by L. H. Nicole
Flora gulped down the scratchy lump in her throat. The brave knight’s words were so heavy and tortured. How was he still able to think straight when he was clearly suffering so much?
“Then, when I saw Arthur kissing her, what little restraint I had left shattered to pieces.”
“What?” Flora gasped. So that’s what happened, why the two brother knights had fought.
“She foolishly got between us, stopping me when I couldn’t stop myself, again. She grabbed on to me and I think that’s when she realized what was wrong with me. I heard her in my head as she rebuilt my shields.” Galahad’s stormy blue eyes finally focused on the Pixie. “She was surprised that the magic Mordrid almost killed me with had damaged the protection she had created.”
Flora remembered when they had returned from the Isle of the Blessed weeks ago and Galahad had thrown himself in front of a magic attack meant for Aliana. Aliana had nearly killed herself saving his life.
“I kissed her and then she pulled away screaming in pain. Everything happened so quickly after that, and before either Arthur or I could help her she just vanished.”
Flora remembered Merlin mentioning that Aliana had managed to tap into shifting magic, something only extremely powerful magical beings could use. Even knowing what they did of Aliana’s magic, the Druid had never suspected she had that kind of ability on her own.
“We will find her. I can feel it.” And she could. Since she had awoken this morning, the Pixie had felt certain that today would be the day things changed.
Galahad took a deep breath, his body rigidly controlled. Since his last outburst, he had exercised an unyielding control over himself. He was even deadlier and more calculated when he sparred with the others, and Flora suspected he would be far more ruthless than any of them had ever seen when they found Mordrid and Morgana.
Galahad took a step closer to her. “We need to get to the house.” He vanished in a blur and Flora shot off after him. Galahad had been trapped for centuries in a magic prison the Sidhe had used to confine him and that magic had enhanced the natural abilities the white knight had always possessed. He was faster and stronger than any normal human, and even most magical beings.
They made it to the house in seconds and saw Lacy Edrick and Dawn Anson, best friends and all but blood sisters of Aliana’s, sitting huddled together at the island in their friends’ kitchen. Dawn’s voice filled the room:
“Before the darkest hour strikes, the Destined One shall come forth.
Avalon’s lost daughter must thrice and alone prove her worth.
Then can she fully possess the power to awaken the king.
It shall become her destiny to reunite the Round Table.
Unearth and reclaim their lost relics.
Become the key to undoing the evil Mordrid has wrought.
Only with her can the Once and Future King prevail!”
Lacy groaned and dropped her head on her folded arms on the counter top.
Dawn sighed, just as exhausted and frustrated as her friend. “We have to figure out if there’s anything in this prophecy that might help us find out where the heck Aliana is.”
Lacy growled. “We’ve been over this stupid prophecy twenty-three times! Just like that stupid Fae queen, Titania, it’s vague and of no real help to us finding Lia!”
“Stop this!” Flora yelled, her usually spunky bell-like voice taking on a more commanding tone. “Aliana wouldn’t want you two fighting like gremlins over a leftover bone.”
King Arthur entered the kitchen on the heels of the girl’s statement. “Flora’s right. We can’t keep going for each other’s throats at the slightest frustration.”
Lacy scoffed. “Like you’re one to talk, kingie. You and Galahad can’t even be in the same room for longer than ten minutes without having a go at each other.”
Flora knew it wasn’t that Lacy disliked the legendary king, but Lacy firmly believed that Galahad and Aliana were meant to be together. The feelings that had grown between their missing sister and the golden king had only messed up the good relationship between Aliana and her white knight.
Arthur’s golden brown eyes held hers for a second before flicking to his brother in arms, the man who had been Arthur’s best friend since they were children. The others came into the kitchen. “You’re right, Lacy. But that’s going to change. We’ve had no luck trying to find Aliana with the means at our disposal. It’s time we tried another approach.”
