by L. H. Nicole
“It’s not that,” she assured him. “As great as Camelot is, as wonderful as you and the others are, this just isn’t my home. I miss my family and my friends. And I’m worried about them.” It felt good to say it, to talk to Arthur like she was used to. It helped ease a little of the homesickness. “They’re in just as much danger as I am if I can’t find this map to the Grail.”
Arthur had his king mask on but she saw right through it. He was worried for her. Her heart fluttered but she squashed the feeling before it could sweep through her. Arthur wasn’t concerned for her like that. Despite everything, he had Delphina. His ghost girl. His true love.
The war that had started to rage in Arthur seemed to settle as he nodded once. “We, I, will do everything I can to help you complete your quest. Do not doubt that.”
She did trust Arthur, this version and hers. “I know, and I’m truly grateful.”
“I also know there is more to your story.”
Aliana looked down twisting her fingers together. “I have my reasons for keeping my silence.”
The king took a step closer. “I will learn all your secrets, one day, Aliana.”
“I’m not really that interesting.” She had to find a way to deter him from his inquiries. “I’m sorry I’ve upset you, but I can’t give you the answers you want.”
“We should return.” Arthur took a step back. He offered her his arm. “May I escort you back to the party?”
She looped her arm through his. They walked back through the door, several pairs of eyes moving to them, Galahad’s and Delphina’s among them. The beautiful Fae was standing very close to Galahad before she came over to them.
Aliana hid her flinch remembering again that not only had Delphina been with Arthur, but Galahad too.
The white knight looked like he was going to follow the Fae until another knight, one of the visiting men, distracted him.
“Sire, Aliana,” Delphina greeted them with a curtsy. “Arthur, I was hoping I could speak to you for a moment.”
Arthur seemed reluctant to leave Aliana.
She smiled at him. “Go, I’ll be here.” He deserved to have time with his ghost girl.
He left the hall with Delphina and Aliana distracted herself by looking out at the people still partying. She wasn’t sure if she was hoping to see sign of Puck or Vira or even the dark-haired, violet eyed woman, but she kept scanning the crowd.
“Who are you looking for?” Guin asked, approaching Aliana, Lancelot’s hand tangled with hers. The glow she remembered seeing surround them, when they left to battle the Manticore, pulsed faintly.
“I was looking for Vira, actually. I haven’t gotten to speak with her recently.” It was a pleasant, but painful surprise, realizing how much she like being around the teen that was fated to die.
“She went to her rooms a little while ago,” Lancelot answered.
Gawain and Percival stumbled up to the trio, both men clearly drunk by the faint smell of ale and the way their normally graceful movements were slower and unsteadied.
“Sir Lancelot!” Gawain called loudly, his muscular arm flinging around the shorter knight, causing both men to sway unsteadily. “You’re not leaving the party yet are you? Arthur’s already abandoned us for Delphina’s fine company…”
“And that ponce Merlin spirited Morgana away an hour ago!” Percy drawled, cutting his sloshed friend off. “The night is still young, my friend! It’s our duty—” hiccup “—to see this night through to the dawn!”
The two friends cracked up, the giant Percival nearly falling over. Aliana rushed forward to steady the big knight. His arm curled loosely around her shoulder. Aliana wondered how pissed Lacy would be at her and Percy if she had seen this.
Galahad appeared from nowhere. “I believe the night is over for the two of you.” He lifted Percival’s other arm around his shoulder. “Lancelot, you and Guinevere can see Gawain to bed, yes?”
The souls mates nodded.
“Then Aliana and I will see Percival makes it safely to his.”
The six of them parted company, heading toward opposite doors of the great hall.
“I can support him, Aliana,” Galahad said a moment later, seeing her struggle to keep her own balance with the humming, swaying and heavy knight between them. “You get the doors.”
She sent him a grateful smile and ducked under the leaden arm of their giant friend. Galahad readjusted his brother knight as she opened the door. Aliana trotted alongside them as they made their way through a part of the castle following Galahad’s directions.
