With My Last Breath

by Courtney Cole

  He grinned broadly and leaned over to engulf me in a tight bear hug. I could scarcely breathe, my face smashed against his broad chest. He finally released me and I took a big breath, filling my lungs with much needed oxygen. He laughed and I had to smile in reaction. The king looked better already.

  I wish I could say the same for myself. My birthmark, which had been bewitched to ache whenever I did something that the Fates did not approve of, was throbbing mercilessly. I tried to ignore it, gripping it tightly with my other hand.

  ‚I’m glad to be of help,' I murmured meekly.

  ‚Of help?' King Arthur asked with raised eyebrows. ‚You’ve saved me. Make no mistake about that. You have saved me, Heleyne, and I am indebted to you.'

  ‚No,' I shook my head. ‚You are not.'

  ‚We’ll agree to disagree then,' he nodded, ‚Although… I’m the king so I am always right.' He threw his head back and laughed, the carefree sound ringing through the chapel. ‚I owe you and if you should ever need me, I will assist you. I always repay my debts.'

  I was just murmuring a thank you when Merlin strolled in.

  His black eyes cut me like a knife and I flinched. I could see in them that he knew what I had just done, how I had just agreed to interfere on the king’s behalf. To interfere in this now was to interfere with Fate, something I had never purposely done. His face was stark and severe as he entered the chapel.

  ‚Your highness?' Merlin called down the aisle. ‚Your attention is required in the Knight’s Hall. Could you accompany me?'

  Although he spoke to Arthur, his gaze was pinned on me, holding me tightly to the wooden pew. The king didn’t notice. Arthur couldn’t see the way my shoulders were restrained against my will. I felt my backbone grind into the hard seat and I gritted my teeth. Merlin was punishing me for my interference and I was sure that he would have more to say on the matter later.

  ‚Of course, Merlin,' Arthur answered, rising from the pew. ‚I’d be happy to. What is the issue?' Turning to me, he lifted my hand and kissed it with royal lips.

  ‚Lady Heleyne, I thank you for your ear and for your kind words and assistance. I look forward to your company at dinner.'

  With that, he strode down the aisle to join Merlin and they discussed Merlin’s issue as they disappeared down the hall.

  Courtney Cole 42

  With My Last Breath, Book Three

  I will speak to you later.

  Merlin’s voice appeared in my mind just as clearly as if he was standing next to me and he released his hold on me. I stretched my shoulders as I shook my head, willing myself not to answer him in kind. As a mortal, I had never been able to return his silent messages to me. I couldn’t do it now as much as I might want to offer a sharp retort.

  Instead, I gathered my heavy skirts and retreated from the chapel to find my mother.

  She wasn’t going to be happy when she discovered that I had interfered. She didn’t want to see Arthur suffer either, but as she had already pointed out, interfering would cause changes and we had no idea what the consequences of that might be. I sighed.

  I descended the stairs and walked quietly past the Hall of Knights. As I passed the cavernous room, I glanced inside. Merlin had his back to me as he stared out an open window. The cool breeze blew through and pushed my hair off of my forehead.

  The knights were seated around the large roundtable. All of them leaned on the famed table wearing serious expressions.

  ‚The Saxons have dispatched mercenaries?' Arthur demanded incredulously.

  ‚How do we know that it wasn’t the Romans?'

  ‚We do not,' Merlin admitted from the window. ‚It could be either.'

  ‚What is important, your highness, is that we are being invaded by pervasive tactics. We have not faced this before,' Lucan spoke from across the table. ‚These intruders are acting as marauders from our own country, seeking to instigate riots among our own by pillaging and murdering to undermine the king’s competence in protecting the people. It must stop.'

  There were murmurings of agreement and I watched Lucan for a moment from the doorway. He was intense and focused as he assessed the threat to his country. His sense of honor was outweighed by nothing else. He was created to be a warrior.

  He glanced up and saw me watching and dipped his head in acknowledgement before he returned his attention to his peers. The simple act of his gaze meeting mine caused my heart to thrill. And with that, I remembered my purpose here, my sole purpose in life. I had to save him.

  Walking on, my thoughts were consumed with Lucan as I made my way to Guinevere’s quarters. I was determined to save him and I lived for seeing him.

  Whatever it took, I would find the sword. But first, I had to speak to Guinevere about Arthur.

  Opening her door quietly, I was immediately assailed by the scent of roses.

  Glancing around inside, I had to laugh. There were hundreds of them here. As usual, my mother had gone overboard. I inhaled the thick scent as I made my way to her massive, curtained bed.

  Courtney Cole 43

  With My Last Breath, Book Three

  And I froze in my tracks. Standing next to her bed, clad in a dark gown and veil, was Morgan le Fey . Eris. She was standing motionlessly over my mother, watching her as she slept. My heart practically stopped beating and I gasped.

