“This is our Kairos,” Ari said.
Merlin gaped. “Kairos is my favorite word! It’s always been my favorite word.”
“Yes, that was how we thought of it.” Ari wrapped an arm around Gwen’s tired body.
Gwen held on to Ari’s waist. “Kai is our perfect moment.”
“Wrinkly little cutie.” Val peered at the baby with amusement. “Assigned?”
“Male,” Ari said.
“For now,” Gwen countered. “Kai will tell us when they’re ready.”
Lam tried to hand the sleeping bundle to Val, and Val squirmed and held his palms up. “I’m no good with tiny and breakable.”
Several of them laughed, and the circle of their impromptu joy felt as impossibly perfect as Kairos. Until Ari remembered Nin’s taunting.
“We have to go,” she said with certainty. “I have to take Nin’s deal.”
“What deal?” Val, Merlin, and Lam said together.
“A deal to buy us some time.” Ari stared at Gwen. Gwen nodded slowly. “And to get some of us home, until we’re ready to be together again.”
“Some of us,” Val repeated skeptically. “You’re planning to send the baby to Avalon?”
Ari and Gwen exchanged looks. “Trust us,” Ari said. “They have to be protected.”
“In this, we are agreed.” Morgause stepped into their circle with sudden authority. “The enchantresses of Avalon will keep the children safe.”
“Oh, where in the F did you come from?” Val yelled, grabbing his chest.
Morgause flicked a hand back toward a small boat docked on the shore. Her gaze swept them until she found Lamarack, giving them a heated smile. Lamarack leaned forward and grabbed her arm, stealing a stunningly potent open-mouthed kiss.
“Did she say ‘children’?” Val asked, eyes darting toward Merlin.
Ari cleared her throat. “The enchantresses are taking Kai… and Merlin. Until we’ve finished with Mercer.”
“But how will we get them back?” Val’s voice edged with anger, and when Merlin reached a small hand toward him, Val took it firmly, protectively.
“I don’t know yet,” Ari said, “but it’s safest if they’re together. Nin can’t see into Avalon, and Mercer can’t reach it. It’s the only place.” She expected more resistance—instead she found Merlin staring up at her with those big brown eyes. “You can help the baby, and if anyone can figure out your backward aging, it’s the enchantresses. Or who knows? Maybe Kai will finally be the one to do it, with whatever magic they’ve got.”
At least, she hoped so.
A hunting horn sounded through the dark woods behind them. Everyone jumped, and Kai began to cry.
“The king is coming,” Lam said. “He still believes Gwen has been kidnapped. No doubt they’re following our trail with the hounds.”
“Arthur!” Old Merlin yelled from where he turned circles by the shore. “Arthur! I’m here, my boy!”
“The baby has to be gone before he gets here,” Gwen whispered sharply. “I don’t want Kai to be part of the Arthurian cycle.”
“Will you do this for us, Merlin?” Ari asked in a rush. Merlin nodded, and Ari turned to Gwen, holding Kai against her chest as if she knew how much this was going to hurt. Ari felt bright stings in her eyes, and all she could think was to move faster. Do it before they both lost their nerve. “Close your eyes, baby girl.”
“I’m not baby girl. You are,” Gwen said, eyes already closed. Ari kissed Gwen’s cheek and then placed another kiss on Kai’s small face. She lifted the baby and handed them to Merlin without letting herself pull their little body to her chest. Tears only broke free when the baby was safely in Merlin’s arms.
“Don’t let Kai out of your sight. Make sure they know we love them.” Only Gwen would be able to say those words without breaking. She was turning fiercer, steady even though it had been a hundred-year-long night.
“Come back to us when you’re both ready,” Ari said.
“Promise,” Merlin said, big brown eyes taking in Val, Ari, Lam, and finally Gwen.
The hounds bayed close by, and Merlin crossed toward the boat and stepped into it. Morgause launched them off the shore with a push, and they were gone. A heartbeat later, Arthur’s fleet of hunting dogs shot out of the edge of the woods and surrounded the company with great growling barks.
“Oh, shut up and sit!” Gwen snapped and the hounds sat obediently.
