Page 23 of Of Nine So Bold

We didn’t speak much again as the hours slid onward, but the silence wasn’t anything like before. Or, really, it was likelongbefore, when the seven of us lived at the cabin and everything had been simpler.

Except this time, I wasn’t lying to them.

That made it sort of amazing.

By nightfall, the terrain had started to change, becoming rougher, with stony hillsides shoving past the rolling prairie grass. Trees clustered beside a winding river, alternating between shielding the water from view and letting it peek out at us like a glistening ribbon in the darkness. The moon shone down from the black sky, but the lack of a single cloud let any residual trace of the day’s warmth escape, leaving a bitter chill on the wintry air. As we passed a bend in the river where a collection of trees had fallen, providing a clearing and wood for a fire besides, Dex finally motioned for us to make camp.

When I pulled the carriage to a stop, Gwyneira followed Casimir out immediately.

“I heard everything they said,” she told me in a soft voice the moment I climbed down from the driver’s seat.

I hesitated, but her grin made her thoughts more than clear.

“Told you it could be okay,” she murmured, arching an eyebrow at me.

Gods, I wanted to tie her up, kiss her silly, and then spank her for that teasing look in her eyes. I’d never tried such a thing—hell, I thought I’d die a virgin just to stop the demon from killing any bed partners. But now that I could keep that side of me contained, there were all kinds of things I wanted to try. Tying her down and turning that beautiful ass of hers pink was only the start.

I suspected she’d enjoy it too.

“Brat,” I murmured back.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

I grinned.

“She is that,” Casimir chimed in from the rear of the carriage where he was retrieving our bags.

Old resentment flared like a bad habit. Exhaling slowly, I squashed it down. I’d meant what I told Gwyneira in the forest, back before everything went wrong and Niko was stolen. I’d hated the vampire for kidnapping her, no matter how desperate he was at the time or how he handled himself since. I would have sooner forgiven the world for exploding than extend an inch of grace to him for taking my treluria away.

But I was starting to suspect the way I’d viewed the vampire ever since had more to do withmethan with him or his choices.

Gods, I’d taken my pain out on so many people.

Time to start fixing that.

Squeezing Gwyneira’s arm briefly, I walked over to the vampire. “Casimir. A word?”

His brow rose, but he nodded. Letting Dex take over on the bags, he followed me away from the carriage to the edge of the camp. “Yes?”

Fuck, how to do this? “I… I’m sorry for what the demon did to you.”

Inside my head, the demon grumbled and eyed the vampire distrustfully, waiting for a fellow predator to take advantage of this potential display of weakness.

Casimir straightened slightly, and it took effort to hold myself still rather than make any threatening movements. The vampire was a decent amount shorter than me—and trapped in human form besides—but that hardly meant he was incapable of doing damage.

“I am sorry as well,” he replied. “Stealing the princess away as I did when we all first met… You and your demon showed admirable restraint in the face of that offense.”

I blinked. Wait, did he just?—

Casimir chuckled like he could see my shock. “I had quite a bit of time to think while we chased your demon across the countryside.”

I was speechless.

“Perhaps you and I are not that dissimilar,” he continued.

The demon twisted inside my skin, not liking that.

But, in a way, I could see the vampire’s point. “Maybe so.”

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