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Amon's jaw grit a little tighter at that, and he and Laszlo bowed to one another with equal respect.
"You know Conall, of course," Asterion said, waving at the werewolf before turning to me. "And this is Evanthia, daughter of Hedone." He wet his lips with his tongue and tilted his head, asking me for some permission. I nodded, and he added, "Our mate."
Our.
Behind Amon, the others had gathered. A man flickered in and out of view, his arm slung over pretty Esther Reed's shoulder. Two others looked fairly human, although one was quite pale, hiding from the sunshine under a dark umbrella and sporting a pair of flat black sunglasses. The fourth was an enchanted statue. It was a curious group, I thought, but they all looked quite friendly.
"An honor," Amon said to me, and he bowed low—gallant, even.
I couldn't remember how to curtsey, and my tongue was tied at the presence of so many strangers, but the sphinx spoke once more before my silence became awkward.
"We met the Wyrm on the road. I am surprised you trust him with such a significant mission," Amon mused.
A stunned silence met the announcement, the five of us Rolant had left glancing at once another.
Hywel gathered himself first, voice low and dangerous. "Mission?"
Amon seemed to buoy at our obvious confusion. "Sending him to collect the last of the cauldron of Murias."
"The cauldron?!" Laszlo asked with a gasp, turning to stare at Hywel, whose pale expression took on a remarkable shadow, a fluff of dark smoke expelling from his flared nostrils.
Amon looked like he wanted to step back, but to his credit, he stretched his wings to shield the pretty Esther.
"He told us quite cheerfully you got word of its location and sent him—" The Irish brogue announced the redheaded, rascal-looking fellow before he appeared in earnest.
"No wonder he took his leave so eagerly," Conall said, barely restraining a laugh, which seemed to put our guests at ease. He turned to me and whispered, "The cauldron is one of the four gifts from the first fae to arrive in our realm. It serves food endlessly and was meant to keep the Irish people out of famine. But of course, it was stolen."
Hywel sucked in a dramatic breath and released it slowly. "It is no matter," he said in a tone that implied this newsverymuch mattered.
"Are you sure?" I asked, stroking his stiff arm.
Hywel relaxed slightly, blinking and turning to offer me a genuine smile. "The cauldron is nothing to the treasure I already possess. Especially our more recent acquisition. I merely like to keep abreast of these sorts of discoveries."
Laszlo nodded, shrugging slightly, and I suspected thatmoretreasure was always welcome, regardless of what was already possessed.
"Our debt to Rolant will be cleared, at least," Laszlo said.
"Ah yes, that is a relief," Hywel admitted.
The conversation returned to greetings, and Hywel and Laszlo did their best not to glare at the horizontoomuch.
"I've never been in an English castle before! I'll be very disappointed if there aren't a great many secret passages," Esther said brightly, grinning.
"Oh, there are dozens," Hywel promised, and the young woman clapped and bumped her hip into the currently invisible man at her side.
"Here come the others," Asterion said, nodding toward the road, where another carriage turned into view.
"More?" I murmured, but thankfully the chatter of Esther and her men covered my voice.
Conall wrapped an arm around my waist, and Hywel's hand squeezed mine.
"Be brave,mo chroí. We got through an entire round of fussy introductions and no blood's been spilled yet. That's not bad when you mix species," Conall whispered in my ear.
CHAPTER37
DANCING AND GOSSIPING
“Ithought you might've been downstairs already."
