Page 217 of Of Nine So Bold

Clay watched her for a moment, and then scoffed. “Never can keep a good general down, eh?”

Warily, Lars lowered his sword.

Her lip twitched gratefully. “We need your help, though. I could get her out“—she nodded toward Fironia—”but there are others. Wounded. Weak. We were scouting a way for them to escape safely when we found you.”

Lars looked torn, while Clay seemed on the verge of tucking his sword away. “We’ll be quick,” Clay assured his brother, starting forward. “We can’t?—”

“Wait.” I didn’t take my eyes from the two women as I walked a little closer. I wanted to believe them. Gods, I was relieved to see them alive.

Something just seemed… off.

“Please, my lady,” Fironia begged. “The people down there need your help.”

I nodded, but I didn’t move to follow her.

And suddenly, it hit me what was wrong.

I couldn’t hear their heartbeats.

“Stay away from them!” I grabbed the twins’ arms, yanking the men backward and then putting myself between them and the two women.

Valeria stared at me. “Princess?”

“Drop the act. I know what you are.”

“What?” Fironia looked baffled.

Confused, Valeria started toward me. “I don’t understand what you’re?—”

“I said drop the act!”

Valeria stopped moving. Lost and clearly baffled, she looked between me and the twins like she was seeking something to make my words make sense.

And then she scoffed, the expression falling away like it’d never been. Sharing a wry look with Fironia, she shrugged, her fangs appearing. “Oh, well. Can’t blame us for trying.”

Fironia grinned, fangs suddenly peeking out from between her lips too. “The mistress told us to have fun with you before draining you. I wassolooking forward to leading you down to the pit where the mistress’s servants live,princess.” She twisted the word into an insult. “Seeing the shock on your face when you realized there wasn’t anyone to save. Savoring your cries of horror when we pushed these oafs over the edge.”

Valeria gave a dramatic sigh. “Guess we’ll just have to skip ahead to the feast.”

They lunged.

A door beside us suddenly swung open. A bucketful of water erupted from within, splashing Valeria and Fironia. It turned tosteam when it hit them, reeking of garlic and making the women shriek in pain. Turning instantly to smoke, they writhed in the air for a moment and then fled down the hall out of sight.

“Oh. Goodness, that was dramatic.” Clutching the bucket to his chest, Harran emerged from the doorway. “The books were quite right about garlic.”

“B-books?” I repeated, staring at the thin, gray-haired man. Despite our surroundings, his livery was as spotless as ever. When he turned to me, he quickly smoothed a hand over his balding head as if surreptitiously attempting to straighten his few silver hairs back into place.

“In the royal library,” he confirmed. “Accessing it without permission was inappropriate, I am aware. Once matters return to normal, I shall chastise myself quite thoroughly and accept whatever punishment you decree. But since your stepmother returned, I felt it necessary to educate myself on the… thesituation.”

He huffed out a ragged breath and then drew himself further upright. “My apologies, Princess Gwyneira. I find myself rather overcome. It…” A quiver of restrained emotion ran through him. ”It isquitegood to see you again.”

“Do you know this guy?” Clay asked me as Harran executed a tight bow.

I nodded, dumbstruck. “He’s the castle steward.”

“You sure he’s not a vampire too?” Lars asked.

“I most certainly am not.” Harran sounded affronted. “But to prove it to you…” He dripped the remaining garlic water from the bucket onto the back of his hand.

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