34. Casimir

34

CASIMIR

A s a child, I’d watched council meetings from hidden spots in the upper levels of our royal meeting halls. I’d witnessed the shouting matches between all manner of people.

Those paled in comparison to the chaos that broke out at the scholar’s words.

“How can the dwarf be royal?” someone in the crowd shouted.

“Does that mean Duke Ensid isn’t next in line?” another cried.

“What’s the boy’s parentage?” a third demanded.

“We can’t be ruled by a dwarf !”

My royal training was all that held my disgust in check. Bigotry always betrayed its allies, robbing them of the chance to make wise choices and rendering them instead as utter fools. It was blatantly obvious that Duke Ensid and his henchmen had taken more than their fair share of food and left these people to starve. For the gods’ sakes, the man looked healthier and more well fed than the children . Yet these fools would rather he remain as their leader instead of a young man of honor and compassion, purely because of superficial physical traits.

It was idiocy. They panicked because Niko didn’t look like they thought a leader should, as if that said more about him than anything.

The duke barely acknowledged them, though. As the questions and protests came from every direction, the man simply stared at Niko and then at Ignatius, his eyes slowly being consumed with rage. “How dare you claim this boy could be royalty .”

Norbert stormed toward Niko. “I’ll fucking crush your skull, you pathetic?—”

Ruhl and I moved simultaneously to intervene, but there was no need.

“ Enough !” Ignatius roared.

Even the duke stopped.

Shaking with rage and tension, the old giant drew his threadbare robes around him as if they were as imposing as a judge’s cloak. He scanned the crowd, pinning them all with his gaze before turning lastly to the duke. “We have a challenge to your claim on the throne. It will be honored.”

Shouts and protests rose all over again.

“ I said enough!” Magic thrummed through the air, amplifying Ignatius’s words. When the shouts quieted, he continued in a calmer voice. “We are less than a day’s journey from the temple of Syloria. If Duke Ensid truly is meant to be our king, then let there be no question of it. The waters there will settle this dispute, as has been our way since the dawn of the Order of Berinlian itself.”

I scanned the crowd, reading the body language of each giant I could see. Some were opposed, grumbling of traitors and dwarf tricks. Some were swayed, murmuring their approval for the old ways.

Watching them too, the duke scowled, only to bury the expression quickly. The man was a narcissistic bigot, but he was no fool. He needed the support of the people here if he wished to claim the throne and restart the war with Aneira.

Because I had no doubt he would do that as soon as possible. The proud giant had spent years as a prisoner to an enemy nation. He was champing at the bit for payback—likely no matter the cost.

Gods, we had to keep Gwyneira’s true identity a secret, if only to protect her from this man rallying his people for retribution.

By my side, Ruhl let out a growl so quiet, only a vampire could have heard. His green eyes flicked over, meeting mine.

I’d wager half my kingdom the shadow wolf was in full agreement with my unspoken thought and would be damned if he let anyone try to harm us.

“We must obey tradition, must we not… your lordship?” Ignatius prompted the duke pointedly.

With meticulous decorum and restraint, the duke nodded. “Of course.” He gestured sharply at his bullying allies. “To the temple!”

The giants began walking, passing one by one through the opening in the wall.

I glanced at Niko. He’d retreated from the opening, and he didn’t make a sound as the giants passed by. Moreover, he looked as if he’d been hit by a plank, and now he could only stare in shock at everything transpiring before him.

Curses ran through my mind, even as my heart went out to him. Unlike him, I’d grown up knowing I would be the heir to the throne of Zenirya. I imagined Gwyneira’s life had been much the same as mine, at least in that regard. But to learn of a potential royal inheritance so suddenly, and in such a dramatic fashion had to be a monumental shock.

But he was surrounded by a combination of outright enemies and those who did not know what to make of him. He could not appear unequal to this situation.

Not if he wanted to survive it.

Nearby, Gwyneira watched him as well, a hint of pity on her face for the dumbstruck nature of his expression. Keeping an eye to the duke and his allies, she walked over to Niko.

