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Hywel's reflection appeared in the mirror behind me, his pale, cool coloring warmed by candlelight.
"Everyone seems lovely," I said.
His head tipped. "But?"
I sighed and fidgeted with a bottle of perfume on the vanity in front of me. "But there's an awful lot of them. And it's been…just us for so long. And Rolant," I added.
Another young woman had arrived after Esther Reed, a Miss Hazel Nix, and with her another small collection of monsters. The two groups had greeted each other eagerly, apparently arriving from different directions, and the quiet castle had become quite full and noisy in no time at all.
"We can send them all away," Hywel said easily, shrugging.
I huffed and shook my head. "Asterion must want them here for a reason, and…they do seem nice."
"Is it the demon? The Gemini?" Hywel asked.
I'd thought I hid my reaction when the demon stepped out of the second carriage, skin shimmering bronze and violet, eyes skirting up to me nervously, but Hywel must've felt my flinch.
"No. No, I… We didn't do more than cross paths, and he was as much a captive as I was," I said, frowning.
"Not one of the other men ever visited The Seven Veils."
I shook my head. "It's not that. Although that is a relief to know. But they…they know that I was there." The lovely redheaded Hazel Nix certainly looked at me as though she knew, although there was something gentle in her stare, and in her voice too. She reminded me a little of how Laszlo had treated me when we first met.
Hywel sank down to his knees at my side, and I twisted on the chair to face him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.
"They do. They know what you survived, what you've risen from. If we didn't know better, I would say you have phoenix blood in you too."
I blushed and glanced away, but Hywel wouldn't let me escape, catching my chin in his long fingers and drawing my gaze back to his.
"I am king of this castle,blodyn bach. If I tell them to leave, they will leave. If I say you and I will hide away here, or in my hoard, then they will manage fine without us," Hywel said, stroking my hair up off my neck. He picked up a hair pin from the vanity and slid it into my hair, twisting the strands into a chignon and fastening it in place one pin at a time. "If I tell that sphinx to put on an apron and fix you dinner, he will."
"Hywel!"
"I wouldn't—that would be outrageously disrespectful. And Idorespect him. Anyway, from what I've learned, it's that strange day-walking vampire who is the cook of the group. Do you know, I caught the one with the vanishing act trying tostealfrom the hoard! Nearly bit his hand off, but Laszlo dragged him off to set him straight." I laughed, and Hywel sighed. "It is strange to have the castle so full once more. But I think it's good too. We can't hide from time passing forever, can we, my love?"
I licked my lips and slid my hands around to rest on his chest. "I suppose not."
Hywel nodded. "There will be a feast tonight. And a ball. I want to dance with you, and I want to see you dance with the others. Will you do that for me?"
A little ache of grateful tears rose to my eyes, but I blinked them away, nodding. "Yes, I'll dance."
He picked up a jeweled pin and slid it into my hair. "Beautiful. But you need a necklace. Stand up."
"Hywel," I said in protest, but he stood first and drew me up with a tug on my elbows.
"I've brought you a present, something I've had for quite a long time and known it never really belonged to me. I was waiting for you, you see," he said, that heavy stone voice of his feigning ease.
And from the back pocket of his trousers, Hywel withdrew what looked at first like a handful of dripping wet stones, shining pebbles and sparkling crystals, drips of fresh dew preserved by diamonds. I stared until he grasped the jewels from either end and it dropped and cascaded down into a stunning necklace, each stone barely held together by threads of silver.
"I know she's not your favorite, but this was made by Our Lady of the Lake," Hywel said.
"Hmph," I grunted, but my fingers itched to touch the necklace. It looked as though the fae woman had scooped big pools of water and jewels up in her hands, then spread them into a stunning creation, natural and perfect all at once.
Hywel raised the necklace, and I couldn't help but lean in and allow him to wrap it around my throat, the kiss of stone and silver soothing on my skin. "She disguised herself as an old woman, waited for a knight who was gallant enough to come to her aid, and then gave him this necklace that would grant its wearer the gift of being unfathomably loved." The clasp clicked shut, and Hywel's hands stroked up my neck to hold my face, his smile subtle but glowing in his opal eyes. "Which you are,blodyn bach."
My breath hitched, and Hywel's hands stroked down my back, pulling me close against him, his head turning and bowing to my throat. I arched for the kiss, gasping as sharp teeth scratched over the left side of my neck instead.
"I will bite here," Hywel whispered.
