a winding maze full of dark corners, doors that were rotting from rusted hinges, and crumbling reading nooks. I’d never been in a temple of the Order before, but like everything else built by full-size giants, the proportions of the whole place were wildly too large. Three of me could have strode side-by-side through any of the doorways, and even the books scattered on the floors were so big, I’d need both hands just to lift them. It took me a moment to realize the rooms around us were actually bedchambers and not oddly separated libraries, given that most of the beds in question were moldering piles of cloth and wood lost beneath heaps of books. But when I finally spotted an intact frame and mattress, even those were large enough that several of us could have fit there with Gwyneira easily.

Not that I was thinking about that.

Scowling at myself, I came to a stop halfway down the corridor. This had to be far enough away from the main chamber to give me warning if the duke or his people tried to sneak up on us. Plus, the room to my left was more intact than theothers, if only because its roof and windows remained in place and the entry still had a door solidly attached to its hinges. The bed hadn’t crumbled, though mold and dust obviously coated its blankets. There was even a candleholder fallen by one leg of an unbroken table with a wax candle lying nearby.

---