“What do you mean?” Dawn asked, sitting up straighter. Unlike Lacy, the brunette firmly believed that Arthur was a better match for their friend. He was calm, rational, clearly devoted to Aliana, and unlike Galahad, not bogged down with an overprotective complex that had desolated their absentee friend’s fragile heart.
Merlin Wylit took a seat at the kitchen table, the Druid spreading out several maps he had brought with him. Lancelot D’Arn helped his friend, adding several scrolls and papers of his own to the mix. One by one everyone took a seat around the kitchen table. The girls sat next to each other, Wade took the open seat next to Dawn, who’d given him the cold shoulder since the Aliana was taken. The dark-haired, lively knight had only managed to start thawing her frosty mood a few days ago.
Percy took the open seat on Lacy’s other side. Unlike Aliana and Dawn, the blond girl had not shut out her gentle giant. She had been angry and hurt, sure, but she knew he had only wanted to protect her and their friend. He had sworn to her that he would never do such a foolish thing again.
Flora studied the immortal Druid and the cursed knight for another moment. Both men had been profoundly changed after breaking their vow to Queen Titania and leaving Avalon. Lancelot was tormented with the haunting memories of his Guinevere. Merlin’s punishment had been strange, though. His banishment from Avalon, cutting off his link to his greatest source of magic, was bad, but Flora sometimes suspected there was more to it.
Arthur and Galahad took their seats, an open space between them where Aliana would’ve sat. Both men looked at the empty space, then each other. Their eyes clashed and held for what felt like an eternity, their bodies stiff and on guard. Then something palpable passed between the pair and they started to relax, finally turning their attention back to the others.
“I owe each of you an apology,” Arthur said as two of the other Pixies, Sabine and Stella, joined Flora in the kitchen. “I have not been the leader you needed these last weeks, but that is going to change now. Aliana needs all of us.”
“But we have no idea where she is!” Wade spoke up.
“Then we have to find out,” Galahad said, his voice deep and rumbling.
Merlin agreed with his brother knight. “There are two possible sources that may help us find her location.”
Lacy pulled out of Percy’s embrace. “What’s your brilliant plan this time?”
Dawn voiced her support. “The last plan you had involved shipping my mother and Lacy and Wade’s parents on a two month cruise and banishing Joe to the west coast for a ‘guest lecture sabbatical.’” Dawn made air quotes with her finders. “You still have no proof that he was betraying us to Mordrid and Morgana! You just wanted him out of the way.”
“Enough,” Arthur ordered, his I’m-the-king voice echoing around the kitchen. “You both know those decisions were for their safety more than anything else.” He looked to Merlin, dismissing the girls. “Continue with what you were saying.”
“We cannot dismiss the possibility that Queen Titania is somehow involved in her disappearance.”
Everyone bristled at the mention of the devious Fae queen.
Merlin brought their attention back. “The other option is to find the Well of Realms. If we can locate it, we will have a way to find her, no matter where Aliana is in the seven realms.”
“How? What is this Well, exactly?” Lacy asked, leaning back against her giant cowboy knight, Percy.
Arthur leaned forward, resting his elbows on the kitchen table. “I remember my mother telling me of the Well before, t
hough I admit I don’t recall all she told me of it.”
“Because the Well is rooted in all the seven realms, it has a unique power to find anything.” Merlin pushed up the sleeve on his right arm, revealing the barely visible tracking marks that circled his wrist. Every member of the new Round Table had an identical mark on their right wrist. “I used the same principle when I branded all of us with these marks. With their aid, locating Aliana through the Well’s waters will be easier.”
Arthur nodded. “We will split up. Myself, Lacy, Percy and Leo will go to the Isle and seek answers from Queen Titania.” He turned to his friend. “Galahad, you, Dawn, Owen and Wade will go to Avalon and try to find this Well. You have the contacts in that realm, and Dawn—” his eyes went to the short girl “—you are a wood Nymph, and they live in Avalon. You will have another unique connection to the realm, and people that may help us find it.”
