27. Byron

27

BYRON

H ell was being trapped in a cavern with my treluria and the man who swore I’d never be able to keep my vows.

Hell was our lives depending upon a spell so complex, it would require all our skill just to manage it, and yet Casimir inexplicably did not want my help.

Hell was here and now.

Following my friends across the room, I scrubbed a hand over my hair and then cursed myself for the obvious sign of distress. Every giant here was looking for a reason to look down upon us. I couldn’t be the reason they found one.

The boy is too weak. Mark my words, if you let him into this illustrious body, he will shame us all.

My stomach twisted on itself. Ignatius had never made a secret of his opinions about me. And because he hadn’t, the lower ranks of scholars felt they had free rein to vent upon me all their scorn.

Idiot. You failed another test? Those spells are easy for real giants. Why do you even try?

My hands curled into fists, my nails digging into palms roughened by years of mining and survival after the Order fell. I’d been different back then. Softer, my body untested by anything but hours of study and meditation.

But I’d never broken. Not when fellow initiates bespelled my clothes to freeze me at night or my work to erase itself. Not when I found dead animals in my bed or mold covering food I’d prepared less than an hour before.

Not when so many of the instructors turned a blind eye to it all or told me a real giant wouldn’t complain.

Dathan had been one of the few to see through it, and the only one to take me under his wing. But even if his actions made those torments stop, it had done nothing for people like Ignatius, who treated me like dirt under his shoes if he acknowledged me at all.

Let a dwarf take the title of scholar? Next you’ll say a mouse could become king of Erenelle!

Gods, he’d always spoken like I couldn’t hear his words. Like I was furniture rather than a living being.

No matter what Niko believed, I knew Ignatius would never respect a dwarf.

I avoided the scholar’s eyes while we walked up to the group of giants, but that only meant I saw the disgust in the duke’s gaze instead. “Have the Zeniryans made their decision?” Duke Ensid asked.

My skin crawled at the scorn beneath his polite veneer.

“We would have the assistance of your scholar,” Casimir said with a nod to Ignatius.

The duke paused for a moment. “I see. In that case, my people will, of course, accompany him. To aid him in representing the interests of Erenelle.”

Casimir smiled. “We would be honored by their presence.”

If smiles were swords, both these men would be drawing blood.

Ignatius motioned to the stones where I could feel the gateway’s magic. “This way.”

With my friends, I started in the direction he’d indicated. At the duke’s nod, several of his henchmen did the same.

But Norbert clearly wasn’t willing to wait. Before we made it more than a few yards, he shoved past the other giants, glaring. “No, enough with this fucking around. Are you going to get these things off us or not?”

Coming to a stop with the others, I started to frown at the obnoxious giant. But then I caught sight of Ignatius turning toward me. A bolt of anxiety shot through my veins like lightning. Quickly, I buried the nascent expression.

Such displays weren’t the training of the Order. A scholar was somber. Still. They allowed the world to pass before them, observed and catalogued.

Nothing more.

“We have every intention of assisting you,” Casimir replied calmly to the giant.

Norbert stuck his wrist out in silent demand that the vampire get on with it.

Casimir smiled but didn’t move. The expression was neutral. Utterly unfazed. It could be read any number of different ways, none of which included the vampire king bowing to what anyone else commanded.

Gods, I envied him that control.

“But before we get to that,” the vampire continued, “I do have several questions for your scholar.”

Norbert took a step closer. “No, you free me. Now.”

Casimir’s brow arched in amusement, as if a toddler had just stomped their foot and demanded a cookie. He turned to Ignatius as if Norbert didn’t exist. “One of my associates tells me you once expressed an issue with those your people would label dwarves . I would hear from your own mouth what your intentions are if I release you.”

Norbert gaped, shocked the vampire was ignoring him. But after a few seconds, he seemed to conclude he couldn’t actually force Casimir to obey. Not without another trouncing like he’d received in the corridor—to say nothing of risking that we’d never free him at all.

At the vampire’s words, Ignatius glanced my way, one eyebrow rising.

