Page 88 of Of Nine So Bold

I threw a glance over my shoulder. Both he and Lars had their eyes locked on that giant. The sickened, angry looks on their faces were like nothing I’d ever seen from them.

Casimir ignored them. “What lies down that tunnel?” he asked the guards, gesturing to the curving tunnel that continued past the barred prison cell.

The guards scowled at Casimir. “You think we didn’t plan for this, freak?” one snarled. “You think thequeendidn’t plan for you all to come save this pathetic?—”

Ozias reached out, grabbing the man and hoisting him into the air. At his side, Ruhl flowed forward and reformed before the other guards, his teeth bared.

“No insults,” Ozias growled at the human in his grip. “Just answers.”

The man trembled. A stink rose as moisture soaked through the front of his pants.

“Lovely answer,” Casimir commented. “Anyone else care to be more helpful?”

Shaking, the guards remained silent.

I frowned. I could order the guards to speak. Maybe they’d even listen. But it would mean revealing everything.

Dex muttered a curse like he’d come to the same conclusion. “Byron, do what you can to open that gate. We’ll get the giants and then just get the hell out of?—”

Running footsteps came from the tunnel ahead.

Clay swore vehemently and grabbed for his sword. Around him, the others did the same.

Soldiers rounded the turn. They aimed their crossbows straight at us.

And they didn’t hesitate.

Crossbow bolts shot through the air.

23

DEX

As strategies went, this shit was everything I would have expected from Aneirans.

I dove for the princess as the crossbow bolts tore through the air. Colliding with her, I twisted to keep from crushing her even as we both fell to the ground.

Behind where she had been standing, a giant screamed.

I threw a glance back, but I barely needed the confirmation. I already knew what I’d see.

Aneira was so fond of horrific weaponry.

The prisoner’s stone-like skin began to crack. Pitch-black rot crawled out from the fissures, spreading across his skin. He clawed at the damage while more screams rose—other giants, other rotting wounds.

My stomach clenched, old memories fighting to rise. At the start of the war, the Aneirans had been outmatched by the Erenlians’ sheer power and innate skill with magic. But they’d found ways to compensate for that.

Brutally.

One of the guards pressed his wristband to the bars. The gate to the massive prison cavern opened.

Giants rushed the gate, but the Aneirans were ready. Crossbow bolts shot out. Screams followed.

“Get in there, scum!” the first guard shouted at us over the sound of giants dying. “Now, you traitors, or we kill everyone!”

I snarled a curse, keeping Gwyneira behind me. Scenarios raced through my mind at high speed. So far, none of my friends had been hit by those damned bolts, but that was only because the guards were aiming higher, intent on eliminating the more physically threatening Erenlians first.

It wouldn’t last. Meanwhile, the tunnel behind us was blocked. The prison cell beside us was a death sentence.

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