Galahad came to a stop in front of an unfamiliar door. “It should be unlocked.”
Aliana squeezed in front of them and pushed opened the door. Galahad maneuvered his friend into the room none too gently, laying his now-snoring friend face down on the large bed. He hefted Percival’s long legs onto the mattress while Aliana grabbed the thick fur blanket form the foot of the bed and covered him with it.
“Is he going to be okay like this?”
Galahad chuckled. “He’s slept off much worse than this before. I’ll see that Merlin gets him a tonic for the morning to help with the headache he’s sure to have.”
Aliana giggled behind her hand. Galahad motioned for them to leave, and she followed him out. They stood outside his door for an awkward second.
“Shall I walk you to your room?” the knight asked. “We are going in the same direction after all.”
With no real excuse to refuse she agreed, the two of them walking silently for a few minutes.
“Um…do you know if Sophvira had plans tomorrow?”
Galahad frowned. “Not that I am aware of, why?”
She shrugged. “I have not spent much time with her. I wanted to be sure she’s okay with everything.” And find out if she did really disappear tonight with Puck!
“I’m sure she’d like that, after we finish the discussion about this quest of yours.”
She looked at the ground as they walked in silence again, thinking over everything that had happened. It still confused her to know that none of the guys remembered her here in Camelot. Now that she was here, would they suddenly remember her being here in Camelot or would they truly forget all about her? A part of her wanted them to remember her. It bruised her ego to think that they would all honestly forget about her. She held back a sigh. Time travel was very, very confusing!
They entered their hall but she didn’t realize it until Galahad stopped her in front of her door. “You seem lost in thought,” he said with a smile in his voice.
She smiled sheepishly. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
His face fell, like he was disappointed she didn’t confide in him. “I will tell Sophvira you want to talk with her, when she wakes in the morning.”
“Thank you.” She turned from him, her hand hesitating on her door as she felt his stare on her back. She looked at him over her shoulder. “Good night.”
He watched her until she shut her door, him on one side and her on the other.
22
I have missed the knights and Arthur, for so long. It is bittersweet to be by his side again. I know it is hard and confusing for him and Leyon and Percival, no, Leo and Percy, to keep having bouts of memories of Aliana in Camelot. My own memories, thankfully, have never faded. I wish I could explain, tell them everything, but I must keep my silence. It hurts my heart more than I can say…but I could not give up my chance to see Arthur again. It should be some time until the queen realizes Freya and I are gone. I must do what I can until then.
~Delphina
ALIANA LOOKED AROUND, confused by the warm air around her and contrasting cold stone at her back. Where am I?
She looked around the tall bookcase that she stood behind, the sound of two female voices drawing her like a fly to a halogen trap.
“Where did you find it?” another female voiced asked. This one was softer.
“It was right where he said it would be,” the first voice said. Aliana peeked around the c
ase as far as she dared. She recognized the pale blond hair and cold hazel eyes of Morgana, but the raven-haired beauty with caramel skin and gray eyes was a stranger to her.
“Let me look at it,” the dark girl commanded. Obediently, Morgana took the box from the table and handed it to the woman, whose lavender-gray eyes roamed over the object. “It’s perfect!”
“I know. He’ll be so pleased. We’re one step closer to finally conquering our enemies.” Morgana laughed.
“Yes, my girl, but we must not make any hasty moves. We should wait awhile before revealing that we have the artifact. One very nice benefit of this box is it’s the perfect vessel for holding things.”
Aliana shot up in bed, the morning sun raining down on her. Her heart galloped, her breath coming in pants as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
“What’s wrong?” Dagg was suddenly alert and on his feet next to her pillow.
“The woman I’ve been seeing around Camelot since the first feast…” Aliana took a second to slow her pounding adrenaline and get a deep breath. “I remember why she was so familiar! I saw her in my dream about Morgana and her bad-magic-room. It’s Viviane!”
