He was right. My shoulders slumped.
‘Why would you kill her?’ Amber asked, a frown marring her usually smooth forehead. ‘What am I missing? Can’t we just talk to her? Why is death necessary?’
‘I’ve been ordered not to approach her,’ I said vaguely.
‘We’ll keep an eye on Mrs Kerr,’ Robbie said firmly. ‘If she stirs up trouble, we’ll be ready.’
‘All right, fine. So we do nothing.’ With that concluded, Amber shouldered her tote bag and stood, ready to leave.
Bastion rose with her. ‘Give me the name of your Domini kidnapper,’ the griffin said. ‘I’ll make discreet enquiries.’
‘Ambrose Beeks,’ I confirmed. ‘Former military.’
He nodded once, his eyes cool. ‘I’ll be in touch.’
‘Thanks. And thanks Amber,’ I called after the witch, ‘for healing me and Loki. I really appreciate it.’ I wasn’t sure how many witches would expend their vital energy on a mere bird.That she had done so twice now told me she was more tender-hearted than her words or presence ever conveyed.
She nodded brusquely, visibly uncomfortable with the praise, and sidled out, leaving me with three ogres and a bird. It sounded like the start of a joke, except two of the ogres were broken and bleeding.
‘Won’t you sit down?’ I asked Hanlon and Maktel.
‘No,’ said Maktel. ‘We won’t.’ He didn’t look at Robbie but focused instead on me. ‘You saved us. Most would have left us hanging, locked in seer cuffs, but you faced our enemies alone and killed them for us.’
Hanlon nodded. ‘We are in your debt.’
Maktel went down on one knee, and Hanlon followed suit.
‘Hersmóðir,’ they said in unison, and Robbie jerked like he’d been struck.
When I looked at him, his eyes were wide, but he gave me a slight nod – in reassurance or encouragement, I wasn’t sure which.
‘Takk fyrir,’ Hanlon said, and Maktel nodded and repeated the phrase.
Loki’s mind brushed against mine.They thank you and call you Mother of War. A very reverent title not often given.
What does Robbie say to do about it?
I waited a beat while Loki conferred with Robbie silently. Then Loki said,He does not. He is silent.
I cleared my throat. I needed to dosomething,to say something. ‘Rise,’ I ordered awkwardly.
Maktel eyed me seriously as he rose to his feet. ‘The honour has been earned, and the title had to be given, but I fear you will not thank us for it when you realise the full import. It puts the imp amongst the vampyrs.’
‘How so?’ I asked.
It was Robbie who answered. ‘Only a true mate of the king can be called thus. If you accept the title, it means we are engaged to be mated – and soon.’
My jaw dropped. ‘Umm,’ I said inarticulately, my mind abruptly blank.
‘Go,’ Robbie ordered his men. ‘I will let you know her decision so the announcements can be made, or not.’ He fixed both with a hard look. ‘Until then, this remains between us.’
Maktel and Hanlon each banged a fist to their chests and left.
Leaving me alone with the weirdest proposal a girl had ever had.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
‘There is no need to answer now,’ Robbie said, shifting away from me and reaching into my fridge for a cold can of Dr Pepper. ‘It is late, and you have been through much. A sugary drink will be good for you, and then we can go to sleep.’