I did the same, Ruhl pacing along at my side.

When we came closer, the young man blinked as if surfacing from a daze. His eyes turned to Gwyneira and me with blatant desperation. “What do I do?” he whispered.

The princess put a hand to his arm. “Breathe,” she said. “Start there.”

A deep lungful of air rushed into Niko’s chest, but he still looked shaken.

“You must ground yourself, my friend,” I murmured. “Use your other senses to stabilize your emotions. Silently name what you smell, what you hear. Allow your body to catch up with the moment. These people are stunned as well, but they will look for your stability to gauge whether you can be trusted, so you must present that to them.”

Taking another breath, Niko closed his eyes for a moment. “Okay.”

“Now,” I continued, “I have found that when one does not know what to say, silence is often the best choice. Allow the other party to fill the gap and reveal themselves, as it were. And quite often, they will, whether that is with their fears or with what they desire. This gives you an opportunity to assess your next move more fully.”

“Stay quiet to buy time, you mean?” He stared at me, wide-eyed.

“Precisely.”

He nodded like I’d thrown him a lifeline to stop him from drowning. “I can do that.” His eyes twitched to the duke. “But if he tries to do something to stop there from even being a test at these waters Ignatius talked about…”

My respect for Niko grew. Clearly, he saw the potential trouble that lay before us.

I also knew he was right. The duke was not the type of man to allow chance to play into his machinations for power. He would try to kill Niko at the first opportunity. Us too, most likely.

My fangs tingled with the urge to descend and resolve this problem. These men mattered to Gwyneira. To me as well.

Erenlian blood would not harm me the way human blood could, and removing that blood from certain individuals would solve a number of our problems.

I exhaled slowly, keeping my vampire nature in check. “Do not worry, my friend. If the duke or his allies try to harm us, they will live to regret it—if only for the brief time it would take to make them cease being a threat entirely.”

Gwyneira met my eyes, and my heart swelled to see the cold resolve in my Aneiran beauty’s gaze. She was kind and gentle, it was true. A merciful and understanding ruler. But when it came to protecting those she loved, she was as fierce as an Aneiran Huntsman and infinitely more deadly.

And for that and a thousand more reasons, I loved her.

She smiled like perhaps she could see the emotion that had stolen over me, but worry infiltrated her gaze when she glanced toward the duke. Beyond the opening in the wall, he stood amid his group of lackeys, calling out to the Erenlians still waiting to pass through. A beneficent smile was fixed upon his face, with nothing but charity in his bearing.

Given the contrast between his condition and that of his starving people, the behavior was despicable.

“I, um…” Niko started to wring his hands together and then stopped himself, forcing them down to his sides. Exhaling sharply, he straightened a bit, though his skin still held a pallor of shock. “I’m going to go see if anyone needs help.”

“Excellent plan,” I replied, but past his turned back, I gave Dex a pointed look.

The former soldier was intuitive as well as intelligent. He read my glance immediately. With Ozias at his side, he moved to join Niko when the younger man started toward the crowd.

“Two of us should stay with Niko at all times,” Gwyneira murmured, watching them go. “Possibly more. We’re going to be in their territory, and the duke has too much to lose. We can’t risk even a second where he could get past us to hurt Niko.”

I loved that she, too, perceived our need for a strategy to protect the boy. “Agreed.”

Ruhl gave a low growl as if voicing his agreement as well.

I glanced at him. There was no longer a question in my mind that he understood us. There never really had been.

But those creatures of the gateway had recognized him, calling his species nyxvarg, a name I’d never heard. For that and so many other reasons, my questions about this strange companion of mine only multiplied.

“And,” the princess continued, “no matter how this test goes, we need to be ready to get Niko and ourselves the hell out of here.”

“We will,” I assured her. “I promise you.”

She nodded as if hanging onto my words, and silently, I swore I’d do whatever it took to make them be true.