Page 34 of Of Nine So Bold

“Princess?” Worry threaded through Lars’s tone. “Are you okay? You look queasy.”

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my stomach down. “Something’s wrong,” I whispered, terrified of speaking too loudly, though I couldn’t explain why. “Something about the trees, but I don’t?—”

Icy cold sent a violent shiver coursing through my body, if the temperature in the forest had suddenly dropped so dramatically, everything should have frozen in an instant.

“Do you feel that?” I breathed.

At their silence, I twitched my eyes toward them, no matter how much it scared me to take my attention from the forest for too long.

Climbing to his feet, Clay didn’t take his eyes from me as he motioned briefly, conjuring clothes over us all. “Feel what, princess?”

But even wool and leather didn’t dispel the chill ghosting across my skin.

The cold felt like it had already gotten insideme.

Wordlessly, the demon raked his fiery gaze across the woods, every trace of Roan gone now from his eyes. A low growl left him, like a predator who knew a threat was near.

I couldn’t be scared of the sound. Not whenIfelt like we were all prey who’d suddenly found themselves in a trap.

Casimir’s brow twitched down. “Somethingisodd, but…” His head shook slowly, and his attention slid to the trees.

I followed his gaze. “Can you tell what it?—”

A twisting, stabbing sensation ripped into my gut before I could finish the sentence. My knees hit the ground with a thud, the sharp pain of the impact nothing compared to the shredding agony tearing through me.

“Gwyneira!” Casimir’s hands grabbed my arms, stopping me from falling all the way to the earth. “Speak to me. What is?—”

A scream tore from my throat as the pain grew stronger. His mouth was moving, but I couldn’t hear him anymore. His terrified expression broke my heart, but only until agony stole my sight. Blinding red and black and white lights swallowed my vision, like my entire being was losing its ability to function in the face of this torture.

But I wouldn’t have known what to tell him anyway.

Darkness swelled, devouring the flashing lights, the searing agony. But this pitch-black hell wasn’t empty.

I swore I heard it laughing.

10

DEMON

Ireached my mate’s side with a speed that would have rivaled that damn vampire, scooping her away from him and nestling her in my arms. But her screams didn’t stop. Her body began to seize and spasm, her vampire strength giving her convulsions such force that they nearly threw her from my grasp.

“What the fuck is this?” Clay cried. “What’s wrong with her?”

Lars stared with horror, wordless.

I, too, was beyond my ability to speak.

But words would not be needed to kill that which harmed my mate.

Holding her close, I raked eyes over the forest.Somethingwas out there. I could not smell it. Could not hear it.

But it was heresomewhere.

“Cas, help her,” Clay begged. “Please!”

The vampire extended his hands toward my mate. I started to snarl.

Don’t you fucking dare,the broken one snapped.

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