Page 174 of Of Nine So Bold

GWYNEIRA

Saying we needed to rest was one thing.

Actually doing it was something else entirely.

Lying on the bed I’d shared with Niko and Roan, I stared at the cobwebs dangling from the mottled tiles on the ceiling. It was quiet in the temple now. Most of the giants had retired to various abandoned rooms to sleep after the madness of the day. The sun had set some time ago, and barring the few candles we’d found to break the gloom, most everywhere was shrouded in darkness. In a room down the hall, Clay and Lars were talking with Brock and his family, getting to know their niece and sister-in-law and trying to make peace with the brother they’d long thought was dead. Niko and Roan were still in the main area of the temple. From what I’d heard of their conversation before I left, the two of them were piecing together stories they’d heard of King Archerias, along with what little they knew of their mother. Meanwhile, Ozias was keeping watch over this wing of the temple, while Dex and Casimir met with giants who Ignatius and Brock said were trustworthy.

All while I spent the past few hours pacing this room or lying in this bed, racking my mind for what in the world to do now.

We couldn’t be the Nine, whatever that truly meant. I knew what I’d heard and seen, but truthfully, the idea that we were some prophesied collection of warriors just seemed absurd. Yet, regardless of labels and fanciful names, I knew we still needed to stop my stepmother. We had to keep her from destroying whatever was left of my nation.

Or, at least…Idid.

Apprehension gnawed at my stomach. Niko was safe, and despite all odds, we’d gotten him out of the mines alive. My seven giants had returned to Erenelle, and even though the duke eventually did try to kill him, we’d come out of that with Niko as king and with new allies instead.

My men were safe. Maybe safer than they’d been their entire lives. Clay and Lars had a chance to rebuild with their brother, and Roan and Niko had discovered they were blood as well as family. Dex was already stepping into the role of general for the new king, and the gods knew Casimir would be an incredible help in advising Niko about ruling as well. Byron now had a chance to return to the Order of Berinlian and even to restore one of their temples, while Ozias?—

A questioning feeling came from my mate, one that said he knew my thoughts were spinning me in circles and he wanted to know why.

Quietly, I cursed to myself before silently trying to reassure him I was fine. The last thing I wanted to do was distract him.

I was distracted enough for both of us.

Because I didn’t know how to save my nation and make sure the men I loved survived.

Huffing out a breath, I glared up at the ceiling tiles. In books it seemed so easy for generals and soldiers to come up with battle plans. For kings and queens to wage entire wars. Every textbook and tome I’d read laid out each grand strategy as if ithad been handed down by the gods. Worry, doubt, and second-guessing never seemed to cross anyone’s mind.

Being a leader was easy, if the books were to be believed. Funny how they never talked about what happened if your plans went poorly, and the people who mattered to you died.

I squeezed my eyes shut. This whole time, we’d just been surviving. Running from cabin to mountain to forest to temple without any chance to slow down—and certainly never reaching a place where we could stop for good. That we’d face my stepmother and the Voidborn together had been a given, even if I’d struggled to know how we’d manage that on our own. But now that we were here and, for once, no one was trying to kill us, it suddenly seemed cruel to ask these men to go to battle.

When they could stay here and have a home.

The bed rocked slightly. I opened my eyes, alarmed because Ozias hadn’t left the hallway and I hadn’t heard anyone come in.

Ruhl stood on the mattress watching me.

I let out an irritated breath. “What?”

The wolf’s eyes narrowed, turning into glowing green slits.

“Please just leave me be. I don’t…” Gods, why was I talking to him? It wasn’t like he’d ever replied.

Shaking my head at myself, I looked back up at the ceiling. Any other allies I might claim were scattered, to say the least. Valeria and her people were most likely dead—a fact that hurt all the more because I’d hoped one day to call the woman a friend. Meanwhile, Lord Thomas only had farmers for soldiers all the way on the other side of Aneira, and whatever allies I might have among the Jeweled Coven were on the opposite end of the Wild Lands.

Really,scatteredwas a laughable understatement. I didn’t even know how to communicate with them, let alone gather them together to mount an offensive military campaign.

Which left us.Justus, with no army and no soldiers, and no plan worth?—

Ruhl’s head butted into my side.

I jerked away from the pillow. “What?”

He huffed—which wasn’t exactly an answer.

“Isaidjust leave me be. I can’t understand what you?—”

He huffed again and jerked his head toward the door.

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