"Not so afraid, now," she said with a thoughtful, private smile. "At least, not entirely of you." With that, she rose and went back to stand near the fire, needing it to warm places that fiercesome creature had reminded her were chilled within herself.

Unknown to her, he in his turn watched her thoughtfully for some time.

The proceedings being delayed, the guests milled about, seeking other company when talk became desultory for too long a time. At last, someone else intruded upon her thoughts.

"Well, if it isn't Rhia, our guest to the Four Kingdoms."

It was Amrhost of Astargoth, the man whom Lily distrusted. Rhia felt a vague distrust of this man herself, though she could see nothing about him to warrant this perception, save a surly cynicism that baffled her. At the moment, however, if anything he appeared merely at loose ends, a stiff, lean, upright whipcord of a man with a stiff, short black beard that gave him an arrogantly insouciant air. "You're the man Lily says takes advantage of people," she said without thinking,

and without quite knowing what she meant.

Amrhost had a reply ready on his lips, but stopped himself when he saw that the girl was too young and naive to know what she was saying. He noticed, too, the elven harwynglaive Julina watching him out of the corner of her eye. With a wry twist to his lips, he said, "You have nothing to fear from myself or my people. You have only to fear our past as we do, though I don't suppose you know what that means."




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