Page 192 of Of Nine So Bold

I nodded, speechless.

Ignatius smiled at the cavern like he was greeting an old friend. “All magic done here is contained and amplified by the protective spells placed upon these walls. It is a sacred space for our most potent, powerful endeavors.” Turning, he bowed his head briefly to us. “If ever there was a place in Syloria to help with joining your powers as one, it is here. When you are done, come back to my chambers. We will go from there to prepare the gateway.”

Without another word, he started back the way we’d come.

“Wait, that’s it?” Clay looked around, incredulous. “You’re not staying to dowhateverwe’re doing here?”

“I am not one of the Nine,” the scholar said as if it were obvious. “I suspect this is why your strange wolf knew to stay on the surface as well. All who are here will be joined by the spell.”

The scholar disappeared up the tunnel.

“Whatspell?” Clay called after him. Turning back to us, he appeared flabbergasted. “Okay, did this guy honestly just drop us off in a magical cave with a fuckingto-do listand no idea how to even?—”

“Quiet,” Casimir said, his eyes locked on the water. “Can’t you feel that?”

Byron nodded immediately, watching the glowing pool too. “We need to be in the water.” He tugged his sweater over his head and tossed it to the side.

Wary looks passed between most of the others, but Dex merely turned to Casimir. “I’m assuming full nudity isn’t required?”

“As appealing as that sounds,” the vampire replied. “I suspect not.”

Clay turned a wry look on Lars. “We’ll be counting on you to dry us out when this shit is over, then, brother.”

Lars didn’t react, his eyes on the water.

“Everybody in,” Dex ordered.

Heart pounding, I removed my boots and then pulled off my sweater before slipping over the stone edge into the water. Soft leaves of glowing plants brushed my legs as I walked forward. The rocky bottom of the pool was rough, but not enough to scratch the soles of my feet, only to give me purchase. Glimmering lights like stars scattered around me when I moved, as if the disturbance of my presence caused something in the water to light up. But the water itself was neither hot nor cold. If not for the way it darkened my breeches and the bottom of my undershirt, it almost wouldn’t seem to be here at all.

“Okay, yeah, this is weird.” Clay turned around, his hands moving back and forth through the sparkling liquid. “Even the water up top didn’t feel like this.”

“Everyone okay?” Niko asked as the others spread out to form a rough circle around the edges of the pool. Around the walls, the symbols of the Order reflected the glow in dull gold.

Lars frowned. “So far.”

“Princess.” Byron motioned me forward. “If you would come to the center?”

I hesitated. “Why?”

Casimir smiled. “Because, as Ignatius told us, the Nine have a singular member at their center. I do not think my friends would disagree when I say youhave been and will always be our heart.”

Around the pool, my men nodded in agreement.

I bit my lip, searching for words. “And you all are mine.”

They smiled, so much love in their eyes that it stole my breath. I wanted this moment to last. To never end.

“Go on, baby.” Clay nodded to the center of the circle.

An urging feeling came from Ozias. “It’s you for us, little mate. Always.”

Nervousness fluttering in me like a trapped bird, I walked forward. The rough surface of the natural pool helped me keep my feet, even as the strange water rose to just beneath my breasts.

“Ready?” Byron asked Casimir.

The vampire nodded.

Lifting their arms, they watched each other carefully and began to speak. I didn’t recognize the language. It sounded like Erenlian, yet not quite.

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