  At the sound, Morgan’s head snapped around and she all but snarled. Before I could even react, she was gone from the room in a flash, disappearing in a blur of black through the doorway. Like a streak, I followed her, watching the spot of color slip around the corner of the hall. Using goddess speed, I followed her.

  My pursuit landed me at the doorway of a room in the bottom of the castle. At the very dregs, next to the dungeon, the door I was facing was plain and wooden, free of any embellishment whatsoever. Breathing quickly, I pushed the door open.

  Morgan faced me from across the room, standing over a shimmering mirror.

  ‚What are you?' she hissed. ‚You are not human.'

  ‚Why were you in the queen’s rooms?' I answered her question with a question.

  ‚You have no right to be there.'

  ‚I can feel that there is something different about you,' she replied. ‚And something different about her, as well. I will determine what it is.'

  ‚You cannot enter the queen’s chambers for a whim,' I sniffed. ‚That is not your right, even as the king’s sister. And certainly not when he is so disgusted with you.'

  She clenched her jaw and I could tell that I struck a nerve. She had used her position as Arthur’s sister to her advantage on more than one occasion. It annoyed her that it was a perilous position now, even though it was of her own doing.

  ‚And you,' she snarled. ‚You act so pious and wise, yet I have seen that you will be undone by a child. A child! All that you are, everything that you value, will rest in the hands of a child. Yet you speak to me as though I am the fool.'

  My heart slammed in my chest. I would be undone by a child? What the hell was she talking about? I focused on her malicious face, pushing the troubling thoughts away. I could think on them later.

  ‚I did not speak to you as a fool,' I corrected. ‚You are not a fool. You are evil, but not a fool. However, your back is to a wall now. You have boxed yourself in with your brother. What will you do?'

  ‚I do not answer to you,' she hissed and she disappeared, leaving me alone in the damp darkness of the musty room.

  I stood for a moment, gathering my thoughts, before I looked around. Thick books of magic with weathered covers were scattered about, a large mirror was lying in the center of the room surrounded by a circle of ash. Clearly, this was her hideaway where she dabbled in witchcraft. Or, at least, she thought it was witchcraft. What she didn’t know was that any supernatural ability that she had was a direct result of her true identity.

  Courtney Cole 44

  With My Last Breath, Book Three

  As I ruffled through parchments filled with writing, I came across o
ne that stilled the breath on my lips. An entire parchment was full of notes about mythology and Morgan’s theories about Zeus’ sword. Her thoughts about his sword would not have been alarming but for one minor detail. No mortal was aware of its existence.

  Courtney Cole 45

  With My Last Breath, Book Three

  Chapter Eight

  Harmonia, where are you?

  I heard my mother’s question in my head, her voice strangely sharp. Instantly, I imagined myself with her and within a second, I appeared at her side in her bedchambers.

  ‚You shouldn’t do that,' she observed, her long hair pulled over her shoulder.

  ‚What if someone walked in at just the right moment and saw you?'

  ‚I know, I know,' I dismissed the concern, ‚But you sounded upset and we have an issue.'

  ‚Of course we do,' she sighed. ‚We have many issues.'

  ‚This one is pressing,' I replied and I told her of what I had found.

  ‚Now I’m upset,' she responded, rising to stare out her window. She tapped her finger furiously along the bricks of the sill, the rapid cadence a clear indication of her agitation.

  ‚And that’s not all,' I continued.

  ‚Of course not,' she muttered. ‚What else?'

  ‚I… er… interfered.'

  ‚Interfered?' she turned with a raised eyebrow severely. ‚What do you mean, interfered? With what?'

  ‚We should sit,' I suggested and led her to her bed. Sinking into the softness, I shared what had happened with Arthur in the chapel. When I was finished, her face was a rigid mask of frustration.

  ‚Harmonia!' she exclaimed in her best mother’s voice. ‚We’ve talked about this.

  We don’t know what will happen. You cannot interfere.'

  ‚But I already did,' I pointed out. ‚It’s already done.'

  ‚You can just turn right around and go back to him and tell him that you changed your mind. That you do not want to interfere.' My mother’s face was stubborn and set mulishly.

  ‚Tell the king that I’ve changed my mind?' I asked doubtfully. ‚I don’t think that would go over so well. And mother, you should have seen him. I couldn’t bear it. He’s in so much pain. And once I said that I would help, that I would talk to you, he lit up like a light. I can’t crush him. I can’t.'

  Guinevere sighed. ‚You’ve got a soft heart, daughter. I suppose I shall have to do what you cannot.'

  ‚What do you mean?' I asked suspiciously.

  Courtney Cole 46

  With My Last Breath, Book Three

  ‚Well, you told him that you would speak to me. And you have. So now, it’s in my hands, isn’t it? I’ll just have to take a hard line with him. I shall have to not forgive him.'

  I gasped.