Arthur’s knights poured out of the woods on horseback. Arthur was off his stallion in a rush, clambering toward the spot where Old Merlin was shouting his name incoherently. Arthur pressed the magician into the waiting arms of Gawain and Galahad before turning to Gwen and Ari. His steps slowed as he took in how they stood together, as one. He swallowed, winced. Arthur motioned to the burn across Ari’s cheek. “What happened?”
“A run-in with your mighty mage. He, ugh, landed a spell wrong, I’m afraid.”
Arthur nodded and turned tragic eyes on Gwen. “You’re safe, my queen. I imagined the worst. The chalice gave me no memory of you beyond this night.”
Gwen took Arthur’s hand and kissed his knuckles. “That’s because we’re going home.”
Arthur nodded and turned away. He walked back to his horse and pulled out the magical wooden box from his saddlebag. Ari’s breath lodged in her throat. This was what she’d seen all those weeks ago: Arthur handing over the chalice. “To be honest, I’m glad you’ll have this. It is too much power for my time.”
Gwen embraced Arthur. “I’m sorry we had to trick you. We didn’t have a choice.”
“We had a few choices,” Ari griped.
“We had no promising choice.”
“There’s my politician.”
Gwen’s glare turned to a blush. “Ari—”
“Please,” Arthur said. Ari couldn’t believe how much older Arthur appeared, weathered and yet ready. “My future is before me, but it’s a map torn with failure. If the chalice is right, I will let you go, and then, perhaps, however you see fit to use it will set me free in this future of yours.”
“The chalice didn’t tell you the end, did it?” Ari asked, imagining the deal she’d soon be making for Arthur’s soul.
“I saw no end but the hope for an end. What is it they will say in your time? Rise up with hope.” Arthur smiled sadly. “I’m only angered in that this was probably your plan all along. Work your way into my favor and then take the chalice.”
Ari opened her mouth to admit as much, but Gwen threw a sharp elbow.
Arthur opened the box and plucked the chalice out. He held it toward Ari and then pulled it back. And handed it to Gwen. Gwen took it, sharpish, holding it to her chest. “What will you use it for?” Arthur asked.
“Oh, save the universe,” Ari said. “That sort of thing.”
Arthur smiled as if maybe he could understand. “And how will a little cup do that?”
“Good fucking question.” Ari stared at it. “One chalice defeating a monstrous corporation and saving the universe sounds about as solid of a plan as strange women lying in ponds, distributing swords.”
“No quoting Merlin!” Gwen said, choking up suddenly. Ari wrapped an arm around her and felt the aching spot in her chest that longed for their kids.
“You two really are married, aren’t you?” Arthur asked.
“Going on two years,” Ari said, swiftly kissing Gwen’s hand. “No regrets.”
“A few regrets,” Gwen corrected.
Ari winked and turned back to the legendary king, wringing his gloves in his hands, still so unsure. “Arthur, we’re…” What could she say? Sorry they were abandoning him in this medieval hellhole? Leaving him to his cursed fate and the echoes he’d face across time and space?
“I’ll meet you again,” Arthur said with finality. “You know when.”
Ari stared in his blue eyes. The day you save my life.
Arthur nodded in a crestfallen way as if reliving his own future. Ari put a hand on his shoulder, remembering that n
o matter how small and insignificant the chalice might appear, its wisdom had changed this boy king into a legendary hero.
“You won’t be alone, Arthur,” Lamarack said.
Ari started, looking at them sharply. “Hell, no.”
Lam held up the rolled paperback of Jordan’s MercersNotes. “I’m staying here. To make sure that the legend is complete, so you can go home safely. Please do me the courtesy of not acting surprised.”
Val hiccupped a small groan. Gwen went to Val’s side. Ari shook her head. “It’s a good idea, but no.” She stepped close and held up the chalice. “You have to help us get back to the future and… figure out what to do with it!”
Lam didn’t budge. “Someone needs to stay with Arthur. And be close in case Morgause needs any help with Merlin or Kai.”
Ari didn’t have a response ready for that one.