Dawn gulped nervously, but bobbed her head up and down.
“What about Merlin and Lancelot?” Leo asked, his Scottish brogue rolling off his tongue.
“We are still banished from both realms,” Lancelot murmured. “We will redouble our efforts to try to locate the Grail of Power.” The knight’s green eyes fell to Excalibur, hung over the back of Arthur’s chair. “Now that we have Excalibur, the Grail is the last item we need before we can stop Morgana and Mordrid.”
“Lancelot and I will go to Mt. Olympus. Rothik sent me a message that he may have a lead on the Atlantian who came to Olympus after fleeing his tribe in Atlantis.” Merlin had introduced them to Rothik only a day before everything went to hell in a ripped-apart magical hand basket. The Chimera called Olympus home and helped teach the many who came to the famous realm to learn how to use and control their magic.
Lacy crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s great and all, but how are we supposed to get into these realms? Aliana was the one who had the magic to get us in and out of them.” It was impossible to miss the hurt and resentment in her voice. Since learning that Lacy was half Fae and that Dawn was half Wood Nymph, Merlin had been trying to help them both learn how to use their powers. But they hadn’t had nearly the success Lacy had hoped for.
“I’ll arrange for my jet to take Galahad and his team back to London. They can use the cave entrance Aliana first used to enter Avalon.”
Galahad nodded at Merlin. He was prepared to do whatever he had to do to get Aliana back. He would prove to her that he had changed, that he could control himself, and that he trusted her and cared for her enough to let her make her own decisions. She had unimaginable magic and he knew it was wrong of him to think she couldn’t take care of herself. She had proven she could many times.
And once she saw the changes in him, she would love him again, come back to him where she belonged. Assuming he hadn’t damaged their sparking bond beyond repair.
“What about us getting into the Isle?” Lacy asked. “I still can’t open the gate between the realms.” Percy wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled the love of his life tighter against him.
“I will give you a talisman that you can use as a channel to summon the power needed to open the gate,” Merlin said. “But you will need to be sure to push your own magic into the pendant so the Isle doesn’t recognize it as mine. We don’t know what would happen if to you all if it does.”
Arthur stood up from the table. “Then it’s settled. How long will you need to empower this talisman, Merlin?”
“I can have it ready by tomorrow.”
Arthur looked at Galahad. The white knight inclined his head, his face set and eyes filled with life and purpose again. Much like Arthur’s.
“Then we all depart tomorrow. Merlin, can you have your plane ready by then?”
“Yes.”
Arthur straightened. “Good. Then we all need to turn in and get some rest. We are going to have very long and hard journeys ahead of us.”
“If it gets us closer to getting Aliana back and finding the Grail then it’s all worth it,” Owen said, passion infused in his every word. Wade, Leo and Percy voiced their agreement.
Only the girls remained silent. They nodded to each other, a silent understanding between them. The guys, for all their cleverness, had no idea what the girls had secretly been planning to find their lost friend. There were still many mysteries surrounding this whole prophecy that Aliana had told them they needed to figure out. Answers that may hold the key to saving the realms and stopping their enemies. Answers that might give the Knights of the Round Table their lives and their freedom back.
2
I can’t stop thinking back to the beach and all that has happened. That kiss, to finally know how Aliana tasted, how she feels against me like that…but I can’t remember that moment without seeing her throw herself in the line of that attack Morgana intended to kill us with. I trust Merlin and Lancelot to find the Grail. I have to find Queen Titania and get the truth of Aliana’s location, and how to bring her home, one way or another. Even if it means I have to use every ounce of influence or force to do it. It took Aliana’s kidnapping to bring the Dragon side of my heritage to full life again. But now that it is, I must once again be sure I master its power. I have to remain focused, and not only on finding Aliana.
