Page 29 of Of Nine So Bold

Byron made a noise of agreement. With Clay and Lars following and Ruhl flowing along beside us, we crossed the camp, gaining curious looks from the humans when we passed.

“Is everything all right, princess?” Valeria called.

“Fine. Just… getting some air.”

She definitely looked like she didn’t believe that response. But thank the gods, she also didn’t ask for more.

No one spoke as we wove through the forest, the rise and fall of the terrain slowly swallowing any glimmer of firelight or whisper of sound from the camp, even to my ears.

“Okay, what now?” I asked when we reached the far edge of the trees and had put so much distance between us and the camp that I suspected even Ozias wouldn’t be able to hear if anything went wrong.

The thought wasn’t comforting. But the brush of his reassurance across my mind let me know that, even if he couldn’t hear us, he was with me.

“Now,” Byron replied shortly. “You both stay still.” At the others’ expressions, he winced, adding, “Please.”

I didn’t dare move a muscle.

Frowning, Byron lifted his hands, looking between me and Casimir like he was weighing something I couldn’t see.

Seconds ticked past.

Nothing happened.

“Whenever you are ready, scholar.” Casimir’s tone was polite, but questions lived inside it.

Closing his eyes, Byron scowled, muttering something under his breath in a language I couldn’t identify.

It definitely sounded like swearing, though.

“Byron,” I started warily. “Are you sure this is a?—”

Exhaling sharply, he opened his eyes and snapped something else I couldn’t understand.

Magic rushed from his extended hands like a crystalline cloud. It swept past me, past Casimir and Roan, and broke like a crashing wave beyond Clay and Lars, leaving us all surrounded. Starlight danced in the air, drifting like dust in the misty magic that was slowly becoming still.

In the heart of a world of fog and starlight, we all stood.

“What the—” Clay started.

“Quiet.” Byron’s fingers began moving like he was plucking invisible strings. Here and there, the starlight dust twitched, shifting position. “No one… move…”

I didn’t even breathe.

Gradually, the flecks of light began to move together. They coiled around Roan and ghosted past me to flow in a spiral around Casimir. Over and over, specks of light wound around Roan and I, serpentine, only to spiral into oblivion around Casimir without ever touching my skin.

My eyes slid to the side, seeking Byron. This magic waswaybeyond anything I could imagine. I had no idea if it was working.

The small beads of sweat on his brow weren’t encouraging.

“Roan.” He spoke the other man’s name between clenched teeth. “This…” He swore again as the flecks of starlight stilled, hovering motionless in the fog surrounding us all. “We need the demon.”

Already pale, Roan’s face lost the last of its color. “The?—”

“Now.”

Roan’s mouth moved, no words coming out. He looked at me, his worry obvious.

I didn’t dare nod, but I willed every bit of reassurance into my eyes that I could. The demon had helped us before. If it was ever going to learn toworkwith us, not just fight with us, we had to give it a chance.

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