His jaw tensed, and he cupped my face. “It’ll be over soon.”
Our chance meeting in the woods was wiped clean.
A handsome man sat before me holding my face. Tears streaked down his face, and I tilted my head. “Why are you crying?”
A gut-wrenching sob roared in his chest as he blinked hard.
Select memories here and there from my childhood were erased. All the way down to a moment in my childhood. The same handsome stranger came into my classroom to talk to me, and then he was just a stranger.
I felt hands release my temples, and I swayed in my chair.
“Alexandria?” The man before me spoke.
I narrowed my eyes. My vision blurred, and it became hard to focus. “Who are you?”
He merely let go of me and backed away.
The man left my vision, and hands were replaced on my head.
A moment later, my fuzzy vision grew darker and darker until a black cloud swallowed me up.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Avalon
“Who are you?”
Her words were like a slap in my face.
A sharp blade to my already bleeding chest.
I watched the light of recognition fade in her brilliant blue eyes the more Merlin erased. The pain from the breaking blood bond was fleeting, and nothing to that loaded question.
Her small body swayed and then her eyes slid shut.
I caught her in my arms and held her close to my chest one final time.
“No matter what happens, I swear to you, we will have our future,” I whispered, kissing her lips.
Lancer knelt in front of me with a slight look of regret in his gaze. “May I?”
I had no choice.
I held her out for Lancer to take, biting back all the rage and pain trying to burst free.
The way he looked at her was wrong.
Lancer held possession and ownership of her now.
Where I held her only in respect and wanting to protect her—to love her.
Mordred came forward, sheathing his dagger. “I hate that this final round didn’t go to you.” His smug smirk made my blood boil. “She will be well looked after.”
“Go fuck yourself,” I snarled.
The beast within was throwing himself against the iron bars I kept him locked behind. I had a good mind to just let him out. To become what everyone said I was—a beast—a dragon.
Mordred chuckled as he and his entourage left the manor house with Alexandria’s sleeping form.
“We will come by tomorrow and collect Alexandria’s things,” Morgan said softly. “Here. I thought you would want these back.” She held out her fist to me.
Holding out my palm, she placed the wedding bands on the silver chain back into my possession.
Every emotion I held behind a façade broke free, and I fell to my knees. I sobbed like a child as I gripped the last connection to Alexandria I had. After tomorrow, she would be erased from my home, and the castle walls would grow colder.
Merlin rested a hand on my back. “Arthur, the soul bond is still in place.”
I sniffed, shaking my head. “She’s gone. I’ve lost her again.” My fists pounded into the marble floor. “I can’t do this anymore.”
“Arthur!” Vivian sunk down and took my hands in hers. “We still have work to do. It isn’t over yet.”
I glowered at every single face that stared back at me in pity. The familiar darkness I shrouded my heart in embraced me like an old friend. Steel poured over my heart in protective bliss.
Let me take over for you.
That voice.
No, I must do this.
You don’t have to. Let me.
For a moment, I panicked. And then I realized with Alexandria gone, nothing was left for this part of me to live for.
Yes … I’m tired. I can’t live without her.
Then let me help you.
The lock on the monster's door broke open, and I faded into his existence.
“No … it isn’t,” I heard myself say, and I stood.
Vivian and Merlin exchanged a glance, worried.
“Please do not be alarmed. Avalon needed some time to recover.” I smirked. “I’ll be here in his stead, and yes, we have a lot of fucking work to do.”
John stepped forward, putting a hand on my chest. “Just remember, Arthur.” His gaze narrowed on mine. “You can’t live in hate forever. It will ruin you.”
I brushed his hand away. “Life has ruined me, Galahad, and I shall accept that no longer.”
Walking out of the room, I felt the stares boring into my back. I ignored them.
It was time to make a difference.
It was time to do something proactive about this bothersome bastard son of mine.
It was time to win this fucking war before I lost Alexandria forever.
I could handle losing her for a few days, weeks, even months.
But forever? I shuddered. I refused to let forever ever be an option.
Alexandria was mine, and she would return to me.
TWENTY-NINE
Alexandria
Somewhere between the present and eternity, I regained my consciousness. Light filtered in through my lashes as they blinked open. The unfamiliar walls of white blinded me, and the smell of antiseptic flooded my nostrils.
I groaned and tried to sit up, but Lancer’s gentle green gaze came into focus. “Hey, easy there, Allie. Go slow.”
Lancer?
What was he doing back?
And why did I feel as though I had slept forever?
A dull ache radiated through my temples, and I reached up to touch my head. “What happened to me?”
“You fell off Blackie in the woods and smacked your head pretty good.” Elaine’s voice floated from the opposite side of me, and she took my hand. “I was so worried about you.”
“Is that where I am?” I glanced around my room again and narrowed my eyes. “In a hospital?”
“Yes, in your own private room.” Elaine gave a wan smile. “I told Sir Thomas Mordred of your accident, and he insisted you borrow his personal physician.”
Lancer caressed my cheek. “I came as soon as Elaine called me to say you had an accident.” His handsome face looked strained as if he’d not been sleeping.
