Page 58 of Queen of the Hollow Hills

“Well, my queen certainly shouldn’t trustthatman,” Fabius said, lifting one of the small crowns and setting it on his head.

“Why do you say that?” I asked, plucking the crown from his head.

“Aww, I felt pretty,” Fabius complained.

I rolled my eyes at him, then gestured for him to answer.

Fabius sighed, then said, “Because he and that king you were speaking of are friends.”

“How do you know?”

“He only referred to the man by his first name. He didn’t even realize it, which means it’s a manner of habit.”

I frowned.

Conall looked at the crown in my hand. “It is a rich gift.”

“Yes. Given by a friend, or given by a friend under the influence of a bad man?”

“It would not be the first time Lady Ystradwel chose her friends poorly, I am sorry to say.”

I sighed heavily. “I wish Corva were here.”

“Do I get no credit for my astute observation?” Fabius asked.

“You see very well, for a Roman,” Conall told him.

Fabius smirked. “Actually, I am Caprese, not really Roman at all.”

Conall shook his head and then turned to me. “We will get more eyes in Bell’s Harbor.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Conall.”

He inclined his head to me. “I’ll make the arrangements now,” he said, then turned and departed.

After Conall had gone, I lifted the pair of diadems once more. Something was not right with Ystradwel. Were these others seeking to take her power from her? Or had they done so already? Of course, the story Lord Gregor delivered was easy to believe, yet something was not right.

I sighed heavily.

“Remember,” Fabius told me. “Be gentle on your friends but dangerous to your enemies.”

“And when you can’t tell the difference?”

“Then be a danger to them all.”

CHAPTER 16

That night, I prepared to feast with Cormag, Eddin, Lord Gregor, and their men in the great dining hall. As Hilda helped me make ready, Greer put the girls to sleep. Greer’s daughter, a smiling, blonde-haired lass, played with blocks on the floor of my bedchamber while Greer worked.

“She is the pleasantest baby I have ever seen,” Hilda told Greer as Hilda helped me redress in a red gown.

“More pleasant that I was?” I teased.

“You gave us no rest. Poor Morfudd was always beside herself.”

“I’m sure she was,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Hilda merely harrumphed.

---