“Bye, kid.” They leaned in and kissed her. It was a longer kiss than she was prepared for, and Ari opened one eye at a time in the aftermath. Lamarack crossed the shore to kiss Gwen good-bye next. When Gwen swayed a little bit afterward, Ari mouthed, “Right?”
They hugged their brother tightly next, while Val tried to ignore the hug and shake his head as if this weren’t happening. “Ari, stop them.”
“I know this trick. You’re trying to disarm us with your charm,” Ari managed.
Lam smiled. They held their hand out for the chalice. “What if we ask the future?” Ari gave it to them begrudgingly. They looked into it and whispered, “Am I doing the right thing?” The question made water from Nin’s lake rise to the surface, but then, instead of drinking it, they just looked at it. “I don’t have the same love for the future you all do. You know that. I’ve never found my home, my place, my reason. These people—”
“Don’t understand you,” Val chirped.
“But they’re starting to…”
Val kept right on talking, in true sibling fashion. “And even if they did, so much of who you are will get erased by the stories later.”
“That doesn’t mean that what happens here doesn’t matter.” Lam stared at Ari, and she realized that this was the first time Lamarack had ever asked her for anything.
And they were asking to be let go.
Ari grabbed the full chalice back, unable to watch Lam’s doubts take hold just because everyone else wanted them to change their mind. “You don’t need magic to weigh in on your life.” Lam smiled and Ari added, “I love you, and I hate that you’re staying here.”
But she did understand why.
Ari felt this night’s many good-byes turn into one lump in her chest. She found Gwen’s hand, and then Val’s. Best to move fast, through the torturous pain of yet another parting, toward a future that needed them as much as they all needed it.
Ari, Val, and Gwen stepped into the lake, leaving Lamarack and Arthur behind. The unfriendly portal dumped them onto the cold, hard ground.
“It’s official. I loathe caves,” Val said, wiping off his pants and tugging his corset back into place. He reached desperately for a joke. “When we get back to the future, someone is eventually going to say, ‘Come see these amazing cave formations!’ And I’m going to be like, ‘Leave. We’re not friends anymore.’”
Ari helped Gwen up, and they stood, looking around at a lonely, dark tunnel that smelled of old air and damp creatures. A light came from far away, highlighting a passageway.
“No wonder she’s miserable and hates people,” Gwen said. “This place sucks.”
“And she’s listening,” Val said, his sarcastic voice shaking a little. Ari and Gwen placed him between them. He grasped the chalice to his chest as if it were a lifeline, and maybe it was, the literal embodiment of their hope. The tunnel grew larger as they walked, the ceiling doming. Ari blinked, and suddenly she was looking at dozens of water screens. Each one projected a different story. A different century. Covering every inch of the rock.
“Are those all—”
“Great. We’re in the hall of Arthurs. She’s just showing off now,” Val said.
One of the screens filled with Merlin’s face, except he wasn’t young or senile. Somewhere around forty and kissing what had to be a thirty-something reincarnation of Arthur.
Val put his hand over the screen. “Merlin wouldn’t want you to watch that.” Then he moved his hand and couldn’t look away. “Gods, he’s even hot middle-aged. I miss him so much,” he whispered. “Does it make me stupid to still love him? He’s never coming back.”
Ari took his shoulder. “The enchantresses are going to help Kai and Merlin.”
“Sure, Ari.” Val shook his head before calling out. “Nin! Come out, you omnipresent Peeping Tom!”
All the screens went off at once. A sound rushed through the caves like so much water, and Ari’s heart thundered at the threat of the entire place flooding. She grabbed Gwen’s hand, and they ran until they came to a spot that opened up with a great vaulted ceiling.
And in the center, on a raised platform, was dead King Arthur.
Ari rushed toward him while Val held Gwen back. “Is that…?” Gwen asked.
“Yes,” Val said.
“He’s so much older,” Gwen murmured.
“This is his body, stolen from the battlefield after his death.” Ari looked from his soiled armor to the open wound that must have come from Mordred’s hateful sword. “I saw him like this in Merlin’s worst memory.”