  ‚Mother, don’t,' I pleaded. ‚Truly, if you could just see him, you would know why I feel so strongly. He’s a good man and he doesn’t deserve any of this.'

  My mother’s face clouded over and she opened her mouth to speak, but a commotion from outside caught our attention and we hurried to her windows to look.

  The castle’s giant gates were open and two wooden wagons slowly rolled in, pulled by tired mules and surrounded by raggedly dressed pheasants. They were in an uproar and we tried to see what the fuss was about.

  I watched their dirty faces and found them full of emotion…anger, sadness, outrage. Their clothing was in tatters, most of them barefoot, all of them filthy-spattered with mud. I held my breath in trepidation as the wagons drew closer, creaking past the main hall entrance and coming to a slow stop directly beneath Guinevere’s windows.

  Bodies were piled in the wagons. They were bloodied and mutilated, old and young. My eyes were frozen on the body of a child, his tiny arm dangling from the foot of the wagon bed, his small fingers open and blue. I sucked in my breath and my gaze met Guinevere’s.

  ‚Holy Mary…' I trailed off.

  My mother’s face was severe, her mouth pressed into a hard line. ‚They need us,'

  she said simply.

  We hurried from her rooms and rushed to the foyer, where Arthur was just exiting to meet them. We followed closely behind.

  ‚What will you do?' a peasant woman cried, reaching out to touch Arthur’s velvet cloak. ‚How will you protect us now?'

  A thin man to her left met my gaze before he looked to the king. ‚They murder us in our beds, while you dine on fancy meals and dress in fancy clothing. You are no different from your father at all. You only want to seem like it.'

  The man dropped to his knees and cried next to the wagon, reaching out in his grief to grasp the tiny dead boy’s hand. I assumed that he was the boy’s father and I felt a tear drip down my cheek.

  ‚By the gods,' Guinevere breathed softly. ‚This is evil.'

  ‚This is what you don’t wish to change,' I pointed out quietly. ‚The will of the Fates. They do this for their own entertainment.'

  My mother fell silent and I turned to a nearby servant. ‚I need clothing. Gather others and bring us as much clean clothing as you can find. And ready any empty guest room that is available here in the castle.'

  Courtney Cole 47

  With My Last Breath, Book Three

  The servant girl looked to Guinevere, who nodded.

  ‚Do it,' she murmured.

  The girl turned on her heel and ran for the interior of the castle as I turned my attention back to the bedraggled group of strangers. Women were weeping, men were shouting. It was utter chaos.

  Amid the confusion, Arthur stepped on the ledge of the nearby gardens, making him a few heads taller than everyone else.

  ‚Kinsmen,' he shouted. ‚Listen to me!' It took him a few more attempts before the crowd quieted enough to hear him.

  ‚Do you think this will go unpunished?' he called. ‚Do you think that Arthur Pendragon will allow my subjects to be beaten and killed within the very borders of my country? I will not. I vow to you today that by my very own blood, I will protect you.

  My knights will ride to their last breaths to protect you. Camelot will be strong and we will be victorious. We will avenge this!'

  At his last word, the crowd erupted into cheers, so loud that they made my ears ring. Arthur looked fierce and determined as he assessed his people.

  ‚We will protect you,' he added. ‚You have my word.'

  He stepped from the ledge and strode into the castle, motioning his knights to follow. They fell into line and disappeared into the castle with him, Lucan included. I watched their broad shoulders vanish down the hallway before I returned my attention to the peasants in front of me.

  Joining Guinevere, I helped the servants hand out fresh clothing and linens. Seeing a small group of children standing apart from the rest, I switched directions and headed toward them, a stack of clean linen in my arms.

  Kneeling next to them, I asked, ‚Where are your parents? Were they killed?'

  The child in front nodded solemnly, dried tears streaked on her dirty cheeks. Four or five smaller children crowded behind her, each too shy to meet my gaze.

  ‚Come with me, then,' I instructed. ‚Let us clean you up. You will sleep here at the castle for now.'

  I grasped the girl’s hand and ushered the others to a well standing not too far away.

  Drawing up a bucket of water, I dipped a soft linen into it and wiped at the girl’s face.

  ‚Everything will be okay,' I assured her. ‚I know it doesn’t feel like it, but it will.'

  The girl nodded silently and let me attend to her before she stepped to the side and sat down. I motioned for the next child to step forward and when she did, I startled.

  It was Raquel.

  Long blondish hair straggled down her back and bright blue eyes peeked from behind the dirt on her face. She was the young girl who the Fates had brought from Calypso’s island and left on Olympus to instruct us where to meet them. Why was she here now?

  Courtney Cole 48

  With My Last Breath, Book Three

  Ges
turing her forward, I grasped her skinny arm.

  ‚What is your name, child?' I asked casually as I washed her face.

  ‚Gwendolyn,' she whispered. Her pink lips had the same curve to them