Gods, I wished I could hold his gaze. But I was a coward. I looked away.

“Your associate speaks the truth,” Ignatius replied. “Once, I believed how someone was born mattered. That dwarves, by virtue of being smaller than the rest of our kind, must have other deficits.”

Clay bristled while a choked snarl left Ozias. The princess put a hand to the bearded man’s arm and he stilled.

“I think differently now.” Ignatius bowed his head slightly to Casimir, a sign of respect but not so deep as to indicate fealty. “Your citizens are safe with me.”

My eyes darted to my friends. Were they believing this? Should I? Differently could mean anything.

Safe seemed straightforward enough.

But was I willing to entrust my friends’ lives to that?

Or Gwyneira’s?

“Ignatius helped me,” Niko said quietly. “He protected me from people who… had other ideas.”

He didn’t quite look at Norbert when he spoke, but Clay clearly read between the lines. “Well, shit. I didn’t know Norbert was bright enough to have ideas.”

“Clay,” Lars started.

Norbert made an angry noise. “What do you know, runt?”

Clay took a step forward, and Dex caught him across the chest with one arm. “Not now,” was all Dex said.

At Clay’s scowl, Norbert smirked. “Better listen to him—unless you want to be smashed into a muddy paste, Clay .”

Rage turned Clay’s face red. “At least the guy I listen to isn’t letting women and kids starve.”

Norbert growled, starting forward.

“Enough,” Dex snapped. “We need to focus, remember? Or do you think that glamour Casimir cast will last forever?”

Everyone stopped, even the imbecilic Norbert. I just wanted to curse—at myself most of all. “Dex is right,” I said. “We’re wasting valuable time.”

“Agreed,” Ignatius replied.

I tensed. Wait. Agreed? He agreed ?

Gods, I wanted to look up and study his expression to determine what the hell that could mean. But damn me, I still couldn’t meet his eyes.

“If I take this off of you,” Casimir asked Ignatius, “will you assist in harnessing the magic necessary to control this gateway?”

“Yes.”

“Very well.” For all the firmness of his voice, I still caught a moment’s hesitation before Casimir reached out.

I braced myself, praying this was the right decision. Because if we were wrong and Ignatius endangered the princess…

I’d kill him.

Ice shivered through my gut while Casimir wrapped his hand around the metal. Gods help me, I really would kill him. I had no doubt in my mind.

Anyone who threatened that woman would die.

And by harming another scholar, I’d prove once and for all that I’d never been worthy of my vows.

Hell was how I’d lose either way.

Barely breathing, I watched Casimir. Pain tightened his face as his magic worked its way into the mechanism. Hissing between his teeth, he closed his eyes against it.

Clearly the magic in that band didn’t like him any more than it liked us.

The vampire whispered something under his breath. His hand quivered, but nothing else changed. He whispered it again, harsh and fast.

“What’s wrong?” Norbert demanded. “If you’re too weak, then let your girl do it. She got the thing off the runt here.”

A shudder went through Ozias. His lips peeled back with the beginnings of a furious snarl.

Norbert didn’t notice. “Hey, I?—”

“Said nothing that will be necessary,” Casimir interrupted icily as the lock clicked and the manacle fell from Ignatius’s wrist.

I braced myself.

Ignatius gasped as the metal hit the ground. He stumbled to one side, catching himself with a hand on the cavern wall.

I didn’t move a muscle, waiting for the attack.

“What’d you to do him?” Norbert protested, retreating like Ignatius had the plague.

Standing several dozen yards away at what I could only assume he thought was a “safe distance,” the duke recoiled as well. “Are you well, scholar? Did this king harm you?”

Ignatius shook his head quickly. “No. No, I… I’m fine.” Wonder and grief filled his voice as he dropped to a whisper. “It’s been so long.”

“Great,” Norbert snapped. “Me next.”

No one listened.

“Hey, I said me next! Or are you keeping all the strong giants trapped while you let that half-dead bastard go?”

Gods, why had no one attempted to murder this bullying fool?

