Page 99 of Of Nine So Bold

Picking up on my worry, Ozias cast a sharp look at me, concern in his eyes.

Suppressing the urge to grimace, I tried to send him reassurance instead. “I’m fine. Just… thinking.”

His eyes slid to the duke, and he gave a low grunt of understanding.

At the back of the cavern, Brock and several others were crouched around a collection of rocks, doing something that I couldn’t see.

For a heartbeat, I studied the sandy-haired giant. Clay and Lars had never said a word about having a brother. But given that he seemed to be in league with Duke Deter and that bully Norbert, I supposed I could imagine why.

“What’s that?” Clay asked, eyeing Brock and the others cautiously.

“Is it the way out of here?” Niko asked, directing the question at Ignatius rather than the duke.

But it was the duke who spoke first, ignoring Niko and Clay entirely as he turned to Casimir. “Our people have planned their escape for decades, Your Highness. I think you’ll find yourself grateful for the charity of Erenelle when we let you leave with us.”

I kept my face still, but inside, I was incredulous. He needed our help, yet he presented it as a gift tous?

This man truly would have fit right in among the worst of my father’s lords.

Casimir regarded him neutrally. “And where is this escape route that you cannot access without our assistance?”

I suppressed a smile. His nation may have been destroyed, his people gone, but Casimir was still an excellent politician.

Andworldsbetter than this bastard at being a good king.

The duke’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He hadn’t missed the implied insult in the vampire’s response, but he couldn’t say anything about it. Not considering the fact he needed us.

For some reason.

My eyes slid back to the pile of rocks. There was something strange about them, though I couldn’t see anything to explain that impression. They just seemed… wrong, somehow. Like they were shells more than stones. Like they wouldn’t actually be there if I reached out to touch them.

A chill crept over me the longer I stared at them. I wanted to retreat, but to do so would only draw attention to myself.

“It is a gateway spell,” Ignatius said, walking toward Brock and the others, motioning them aside.

Byron gave a startled cough like he’d just choked on his own tongue. “Agateway?”

When Ignatius glanced at him, the scholar blanched. He looked away like he suddenly realized he’d drawn the man’s notice and wanted to disappear.

“That iscomplexmagic,” Casimir added, clearly incredulous, “and it requires a great deal of power. How did you accomplish crafting such a thing with your abilities suppressed?”

It was a good question. One that made me suspicious and worried, all at the same time.

The duke’s expression turned mildly condescending. “Through the strength of Erenlians.”

Behind him, Norbert and several others grinned. But from the expressions on Casimir, Byron, and Niko’s faces, I suspected that couldn’t really be the answer.

“Our people’s magic is suppressed, yes,” Ignatius said as if trying to ameliorate the mounting tension. “But the Aneirans still require the use of it, and as such, they can reduce the controlling force of these manacles.” He held up the band on his wrist. “Some months into our incarceration, we realized that after they finished forcing us to use our magic and returned the manacles to their standard suppressive settings, a small trace of our powers would linger for a short while. And if we returned here quickly enough, I could?—”

“I ordered the scholar to harness this magic and direct it for the good of Erenelle,” the duke interrupted.

Oh for pity’s sake. Any fool could see that Ignatius was the power behind this, not the duke. For goodness sakes, I’d even wager that Ignatius was the one who came up with the plan in the first place. But the duke still wanted to claim credit.

Gods, that was weak.

A real ruler celebrated the skills of their people. They were proud of their subjects’ accomplishments and honored them for what they added to the kingdom.

Overall, Ignatius’s face remained neutral at the duke’s words, but I thought I saw a hint of tension around his eyes as he said, “My ability to manipulate the magic has been limited to the narrow span of time following our return to this place after mining. But over the years, I’ve built the beginnings of a gateway spell. It passes through the earth for several miles, beyond the reach of the suppressing spells above us, and then onward to the border of Erenelle. The opposite end rests as close to the Erenlian Wall as possible, roughly seven miles from the temple of Syloria where I served decades ago as a young initiate. In another few years, we likely would have?—”

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