I hadn’t seen him in so long. We said goodbye nearly three years ago now, and here he was sitting next to my bed. I offered him a soft smile and blushed. “I wish I’d had a chance to brush my hair before you got here.”
The three of us chuckled.
Elaine hopped up from her side of the bed and left Lancer and I alone, shutting the door behind her.
My stomach somersaulted as he moved from the chair onto the bed. “You had me so terrified you’d never wake up.”
I studied his strong jawline and intense gaze. He exhaled and brought my hand to his lips. My entire being softened at his tenderness, yet something in the dark corner of my mind recoiled from his touch.
Why?
This is Lancer. I’ve seen him naked. I blushed. It’s not like he’s out to get me.
“Are you okay?” He redirected my eyes to him, searching my face. “You left me there for a moment.”
“Yeah. I mean, yes, I’m fine.” I covered his large hand with my own. “I really appreciate you coming to see me.”
His lips thinned to a taut line. “Actually, being here with you this past week, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”
I followed the conversation until he said ‘week.’ That word gave me whiplash.
“A week?” I sat upright, and the world spun. Lancer gripped my shoulders and helped me to stay upright. Moaning, I held my head gently. “How long have I been out, Lancer?”
Once he made sure I wasn’t going to topple out of my bed, he replied, “A week and two days.”
My mouth fell open, and I gaped at him.
A good minute went by before he candidly hooked his finger under my jaw and shut my mouth. “Careful, Allie.” He chuckled. “
Can’t go getting stuck that way.”
“How the hell was I knocked out for that long?” Immediately, I began scanning my room for any sort of monitoring system to make sure my heart didn’t stop.
A soft knock came from the other side of my bedroom door.
“Come in.” Lancer spoke for me.
Wrinkling my nose at him, he laughed again before turning to stand to greet the blond man next to Elaine. “Allie, this is Dr. Ivan Tristan. He’s been taking care of you each day.”
“Hello, Ms. York.” Dr. Tristan smiled, but it failed to reach his pale blue eyes. “I’m glad to see you are awake and up.”
“Dr. Tristan, thank you for taking care of me.” I held out my hand for him to shake. His hand was large, but unlike Lancer, it was cold and seemed sterile. “But how have I been out cold for over a week?”
“All very legitimate questions that I will be happy to answer.” Dr. Tristan sat on the chair Lancer had vacated. Once he settled, he clasped his hands in his lap and began. “You suffered minor bruising all over your body and a severe concussion.”
“I’ve never fallen off a horse like this before.” I arched a brow. “I was like, critical?”
Dr. Tristan nodded. “Yes, you were. After a few days of being in the hospital, all your vital signs returned to normal.” He pointed his thumb at Elaine. “Your friend here spoke to myself and Sir Thomas about private care, and I believed it would be possible.” The doctor leaned over and checked my wrist for my pulse. “You even woke up a few times complaining of nightmares.”
I swallowed hard. “I woke up? I don’t remember that.”
Dr. Tristan seemed satisfied with my heart rate and took a penlight out of his starched white lab coat. “I’m just going to look into your eyes.” He clicked the light on. “Not remembering moments of lucidity can be very common for someone with a traumatic brain injury. I’m not going to sugarcoat this, Ms. York.” His pale eyes grew sharp. “Your brain scans had cleared you of any remaining physical damage. Why you still stayed asleep baffled me.”
“Oh, my gosh …” I blinked after the light stopped blinding me. “That’s not good.”
“No, but you’ve pulled through.” Dr. Tristan glanced up at Lancer and Elaine. “You have very good friends. Elaine told me about your parents. Lancer also indulged me on your previous relationship.”
My lower lip trembled at the mention of my parents.
Dr. Tristan tilted his head. “I think you need to discuss the loss of your parents with a professional.”
My gaze drifted up to Lancer, who seemed just as affected as me.
I forced a smile. “I’ve never done that before.”
Dr. Tristan offered one of his own. “Yes, and I’m so glad Elaine sent for me because I can help you with this.”
A long-winded sigh escaped my chest, and I nodded. “Okay, if that’s what you prescribe, I’ll do it.” I nodded. “I’ll talk.”
He stood to leave. “Good.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. Tristan.” The word overwhelmed didn’t even scratch the surface when it came to how I felt.
How had I let my emotional state get so off balance?
The doctor left without another word, and Elaine escorted him out.
Lancer sat back down on my bed and shyly peered at me. “I hope you didn’t mind me telling him about us.”
Leaning back against my stack of pillows, I shook my head carefully. “It’s fine, Lancer.” I picked at invisible lint from my blue blanket. “The way we left it did bother me.”
He nodded. “Same. I feel that it could have been dealt with better. Especially on my end.”
Silence enveloped us.
When Lancer finally did speak, I was rocked to my core.
“Allie, I want to stay here in London.” He gripped both of my hands. “I rent a townhome for when I come in for meetings, but I can stay there.”
“Why do you want to stay here, Lancer?” I looked down at our fingers laced together. “Nothing is keeping you.”
“No.” He cupped my face, catching me off guard. “There has always been something here for me.”
Time slowed.
A small sliver screamed something from the back of my mind—a warning.