Nin had stolen Old Merlin out of that last, terrible battle. She’d offered the suffering magician some mild magical foresight, and he’d taken it—only to have his first vision be the aftermath of Arthur and Mordred’s fatal showdown. The loss of the one person he loved. And then Nin had stolen King Arthur, and his soul had taken flight. From cis boy to cis boy, until he found Ari.
Nin appeared beside Val, resting her head on his shoulder, looking as polished and potent as ever in her perfect velvet suit. “You’ve come back.”
“No touching,” Val yelled, jumping away.
Nin took notice of Gwen next, and Gwen blushed and turned toward Ari’s ear. “Is she always naked?”
“Naked?” Ari sputtered.
“I look the way you’d like me to look.” Nin smiled at Val. “A powerful drag queen for some.” She looked at Ari. “A drag king for others. A soft, perfect mother for merlin.” She grinned at Gwen last. “And unglamoured for a unique set.”
Ari closed her eyes, trying not to envision all those things at once. “You offered a deal, and we’re here to take it.”
Nin turned to Ari with a needling gaze. The Lady of the Lake was a woman, and she was not. She was a person, and she was not. “Hello again, forty-second King Arthur.”
“I prefer Ari.”
Nin waved her hand dismissively. “Tell me, Ari, have you let your friends know that you’ve decided to give yourself to me? I hope not. I’d like a front row seat to their shock and dismay.”
Val looked at Ari with sincere annoyance, but Gwen nodded.
Ari had to do this. It was the only way to spark new hope. “I trade myself for Arthur at the moment of my death. But only if you rejoin his spirit with his body and let him rest. Forever.”
“You realize you offer me new entertainment.” Nin’s entire façade rippled like a disturbed body of dark water. “I’ve been through this particular cycle so many times. The repetition of humanity’s poor choices is growing stale.” The Lady of the Lake was truly terrifying if for no other reason than she reminded Ari of the blankness of deep space. Unmoved by pain or love or hope or goodness. “New crises. Won’t that be fun.”
“Ari,” Gwen tried, but Ari cast a pleading look.
“Oh, by all means, tell her how you must do this and that it is the only way to save the old, completely overrated king of Camelot whom everyone loves so dearly. The conflicted bits are my favorite.” Nin perched on the edge of the platform holding King Arthur’s frozen body. She propped her chin on her knuckles.
“Gwen knows why I have to do this. We all love
Arthur.” Well, love wasn’t the right word. It was more like Ari needed Arthur, but love was a kind of need, wasn’t it? “We all want him to be set free. We promised Morgana.”
Gwen nodded, so minutely that Ari almost missed it. Val didn’t seem to know what to think, his lips forming the words, The fuck? He looked at Gwen and when she didn’t seem upset, he rolled with it. Ari turned to Nin. “You have your deal. Send us back to our time.”
“More than half a year has elapsed, as you know. Where you come from, much is changed,” Nin said with a sickening smile.
“Do it!” Ari shouted. “Stop playing with us.”
The Lady of the Lake slid down from the platform, ice eyes sealed on Ari as she snapped her fingers. A portal opened beside Val and Gwen, tugging them in as they cried out—before Ari had a moment to reach for them. To make sure they all stayed together.
In the aftermath, no sound remained in the cave except Ari’s panicked breath.
“Now, let’s pull Arthur’s spirit free, shall we? I have always wanted to try this.” Nin dug her nails into the air in front of Ari.
She gasped. It felt like Nin was trying to wring the water out of her body, molecule by molecule. Ari’s mouth opened in a scream that turned into a misty cloud above her head. With another flick of Nin’s hand, King Arthur’s soul rained onto his body, soaking into his ancient tarnished armor.
Ari struggled to her feet, emptied and scraped inside. The Lady of the Lake waved a hand behind her, and King Arthur transformed from a time-frozen dead body into a ragged corpse, and then a collapsed pile of bones. Even the bones grated to dust, and finally, all that was left was a pile of gray sand. Ari watched as the outline of a new body appeared in King Arthur’s stead, faint as mist and yet just as potent.
It was Ari.
Only, she wasn’t much older, like King Arthur had been at the time of his death. She looked… the same age she was now. Ari found that she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.
The burn on her cheek hadn’t even turned to a scar.
Sword in the Stars Page 20
