Page 163 of Of Nine So Bold

Norbert spotted it. Contempt replaced his smirk, but he didn’t say another word as he continued over to his father’s side.

A shudder coursed through me. I wasn’t a killer. Not really. But I had no doubt in my mind I’d be right there with Clay and Ozias if Norbert tried to lay a finger on Gwyneira.

As if dismissing the giant from relevance, the princess turned back to Ozias. “It didn’t seem like nothing.” She gave him an insistent look.

“It’s over,” Ozias replied firmly. “That’s what matters.”

She frowned.

“Almostover,” Lars countered carefully, his attention still on the giants.

I let out a slow breath, trying not to panic. Right. That part.

Dear gods…

I swallowed hard. I wasn’t royal. I couldn’t be. I was a healer from the Forest of Azurine, and the only honor I wanted to attainin life was that of being a good partner to my treluria. But for Gwyneira’s sake—forallour sakes—I needed to pretend to be something else now. Animals in nature needed to see the leader at the forefront of a pack in order to believe that pack was strong. If the alpha hid behind others for protection, then predators would see weakness. They would attack.

No matter what, I needed to keep that from happening for as long as I could.

“Everybody ready to run for the hills?” Clay muttered.

“Quiet.” Dex’s eyes skimmed the room, assessing everything. “Everyone stay with Niko and—” He twitched his head toward Gwyneira rather than say her name.

My friends nodded. I drew myself up as tall as I could—never mind that I was the shortest giant of the seven of us—and started toward the enormous fountain.

Gwyneira never left my side. “Are you okay?” she murmured, her lips barely moving while she scanned the temple chamber.

I made a confirming noise. “You?”

She nodded ever so slightly. “Mm-hmm.”

We rounded the fountain, and my heart sank to see the duke already standing at its side. A host of giants waited beyond him, watching him like a king.

He barely spared them a glance, turning to us with a proud, condescending expression. “Ah, the dwarves finally arrive. We thought perhaps you’d given up and fled rather than continue this duplicitous claim.”

Shivers rolled through me. There was no doubt in my mind that the minute this ceremony confirmed he was the king, he’d label us traitors, put a price on our heads, and chase us all the way back to Aneira, where the queen and the Voidborn would make sure we died in the most horrific way possible.

Admittedly, that was the worst-case scenario.

But then again, we’d been running into a lot of worst cases lately.

“Breathe,” Gwyneira murmured.

My lungs did as she asked, and slowly, my head cleared. Gods, I was letting my imagination get away from me—andthatwas reckless as hell. Humans and giants were no different than animals, even if they pretended to be. They could sense fear.

But I knew how to handle that.

Drawing on every trick I’d learned to stay calm in the face of predators in the forest, I walked with my friends the rest of the way to where Ignatius and the duke stood. Murmurs followed me in a wave, most of them disbelieving and uncertain. The duke smiled at it all, radiating a confidence I could only pretend at possessing.

Eye contact with a predator was a challenge for a fight, so I locked my attention on the fountain instead. The wall of its basin was half my height, though on larger giants like the duke and Ignatius, it barely came up to their knees. But in the time we were gone, the rushing water had filled the basin nearly full.

“So many bodyguards,” Duke Ensid scoffed as my friends and I came to a stop several yards away. “Are you afraid oftrueErenlians, dwarf?”

Acknowledging a predator could trigger them to attack, so I didn’t bother to reply. Keeping my body language neutral and calm, I turned to Ignatius. “What now?”

Ignatius took off his boots and then stepped over the basin wall into the water. “One at a time,” he said, “the ones who have stated a claim to the throne will stand within the pool. The waters of Syloria are no ordinary waters. They are alive with the magic of our people. They remember the royal blood that was last chosen to rule, and the power given and taken in this place. They will show us who has the strongest and truest claim to the throne of Erenelle.”

Murmurs of wonder ran through the giants. I wished I shared their awe. I was too busy eyeing the water with barely controlled dread.

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