Page 177 of Of Nine So Bold

For a long moment, Ruhl didn’t move, his eyes on some middle distance like it held secrets only he could see. But finallyhe turned and lifted one massive paw, letting it hover above my knee almost as if asking permission.

I nodded.

Gently, his paw rested on my leg.

Images and emotions flooded my mind, transporting me into his perspective. I was surrounded by a place of endless fire and darkness, of sheer black cliffs and pits made of flame. Yet I had no need for fear. Those flames and shadows weren’t a danger.

They were home.

But as beautiful as it was, the one I longed for, the one whose essence called to my pack… she wasn’t there.

We needed her. Craved her. Everything in us hunted for her, and we dreamed of the day our search would come to an end.

But we couldn’t leave. Not home nor this place with its bitter cold and wild magic. Our oaths bound us even now.

And some nights, we feared we’d never find her.

I gasped as Ruhl’s paw left my leg. Tears burned my eyes from the overwhelming desperation choking my throat.

Hisdesperation. And gods, his pain.

Swallowing hard, I tried to find my voice. “You could go now? Search for her?”

Ruhl sighed and shook his head like a man.

“But what oath is keeping you here? Surely we can find a way to help you fulfill it so you could?—”

“Princess?”

Gasping, I threw a startled look over my shoulder.

Byron stood behind us, staring. Half a dozen enormous books were in his hands as if he’d been in the process of relocating them. “What are you doing here?”

I hesitated. The last time Ruhl communicated with me this way, it’d seemed like he didn’t want me to share what he could do with anyone.

And this time, he merely rose from his sitting position, turned, and walked away.

Which was no help.

Trying to gather myself, I pushed to my feet and brushed my hands down my breeches to buy time. “I was just, um… talking.”

Byron’s brow twitched down. “Ah.”

He didn’t move to leave.

I fidgeted, overcome with awkwardness. “Okay, well. Have a good night.”

Ducking my gaze away, I headed for the door.

“Princess.”

I stopped. It took a moment before I could turn back and know my face didn’t reveal reluctance or the fact I was internally swearing up a storm.

It hurt to wonder if the others would go.

I already knew Byron was going to.

“Yes?”

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