“Your supposed strength has nothing to do with it,” Casimir replied coldly. “When we are ready to leave, you and the others who have threatened my people will be released.”

“What? You told the king that we would?—”

“Deter Ensid is not the king ,” Ignatius interrupted, his voice so harsh, it made Norbert’s mouth snap shut with shock.

I took a step back, my hand going out to shield Gwyneira.

The scholar drew another deep breath, straightening. “He will not be the king until he stands in the holy waters of Syloria and takes the vows of leadership before the gods. Your father knows this, and you should too.”

Norbert snarled, taking a step toward Ignatius. “Watch it, old man, or I’ll…”

The stone beneath Norbert’s feet suddenly liquified, and into it, his boots sank. A panicked cry escaped the giant, but before he went more than calf deep, the shifting stopped.

Gods save us, we’d been fools. This was it. Ignatius was about to show everyone here who he really was.

The scholar smiled at Norbert, no kindness or humor in the expression. “Make note of the one to whom you speak, young one. I’ve tolerated your nonsense and your cruelty for long enough. It’s time you learned to show others respect.”

Clay’s and Lars’s eyebrows shot up, their expressions pleased. But they didn’t know Ignatius like I did.

Even full-size giants in the Order had known to dread that expression.

Ignatius turned to us. To me . “Shall we leave this wretched place, scholar?” he asked mildly.

I froze. What had he just called me?

Gwyneira nudged my hip, snapping me from my shock. “Uh…” I cleared my throat, scrambling for an appearance of self-control. “Yes, of course.”

Ignatius nodded. “Then let us begin.”

Gods help me, what was happening?

“The…” I drew myself up straighter. “The Zeniryan king will be the one assisting you.”

I tried to make the words seem unremarkable, but Ignatius’s brow still furrowed with confusion. “As this is Erenlian magic, I would have expected you to be the best choice for assisting me.”

Best choice?

“I was tutored by a scholar of the Order when I was younger,” Casimir cut in smoothly. “Helorian was his name. Perhaps you were familiar with him?”

Ignatius regarded me a moment longer before turning to Casimir with a nod. “I knew him, yes. He taught advanced levels of spellwork, did he not?”

“And how strict he was.” Casimir smiled, gesturing for Ignatius to precede him toward wherever the spell was waiting.

The scholar wasn’t fooled by the distraction. He didn’t move. “I must confess, Your Highness, I am surprised to see you and your citizens here. I was given to understand that Zenirya was lost to the Wild Lands at the start of the Witch War decades ago.” His eyes narrowed. “And that vampires were servants of their creators from the empty realms, those creatures known as the Voidborn.”

Oh… fuck.

Magic surged under my skin. He wouldn’t hurt Gwyneira. I didn’t care what I had to do or what he might do to me. I wouldn’t let him?—

“Zenirya did fall, yes.” Casimir’s voice was as pleasant and unruffled as ever. “To vampires, in point of fact.”

What was he doing? Did he not see the threat here?

“However,” the vampire continued, “my lineage is rather unique, and my magic is as well. This allowed me to escape the fate the vampire witch planned for me and to counteract the madness the Voidborn inflicted upon their creations. My lovely companion has found her own way of doing that as well.” He smiled again. “I assure you, neither of us are servants of the Voidborn. Quite the opposite. Now if you would be so kind…?” He gestured for Ignatius to accompany him to the nascent gateway magic.

I couldn’t breathe. For a long moment, the scholar didn’t move except to turn that questioning look on me yet again.

He was far from satisfied, I could tell. Was he still going to attack? Use magic to hurt Gwyneira or Casimir?

Ignatius’s head dipped in a small nod. “Very well.” Motioning for Casimir to accompany him, he turned to the gateway spell.

A shuddering breath left my lungs as I started after them. I felt like we’d just escaped the guillotine.

And we’d only begun.

“Hey!” Norbert shouted when even his henchman friends followed Ignatius. “What about me?”

“Oh, we’ll get around to you, Norbie,” Clay called over his shoulder. “ Maybe .”

Norbert roared with fury.

“The gateway is here.” Ignatius pointed to a collection of stones.