Gray flashed in my vision only to fade back to the green of Lancer’s eyes.
“Oh?” I tried to come back to the present. “And what is that?”
Lancer licked his lips, and my heart raced. “You, Allie. Always you.”
My cheeks burned, and my body naturally leaned closer. I could feel the body heat radiating from his muscular frame. He screamed everything man. The familiar scent of his sandalwood aftershave drove me crazy with want.
“Why me?” I whispered, our noses brushing together.
His lips grazed over mine briefly before he kissed me sweetly and so sensually I actually moaned. Memories of the two of us were all I could think about. Everything about our past reflected brightly in the foreground.
My arms wrapped around his neck, and I drove my fingers into his brown hair.
“There is no one else for me but you, Alexandria,” Lancer spoke, his voice low and melodic. “I still love you.”
I couldn’t help but tug him back into a kiss.
This was a dream come true.
All I wanted for so long was Lancer. For him to come back to me and see that we belonged together.
Sure, it took me falling off a horse to get him back, but I wasn’t going to question the universe.
Only... a small fragment of my heart cracked at Lancer’s words. The flavor of his kiss wasn’t as sweet as the emotion conveyed behind each one. Another warning bell dinged faintly in the distance.
I ignored it all.
Instead, I got lost in Lancer’s strong arms wrapped around me.
Lost to the feeling of him and me.
Lost in his sweet whispers and shared laughter.
But even through all of that … I felt lost.
I was a puzzle put back together again after a traumatic accident.
Yet I still was missing a piece.
I needed to find that piece.
I wouldn’t be complete until I did.
When I should have been found, I chose to be lost in Lancer.
THIRTY
Avalon
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the high windows built into the vaulted ceiling. I sat in my seat at the Round Table, pondering and plotting about what move to make next. My fingers played over the inscriptions before me on the table.
Three weeks had passed since Alexandria had been taken from me. Three weeks since Morgan came back into my home and took everything she owned back to her apartment. Three weeks since my heart was ripped from my chest.
Footsteps echoed along the stone steps which led from the second level to this semi-secret third. Merlin appeared with John behind him at the entrance. I lifted a hand and motioned both men forward. Brooding wouldn’t help solve anything. We needed plans and results.
“Any news?” I asked.
Merlin pulled out a chair and flopped down. John followed suit and sighed. “Morgan let Vivian know they have released Alexandria from her sleeping state about two weeks ago.” He pursed his lips. “She is awake now under the guise she fell off her horse.”
I snorted. “She’s too good of a rider to fucking fall off.” Instead of hanging on the disturbing news that the woman I loved was now a pawn in a dangerous game, I continued. “Any word on her status with Lancer?”
“He has moved in to his flat in London permanently.” Merlin removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “It seems he is aiding in her recovery, along with her estranged best friend, Elaine.”
I sucked my teeth. “Of course, her life is a virtual lie now and subjected to whatever bloody rhetoric they want to spin.” Carding a hand through my hair, I cleared my throat. “Has Vivian made any progress on the gates and hell bit?”
“We both have, actually.” John sat forward, resting his arms on the ancie
nt table.
My eyes narrowed on the young priest across from me. “Well then, elaborate.”
John cleared his throat. “The diagrams in the research show that the artificial being, what they are calling ‘Ren,’ is essentially a channel to pass through power to Mordred.” He licked his lips. “Basically, whatever contract Mordred has made will be finalized upon Alexandria’s blood opening the gate to hell.”
I tried to follow John’s reasoning. “So you are telling me that Mordred needs Alexandria’s blood to open hell so he can go down, shake hands with Satan, and be granted a bloody present?”
Merlin and John exchanged glances. I didn’t like that.
“How much blood do they need from Alexandria?”
Silence.
I arched a brow. “You don’t know, do you?”
John scrubbed his face and sighed. “No, we don’t know how much blood is needed, or if she has to be …” His reluctance to continue his train of thought did nothing to ease my nerves.
“Sacrificed,” Merlin finished.
I swallowed the bile which crept up my throat. On my watch, Alexandria would not die. That was one thing I wouldn’t move from. She would give blood, do whatever the hell Mordred wanted, but she wasn’t going to die.
“I see …” I leaned back in my chair. “Is there more to this process?”
“Yes.” John pressed his palm against the tabletop. “You are also needed for this—oh, let’s just call it a ritual—to occur.”
I snorted. “And why am I needed?”
John’s face grew serious. “You are the key to heaven.”
Rolling my eyes, I stood. “Mordred has a plan to basically start the end of the world? Using me and Alexandria?” I covered my mouth with my hand, unable to comprehend it all. “Then why make us suffer for so long?”
John grew uncomfortable. “Everything must be perfect for this to happen. Including the vessel which will transfer whatever demonic power Mordred will gain by completing his contract.” His jaw tensed. “And that vessel is Ren.”
Finally, things made sense. “Ren is Diana.”
John nodded, his eyes lowering.
“You are the only person who found the Holy Grail, and therefore, the only one who can dismantle the new one,” Merlin spoke softly as if he and John had been over this time and time before.
Resurrection: A Historical Adventure Romance Novel (Legend Book 3) Page 18