Dagg’s expression changed to one of shock and concern. “If she is here in Camelot everyone is in great danger,” he growled. “And Morgana may be close to turning on Arthur and our friends.”
Aliana gulped down bile that threatened to rise. “If she’s here then that has to mean Mordrid is close too.” She shuddered. She had tried to think about the dark wizard as little as possible since arriving here. But the truth was, her brief time as his prisoner was never far from her mind. There would even be times when she could feel his lips on hers again.
“Now we really need to get to the Underworld and find that map and complete Titania’s task to get home.”
The Dragon nodded. “I know we are going to reveal more of who you are and our quest, but I think we must also be careful of what we reveal.”
Aliana tossed the covers aside, her toes digging into the fur rug that was spread under her bed. “Because of her, Viviane?”
He nodded. “I do not know as much about this witch as I would like, but what I do know is that she is devious and stealthy and very, very deadly. We must suspect all that we have said may have reached her through Morgana.”
“Do you think Merlin told her everything?”
Dagg shook his head. “I’m sure he’s said some things, but he said earlier that he was doing this as a favor to the Fae Queen. From all we know of her, I’m sure there was some kind of warning given to him about sharing information. Even with his souls mate.”
Aliana hoped he was right. It certainly fit Titania’s MO.
Shaken by the dread and knowledge of Viviane’s presence, Aliana ducked behind the changing screen, quickly grabbing her purple dress and slipping it on, using her magic to speed up the process.
Running fingers through her long chocolate hair she braided the mass, tying a heavy ribbon at the end to hold it. “We need to find Merlin and tell him we can’t wait to go to the Underworld. We’ll need to leave as soon as we finish last night’s conversation.” She paused, a cold feeling sliding down her spine like sludge.
“What’s wrong?” Dagg asked, attuned to her feelings like he was.
“I don’t know. I need to see Vira.”
Dagg frowned but didn’t question her as she slipped on her boots. He took her place on her wrist when she was ready. Aliana stepped out into the hall, turning toward Vira’s door just meters from hers.
Galahad stepped out of his room as she got to the door. “Good morning.” His voice was a little groggy. “Merlin and Morgana left at dawn this morning, but I made sure Percival had a vial of tonic for his head.” He smiled gleefully.
But Aliana couldn’t feel any humor. “Merlin and Morgana are gone?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound as panicked as she felt. What if Morgana was up to something?
“What is the matter?” Apparently she failed. “Why does their absence worry you? Merlin doesn’t need to be present for the coming conversation, since he already knows so much.”
Aliana forced herself to calm down. She didn’t need to let on to Galahad right now about her suspicions. Not yet. “I was supposed to talk with him before.” She shrugged for his benefit, trying to appear aloof. “I’ll just have to speak to him when they get back.”
The knight nodded, still looking unsure, but he didn’t press her.
“Is Vira up yet?”
He shook his head. “No I have not seen her all morning. It is unusual for her to sleep so late, but last night was a long one.”
Aliana wished she felt as sure of that as he did. The cold sludge had returned to her spine. “I know I said I’d wait to talk to her until after we’ve all talked, but I’d like to talk to Vira now.”
“Galahad?” Arthur’s questioning voice drew their attention. They both turned as Arthur approached them.
The king smiled. “Good morning, Aliana, Galahad.”
“Good morning,” they both said back.
Arthur looked to the slightly taller knight. “Galahad, walk with me. There are a few things we need to discuss.”
A look of understanding passed between them and Aliana could guess what it was about. Her.
Galahad nodded to his king. “I trust you and my sister will join us once you’ve talked.”
Aliana smiled despite herself. “Of course.”
The two men turned and headed down toward Arthur’s rooms. Aliana knocked on Vira’s door. She waited for a second but got no response. She knocked again. Still no response. She tried the door but it was locked. “Something’s not right here, Dagg.”
“I know. I feel it too.”
Aliana used a small amount of her pink magic to unlock the door. The lock drew back and she pushed the door open and entered the room. “Vira? You in here?”