My footsteps slowed. Gateways were strange spells. An inversion of space, in a way. It was often possible to come upon one and not know until you were close. And if they were not set up correctly, stumbling into one meant you may never be seen again.

As escape plans went, to attempt such a thing had been bold, given how risky gateways could be.

“So, um, what do you need to do?” Lars glanced at us, questioning.

“If the Zeniryan king would please direct his power here…” Ignatius pointed. “Then with my power and his, we may have enough to finish the spell.”

Casimir came up to the scholar’s side, looking far more confident than I would have. The duke’s henchmen retreated, still watching us but clearly not interested in getting caught by any magic.

Maybe they had some measure of intelligence after all.

Casimir’s power rose, extending out toward the stones. In my mind’s eye, I could see it. A glow like sunlight on gold. A heartbeat later, Ignatius’s magic swept in like a landslide. I gasped, but it didn’t crush him. Instead, his power surrounded Casimir’s energy, funneling it and maneuvering it as required for the spell.

“Impressive,” Casimir murmured.

That was one word for it.

Ignatius smiled, but it was a distracted expression, his gaze locked intently upon the stones and the spell I could see strengthening there.

But to say gateways were tricky was an understatement.

The magic began to buck and twist, fighting the two men like a thrashing rope made of light. Sweat beaded on Ignatius’s brow, dripping down his stone-like cheeks like condensation in a cave. Casimir’s breaths came short and fast between his clenched teeth.

My friends noticed. A worried sound came from Niko before Ozias grunted to shush him.

I couldn’t take my eyes from the spell, my heart racing. Gateways gone wrong were the stuff of nightmares. Tales of swaths of cities erased from existence. Of people found with half their bodies just missing . What it would do in this cave was anyone’s guess, but I doubted the possibilities included our survival.

To build a spell beneath all the suppressive magic in this mine would be difficult on a good day, and for a scholar who’d been bound away from his own power for decades…

A choked grunt of effort left Casimir as the magic bucked again.

They were losing control of the spell.

Taking a step forward, I sent my magic rushing toward them, pouring into and around their power. My gift was energy, and theirs needed support if they were going to stop this looming disaster.

“No!” Casimir cried. “Don’t?—”

Crystalline light swelled in my mind’s eye. Shimmering brilliantly, it rushed over and through me like a winter breeze at my back, cold and crisp, bright as the moon on snow.

My breath caught, and I started to turn.

“Focus!” Ignatius snapped.

I flinched, and instinctively, my training kicked in, marshaling my attention back where it was needed.

But that was the princess’s power I felt. Her beautiful energy pouring into me as if it was perfectly natural for it to join with mine.

A desperate sound left Casimir, and his magic faltered as if he wanted to pull back. But a warning grunt from Ignatius stopped him.

Apprehension bit at me. Was this what Casimir worried would happen?

Another magic joined hers. Darker. Hard like stone that had never seen the sun.

Ozias.

How was this possible? She?—

An icy wind swept around us as the gateway suddenly opened, swallowing the stones in darkness greater than a mere lack of light. Voices murmured in my mind as if from a tremendous distance.

My stomach clenched. Gateway demons.

“Ooh, look. The Nine are here.” The voice was pleased but insidious, like a snake twisting around its prey.

My breath caught. The Nine? I… I’d heard that. It’d been carried on a breeze, nothing more than a whisper on the wind, back when the Voidborn were chasing Gwyneira through the forest and we were trying to find her. I hadn’t been able to place the term at the time. Even now, its meaning danced beyond my reach—the fragment of something I’d read that I couldn’t fully recall.

My eyes darted to Ignatius. Did he know what it meant?

His attention was locked on the gateway, incredulity widening his gaze. He seemed speechless.

Which likely meant yes.

“Mm,” another gateway demon said, pulling my attention back, “ they look tasty.”

“Should we eat them or let them through?”

Chuckling followed.

Casimir spoke up, his voice strained. “Do we have permission to pass?”

The gateway demons made considering noises. “ We really could eat them, ” one commented as if to another.

