Page 65 of Of Nine So Bold

“Fire?” one of them hissed.

Red apples glistened in the glass bowl, untouched by any trace of flames.

I stared, my chest heaving. “There… they…”

Dark, mocking laughter echoed in the distance.Familiarlaughter.

I bit back a snarl, my eyes raking the room. This was a trick. Some ploy of the Voidborn to destabilize me. But it wouldn’t work. No matter what they tried, I knew Alaric was dead.

The laughter grew louder.

Dammit, Alaric. Was.Dead.

Something moved at the corner of my eye. I whirled, fangs bared.

On the far end of the room, the gilded frame of my mirror hung. The glass lay shattered on the floor beneath it, same as it had for days now.

I didn’t know who had destroyed it. Perhaps a servant or maybe the Voidborn themselves after I left to capture Gwyneira in the mountains, back before that brat of a girl drove me into the empty realms. I scarcely cared, since the Voidborn no longer used it to speak to me.

But now, glints of light caught my eye on the thick rug beneath the mirror’s frame.

Growling low, I stalked closer. I’d forbidden anyone into my chambers, with the exception of the Voidborn and that idiot steward, Harran—and while the former wouldn’t dream of cleaning this room, the latter was too terrified to even try. Thus, shards of glass no bigger than my palm lay scattered about, reflecting the stone ceiling pointlessly.

Except now… they didn’t.

In every shard, the ceiling’s reflection drowned beneath swirling fog as the glass grew dark and murky.

Just like it had when the Voidborn used it to communicate with me.

A face began to emerge from the fog. Alaric’s hissing voice surrounded me. “You made a mistake, pet.”

Snarling, I recoiled from the glass. “I know you’re doing this,” I spat at the Voidborn-possessed monsters behind me. “How dare you continue to play games with me?”

Their faces were inscrutable. Cursing them, I spun back, raising my hand to smash the glass shards.

The glass reflected only the stone ceiling again.

My heart pounded. Thiswasa trick. All of it. The Voidborn resented me, and so they thought to play with my mind.

The sword quivered in my hand. When I looked down, the blade’s surface was dark and swirled with fog.

What in the?—

A timid knock came at the door. “Your Majesty?”

I shrieked, flinging my hand at the thick wood. My chamber door exploded into kindling.

Surrounded by shattered wood, Harran blinked in shock. Only the idiotic gods knew how the destruction hadn’t turned him into a pin cushion.

“What?” I demanded.

“Th-the lords are here, my queen.”

I scowled. Of course they chosenowto arrive. Never mind that I’d ordered them here. They chose to present themselves together like a collection of rabbits pretending to be wolves, thinking their numbers would serve as intimidation.

They’d learn differently soon.

My eyes twitched toward the shards of the mirror. Nothing stirred in the reflection. And on the blade, no trace of fog or darkness remained.

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