~Arthur
ALIANA TRIED DESPERATELY to wrap her mind around the place—scratch that—the time—she now found herself in. Even the beautiful dress Titania had put her in felt so foreign and out of place, just like her entire world right now.
Merlin’s brows shot up. “And what answer did you expect to receive, my lady?” he asked in response to her shock of learning where she was.
Camelot. In the year five hundred freaking eighty-six!
Aliana opened her mouth then shut it again, not sure what to say. Dagg shifted on her shoulders.
She looked Merlin over again. Physically, he was the same. A few inches taller than her, his light brown hair was curlier than she was used to seeing it, but that’s what happens when you don’t have hair care products. His long silver cuff, branded with the Pendragon crest, a Dragon in flight, glinted in the sunlight. The wrist cuff was a sign that he was a member of the Round Table, and the king’s inner circle of warriors.
He was so different, but still the same. It confused her to no end. His shoulders were more relaxed, even with a large shield strapped across them. He just seemed more open, almost happy, like he didn’t have a care in the world. He even seemed to respect Titania, not hate her like he did in her time.
She really was back in time, back in Camelot, before all the horrible events that plagued her in her time had taken place. “Does Titania want me to change history?” she asked Dagg through their link, dumbfounded by the possibility. She could save all her friends the pain and suffering they had to endure for so long!
“Absolutely not!” Dagg’s voice raged in her head. “We must be very careful not to tamper with the events that are to come. One small deviation could have devastating consequences in our time.”
“I see you were not expecting that answer.” Merlin’s hushed voice drew her from her silent conversation. “You asked when you were. Not where.” She could feel his bright orange magic testing and checking out her own bubble-sparkly pink powers. His eyes widened, his magic clearly telling him something she wasn’t sure she wanted him to know. “Are you truly from the future?”
Aliana’s jaw dropped. “How did you know that?” She gasped, slapping her hands over her mouth to keep any more secrets from falling out unintentionally. Wait a second…So far as I know English wasn’t a thing in the Dark Ages.
“How do you understand me, and I you?” Aliana crossed her arms trying to get a grip on the crazy situation.
Merlin grinned. “I was told to cast a spell that would allow me to communicate with one not speaking my language.”
Aliana’s arms dropped along with her slack jaw.
Merlin laughed with amused disbelief. “Now, why are you here? How did you get here?”
Dagg jum
ped from her shoulders and hovered between the two of them. “The answers you want are complicated and dangerous to know.”
Merlin’s excitement dulled a bit, replaced with a seriousness that reminded her of the first time he’d tried to teach her magic. That memory felt like lifetimes ago.
“I understand, knowing the future is a very dangerous thing.” He looked past Dagg to her. “Do you know what the purpose is to your being here?”
Aliana hesitated. “Kind of. We know of one reason, at least.” The item they needed to find that would lead them to the Grail of Power. “But Titania always has many motives for doing the things she does.” The queen had said that finding this artifact to lead them to the Grail of Power was not their true task here in Camelot, just linked to it. What would be more important than finding a way to locate the Grail, though?
Merlin stroked his chin. It was weird to see him accept her answers so easily, to not have him look at her like he’s questioning her every move and thought, thinking it’s wrong or stupid.
Oh god, if Merlin’s this different, how different will the others be? Her stress level shot back through the roof. She had only just managed to get herself together after escaping Mordrid. Her thoughts shifted to Galahad. How different would he be? Or Arthur? Both guys had told her many stories about their lives in Camelot, though she suspected they might have edited a few details for propriety’s sake. She remembered the last time she was alone with her brave warriors, on the beach by her house, and how disastrously the whole situation had ended. How was she going to be able to focus on anything if she had to worry about the magic bonds that existed between her and Galahad, and her and Arthur?
Dagg’s claw gripped her shoulder, startling her from her panicked thoughts. Her green eyes went to the Druid knight, who seemed to be waiting on an answer from her. “I’m sorry, what was the question?”
“I asked if you know how you were sent here.”