No answer.
She took another step in. The bed was unmade; the fire in the hearth was nothing more than dying kindling. Coldness spread like a frost around the room. A dead kind of coldness.
“Vira?” Aliana called a little louder, heading toward a connecting room that was off to one side. But she didn’t get there.
As she rounded the small table in the center of the room she saw splayed out locks of brown hair stark against the stone floor.
Aliana gasped and knocked over a chair in her rush to get around the table. Her hand slapped over her mouth, her blood rushing to the pit of her stomach in horror.
“Vira!” she screamed, dropping to her knees beside the pale still girl. “Vira!” she screamed louder, cupping the girl’s cold face.
Aliana slid an arm under the teen’s shoulders lifting the girl’s head. “Wake up, wake up!” she hissed, panicked tears building in her eyes. Aliana laid her shaking fingers on Vira’s neck. She held her breath wishing with every ounce of hope in her that she would feel a pulse.
But there was nothing. Aliana ripped away the veil hiding her magic and Dagg leapt from her wrist, his glowing amethyst eyes running over the still body.
“She’s dead,” he growled quietly, anger and pain spilling from him.
“No, she can’t be. Galahad will be devastated!” Aliana grabbed all the magic she could and pushed it into Vira, willing her magic to make her heart beat again, air to fill her lungs, her soul to return to her body.
Nothing happened.
She pushed her senses open further than she ever had, grabbed all the magic of the earth, air, energy and water elements surrounding them. With ruthless control, Aliana filtered it all into her own magic core, adding power from her ruby. Her chest felt like it was going to explode from the clashing magics warring in her muscles down to her marrow. But she ignored it and corralled it all into a single pool and pushed it with all her will into Vira’s empty body.
Dagg wound around Aliana’s shoulders. “Aliana, stop! You’re going to hurt yourself.”
She ignored his order. Yes, she could feel the weakness an
d draining effect of using so much magic. It was so much worse than the effects of waking Arthur, or all the other magic she had ever used. But she didn’t care. Vira’s life was more important.
“Stop right now!” His own amethyst magic ripped through her shields shredding her focus. Aliana’s body jerked and convulsed at the sudden break. “We can’t do anything for her now.”
“No!” she screamed, hysterics starting to take over. “Guards, Galahad, Arthur, somebody help us!”
Before the last word left her mouth Arthur and Galahad came barreling though the door. They stopped dead, looking at Aliana cradling Vira’s dead body in her arms. Lancelot, Guin and Delphina entered on their heels, stopping behind Vira’s ashen-faced brother and the king.
“Sophvira?” Guin squeaked, her hand flying to her mouth as tears exploded.
“No!” Galahad sprang into movement, the shock that held him gone like shattered glass. He fell to his knees, took his sister from Aliana’s grip, trying to shake her awake. “Little sister, wake up.” His voice was hard and commanding, like he would use in a heated battle. “Open your eyes, Sophvira!” he demanded, streaks of despair coloring the words. “Vira, come back to me!”
The gallant knight’s shoulder’s hunched as he hugged his sister’s lifeless body close to his.
The dam of tears Aliana had been holding back broke and she started sobbing. Arthur knelt down next to her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her to his side. His other hand went to Galahad’s shoulder in silent support.
“How could this have happened?” Lancelot whispered, his own horror dulling his normally superior voice.
Aliana looked up to see all the members of the Round Table, except the absent Merlin and Morgana, in the room along with the queen. Everyone looked pained and devastated and frantic.
Igraine came to Galahad’s side, got on her knees and wrapped a motherly arm around his shaking shoulders, kissing his hair lightly. He picked up Vira’s lifeless hand, cupped it to his freshly shaven cheek. Aliana saw the small tear that leaked from his clenched eye.
Aliana was shaking all over, panic and guilt ratcheting higher by the second adding to the vast pain she was already suffering from magic drain. Desperate for answers, she focused again and opened her shields and connected with Dagg.
