Page 171 of Of Nine So Bold

I gaped at him, incredulous. “Did I—” What the hell? “No.”

My voice was sharp, and I didn’t mean it to be. But Niko just nodded—seemingly mostly to himself, and then turned to Ignatius. “How is it possible? Roan and I—” He faltered. “I mean…”

The elderly scholar regarded us both like he was examining every inch of our features for similarities—which was insane. Yes, okay, Niko had dark eyes like mine. Maybe a little bit of the same face shape. But most days, I looked like death warmed over and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it, while he looked…

Well,alive.

“There was a woman,” Ignatius said. “Her name was…” He searched for a moment. “Jessora, yes. That was it. Beautiful girl. Pitch-black hair. Dark eyes. She was not of noble birth, but she had a… an almostotherworldlyquality about her. A sadness, too, as if she’d lost something precious. Rumors whispered that it may have been a lover or a child, but to my knowledge, she never confirmed any of the stories. She came from a village in the mountains, where the king met her on a hunting trip. From the moment he laid eyes on her, he was enamored.”

I had so many questions, I couldn’t sort them into words. My adoptive parents always told me my biological mother was a girl from another village. That she’d been young and alone, too scared to raise a child by herself. So she’d given me up, and when my… well,other siderevealed itself years later, no one could find her again to ask what I was.

But this…

“What happened to her?” Gwyneira asked as she came up beside me, her hand returning to my arm in a gesture of comfort.

And gods, the small contact helped.

Ignatius sighed. “King Archerias’s position was complicated. He had enemies in the royal court, and they did not want him making a strange, quiet village girl his queen. So, one winter’s night, they kidnapped her. The king was enraged. He ordered a search of the entire kingdom, and eventually, his loyal soldiers found the ones who took her.” Ignatius’s mouth tightened. “I was present for their questioning. They were… nearly incoherent. Shaken so badly, yet none would say why. Even after days of interrogation, they gave us no answers.” He shook his head. “But Jessora was never seen again.”

Gwyneira’s fingers tightened on my arm, her expression radiating support, and damn, I loved her for it. Loved her too forhow she reached out to Niko, taking his hand and squeezing it in silent comfort.

“There were rumors, however,” Ignatius continued, “that she was with child when she was taken. And if that was the case, and she had the babe while in the custody of those scoundrels…” His brow rose and fell as he regarded Niko.

“So,” Niko said like he was trying to find his voice. “If itwasa child she’d lost before meeting the king, and then if she was pregnant when the kidnappers took her too…”

He stared at me. “That’swhat the echo was. The thing nature has been trying to tell me over and over, even after we found out about the demon. I just never imagined it could mean you’re my…” He smiled like this was sort of amazing. “My brother.”

“But—” My voice was choked, and gods help me, I didn’t want to make him think I hated this idea. I just…

I wasn’t used tohope, even now.

“But I’mthis,” I managed to say. “A monster, and you’re not, and?—”

Gwyneira’s hand slid up my arm, and when my eyes found her own, her expression was achingly kind. “Who says Jessora couldn’t have fallen in love with a monster?”

My fears and doubts broke at her gentle question, melting down into a molten craving to hold her, have her, never let her go. She brought stability to my world and light to my darkness. What could I have ever done to deserve someone like her?

Nothing, that’s what. Gwyneira defied logic and description.

And she was mine.

Ours,the demon pointed out.

Yes, that.

“There is, however, the matter of the Nine,” Ignatius started. “And the impending doom to the world that has been foretold.”

All my doubts and anger came rushing back. Oh, for the love of the gods, couldn’t we stop for one damned minute? The twinshad a niece, I had a brother, the duke and his son were dead on the floor, and Ignatius wanted to talk about the end of the fucking?—

“Tomorrow,” Gwyneira told the scholar, her voice calm but firm. “Please.”

Gods, I loved her.

Ignatius looked ready to argue.

“She’s right,” Niko cut in before he could speak. “Whatever all of this means, we can talk about it later. The end of the world can wait for a few hours.”

Ignatius frowned, and every old anxiety I had knew why. Apocalypses didn’t wait. They happened whether we liked it or not.

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