“Be careful,” he warned. “I personally don’t mind the relaxed approach to titles, but many here would consider it an insult to myauthority.”
I arched a brow. “Wait a minute. You actually don’t mind? And here I thought most royals liked to insist on titles, particularly one who has kind of made himself his own king of his own made-up court. Respect and allthat.”
“I am not your normalKing.”
Something I was quickly realising myself. He wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met in fact. That said, I still had no idea what, exactly, he was like. Lugh was an enigma. A puzzle. One I was desperate tosolve.
I snapped the book shut. “You still haven’t told me why you asked me to comehere.”
He raked a hand through his raven hair and sighed. “I wanted to thank you for what you did last night. If you hadn’t fought by my side, I might have died. If you hadn’t called Saoirse, I could have bled out on the cobblestones. I owe you,Moira.”
I shrugged, acting all nonchalant, but I couldn’t ignore the frantic beating of my heart. “I was actually the one who owed you. For all the help in thevaults.”
He gave a quick shake of his head. “I was the one who forced you to do the trial, so the help I gave you there did not create a debt that youowed.”
I mean, he had a point...I was just surprised that he saw it that way,too.
I leaned forward and braced my elbows on my knees. “So, what are yousaying?”
His lips quirked. “I haven’t forgotten what you asked for. A sword, training, and unlockeddoors.”
I sat up a little straighter in the chair. I’d wondered if he’d been too delirious, too out of it to remember promising me those things. He’d left my door unlocked this morning, but I could hardly believe that meant he’d finally put a sword in myhands.
“Your doors will no longer be locked, and you won’t require a chaperone through the grounds.” His dark eyes roamed across my body. “You’re strong. You’ll make a good warrior with a little training. That said, I think we both know you’ve had some before now. I saw the way you fought. An untrained fae would not have been able to do what you did with a simple metalsign.”
I cleared my throat. Of course he would have noticed. Regardless of what innate abilities I might have, it took years of experience to train one’s body to move as instinctively as mine did in a fight. Especially when I hadn’t even had mysword.
“I’ve had some,” I admitted. No use in trying to deny it. He might be cocky, cruel, and traitorous, but he wasn’t daft. “I’ve met other solitary fae. One of them was a pretty good fighter, and he taught me sometricks.”
“Hmm.” His eyes flashed as he tapped his fingers against the arm of the chair. “You are still keeping secrets fromme.”
Surprise flittered through me. “And you’re still keeping them fromme.”
He leaned forward, power rippling off his body in waves. “And what secrets would you have me spill,Moira?”
At the intensity of his gaze, my heart did a little flip. I wet my lips. “For starters, you could explain who those fae were who jumped us in the alley. They mentioned a cauldron. What’s that allabout?”
He regarded me carefully for a moment. “The GundestrupCauldron.”
I shook my head. I’d never heard of it. “The gund-what?”
“Gundestrup.” He let out a heavy sigh and shut his eyes. “It is an ancient magical vessel, made centuries ago. It comes straight from Faerieitself.”
Wow. There weren’t many things that still existed in this world that came from the fae realm. Most of those artefacts hadn’t made it through the portal. The fae had fled to the mortal realm when ours had been destroyed. Not everyone had made it, and very few items had been brought along. Faerie had come back to life now, thanks to the Morrigan’s reign, but most of the fae had stayed here instead of goingback.
“Okay.” My heart thundered in my ears. “What does itdo?”
“Regeneration,” he said, voice pained. “It has the ability to bring someone back from thedead.”
I wasn’t sure what I’d expected him to say. Something along the lines of stealing a crown, growing an army, forging some kind of weapon that would never miss its mark. But bringing someone back from the dead? My mind churned. I didn’t understand how that had anything to do with the throne or theMorrigan.
“So.” I glanced at the books surrounding us, my eyes flashing from one title to the next. One on Celtic items. Another on historical jewels. And yet another on the mythology surrounding metallurgy. These books were to help him find this cauldron. “Those fae in Barrie’s Close. They’re looking for thiscauldron.”
He nodded. “Some are members of thiscourt.”
I’d figured that much, especially with Warin poking around. “And...you’re looking for it,too?”
“They’re looking for it because they wish to bring someone back from the dead.” His eyes went dark. “I’m searching for it to prevent them from doing it. Because of that, they want me out of thepicture.”