“ Bye-bye, prophecy.”

The demons cackled.

Shudders racked me. My body ached, my magic still pouring into the spell because, until these beings agreed, all my strength was needed to help hold the gateway open. But the princess’s power was fading too.

And if our strength failed, the destabilization could be catastrophic. Our only hope would be to close the gateway before the blowback could kill everyone here.

Including her .

Desperation pressed the air from my lungs. Damn me, I should have listened to Casimir.

But there was another means by which I could close the gateway before it was too late.

The icy chill of certainty settled in my veins again. If worse came to worst, I could throw myself into it. Let my magic erupt with my death. The power would be channeled into the gateway and should be enough to shatter the spell before it could destabilize or drain her fully.

The syphoning force grew stronger. There wasn’t much time left. I?—

Roan stepped past me. His body rippled and changed, the demon emerging and making him grow taller and broader.

At the edge of the gateway, he stopped. A low growl rumbled from his chest, and his claws flexed on each finger.

Angry noises came from the gateway demons. “ You don’t threaten us, stygiaterros. You ? —”

Ruhl flowed like smoke next to Roan and then reformed into a massive shadow wolf. His growl made the hairs on my arms stand on end.

“What? How is that thing here?”

“Nyxvarg? How’d a nyxvarg get ?— ”

“Do you think he sent it?”

Their cries overlapped only to cut short when Roan snarled. “Let us through.”

Silence fell for a heartbeat.

Roan growled. “Now.”

“ Fine, fine,” one of the gateway demons grumbled.

“ Impatient, isn’t he?”

“Stygiaterros. More like cranky-a-terros.”

Laughter came from the other gateway demons.

“Just don’t all go through at once, eh?” one said. “ Those big guys are heavy.”

Casimir nodded jerkily. “Agreed. You have our thanks.”

“Pfft, we should’ve just eaten you.” In sing-song voices, they taunted, “ Mirror, mirror, broken now it lies. Bold are the Nine who shatter the skies. ”

They laughed harder, the sound fading into the distance as if they were leaving.

“ Good luck, Nine!” one called.

Another chimed in, “ You’re gonna need it!”

Suddenly, the tug on my magic vanished as the sense of depth and darkness from the gateway stabilized, becoming like a tunnel rather than a cliff.

Air raked my lungs in gasping breaths. I turned immediately to check on the princess. Ozias had his arms around her, holding her up, and the rest of my friends had drawn in to surround them, shielding her from view of the giants.

Gods, she looked pale. Weakened drastically by what had just occurred. To let her feed here was impossible, because all hell could break loose if the duke or anyone else saw.

But she’d need strength to use the gateway, and in this condition?—

“The Nine?” Ignatius whispered.

Oh gods . And then there was that.

Whatever the hell it was.

Ignatius stared, his gaze running back and forth across us like he was trying to make sense of what he saw. “I…” He wetted his lips. “The wolf is not among your number then, I take it. Of the Nine, that is.”

Confused, I started to ask what he meant, but before I could, Ruhl huffed as if to dismiss the very thought.

Which was… odd. But then, everything about that creature—or nyxvarg, whatever that meant—was odd.

Gods, I was floundering like an initiate on his first day of training.

Casimir cleared his throat. His skin was ashen and his face gaunt from hunger, but when he spoke, his voice was steady and controlled. “Gateway demons are notorious for playing tricks. We have little time for fairytales.”

Fairytales…

“We’re not the Nine, ” I blurted.

Casimir cast me a sharp look as if telling me to be silent. I clamped my mouth shut, but I could feel my cheeks heating.

I always had flushed red as a ripe apple when embarrassed.

But what they suggested was absurd .

“I understand your reluctance,” Ignatius said. “Being told you’re the only hope of this world is not something any sane person would wish to hear.”

Surprised noises came from my friends, while I just felt sick.

“But regardless,” Ignatius continued. “I must ask you stay with us when we reach the other side of the gateway. Whatever your plans may have been, for your sakes and for the sake of the world, you all must return to Erenelle immediately.”