9
Merlin
“What was that about?” Lancelot spat.
I sighed. “You couldn’t tell who they were?”
He gulped his ale. “Virans?” His sandy brown hair was unkempt, his pale skin heavy with exhaustion. This quest was wearing him down. His strong jaw clenched as he anticipated my answer.
I ran my finger along the rim of my ale, picturing the face of the stunned prince.“That was Prince Minseo of Vires.”
Lancelot slammed his goblet on the table. “You think he’s after Charlotte?”
My eyes drifted to his near-permanent frown. I pulled a quill and paper from my bag. “Obviously.”
“We should have killed him on the spot! Why did you—” His voice faded away. I reached into my mind’s eye and let a memory that wasn’t mine flow through my body and concentrate on the hand that held my quill. My hand moved, but I could no longer see the paper, the quill, or the tavern, and Lancelot may have been a thousand miles away from how scantily I could feel or hear him.
When my hand once again belonged to me, I blinked the bar back into existence, handing the note to Lancelot.
Dear Charlotte,
I’ve fallen in love with you. You’re the reason I can’t return to Vires.
Love,
Minseo
Lancelot looked up from the note. “Wasn’t she married to the other brother?”
I shook my head. “The point is he loves her. If they’ve arrived here after all these years, they could have information about where to find her.”
Lance nodded. “And we can follow them.”
“Exactly,” I said, brushing my braids over my shoulder.
“So, what was with the tree?”
I smiled, fiddling with my rings. “A message for the King of Vires.”
I put my head down on my arms. That was a big tree. Perhaps I shouldn’t have overdone it and conserved a little more energy. I eyed Lancelot, but he didn’t notice. He drank his ale and chipped mindlessly at the wood on the bar.
He was a powerful swordsman, maybe the most skilled Camelot had to offer, but he paid no mind to battle strategy or planning. Arthur was right to deny him a knighthood. Not to mention his mind was poisoned with love from that snake Gwenevere. I never understood what the big deal about her was anyway. Beautiful? Yes, but empty-headed as a ceramic vase. Above all, I hated the way Lance looked when she didn’t write.
When I first volunteered to accompany Lance on his knighthood quest, Arthur refused to let me go. He needed the world's only battle mage by his side. He considered me his greatest asset, and it was an honor to serve him. But I couldn’t pull my thoughts away from Lance. He wasn’t especially kind to me, just the opposite. He didn’t mind me at all. He gave no special attention or courtesy. He never gawked at my unusual appearance or inquired into the extent of my power. Some might have even considered him unkind, but I loved the way he made me feel ordinary.
Surely, if I traveled with him, he’d see I was more valuable than Gwenevere. I meditated on a solution every spare moment. Out of my desperation to join him, a blurred vision pushed through. A drop of magic in Charlotte’s royal blood. The promise of two battle mages at his side convinced Arthur, and I’d been beside Lance ever since. Even so, Gwenevere still held his heart.
If I captured Charlotte, I’d be the one who helped him reach his dream. When he returned to simple Gwen, he’d see her for what she was, and he would see me as his champion.
I often wondered what it would feel like to be loved that way. The way he loved Gwen. He pined for her, lived his life for her—I think that’s why I’d taken to him. I believed that if he was capable of that kind of love, perhaps one day, if I remained by his side, he’d look at me that way. It was ridiculous, of course, and the more I watched him fawn after Gwen, after all these years, the more my hope waned.
I felt my eyelids get heavy from the ale so I sat up, just in time to see Minseo barge into the tavern with his strong-postured friend and a weasel of a man who held a quill to paper like he needed to document each move the prince made.
I sighed. Of all the taverns, he chose this one. Maybe my vision had more credence than I’d originally given it.
The prince’s gaze brushed over us, and he hesitated to enter, eventually taking a seat near the back of the tavern. Several guards joined him a few minutes later, but since it was only half of them, I assumed they were still clearing away the tree.
It felt unusual not to interact after we'd made such a fuss earlier. As if we were off duty. That was just fine with me; I was too drained to put on another show.
Several hours passed and the tavern filled. Every so often, the prince’s friend would come to the bar and order another round of drinks, using a guard’s help to deliver the sloshing goblets to their table. Despite the fact we’d started drinking earlier, Lance seemed to try to keep pace with the prince, his words starting to slur. His head bobbed as he recounted Gwen’s beauty in an endless droll I tuned out. What a bizarre four years it had been since we’d set out on Lance’s knighthood quest.
One blurred vision started it all—more of an inkling, that the former Queen of Besmium, Charlotte, was still alive and possessed magic blood. But Arthur had taken every vision and request seriously since he saw me cast my first spell. I relished every moment Lance and I spent together, and I had Arthur’s quest to thank for it.
As I watched the foreign prince drink with his comrades, I wondered what it might be like to belong to such a happy grouping. My family had cast me out for the unique abilities Arthur welcomed, and since then, my abilities were the only things people knew about me. Except for Lance. He was the only one I felt knew me beyond just my power. He knew my weakness. He was my weakness. But even he had a way of reminding me how lonely life actually was. I think, of all things, the loneliness was the biggest surprise life had yielded.
“Merlin, was it?” a voice piped from behind me. I turned to see the prince, red-faced and grinning like an idiot. Intriguing. “So, are you a witch or something?” he said, a Viran accent present that wasn’t earlier.
I winced. “I prefer the term mage,” I said, stretching my shoulders back.
“Is your hair really that color or did you do that with magic?”
“That’s a rude question. Are you a stick person or do you detest manual labor and exercise?”
To my surprise, Minseo of Vires threw his head back and laughed. “I’ve been going through something.”
An honest answer. Just when I thought I had him figured out. Delighted, I leaned forward. “So, tell me what you’re really doing in Camelot.”
He took a seat beside me, his confidence much more prince-like than before. He almost looked charming. “What else can you do with your power?” he said, his eyes lingering on my shoulders. He’s unbelievable. I contemplated if I should strike him or allow him to entertain me for a while longer when Lance stepped between us.
“Why don’t you go back over to your table? She’s not interested.”
My heart leapt as Lance puffed up his chest. Was that jealousy? I put my hand on Lance’s shoulder. “That’s okay, Lance. He’s not bothering me,” I lied.
Lance turned to me slowly. A thousand questions reflected in his hazel eyes.
“See?” Minseo said, patting Lance on the opposite shoulder. “We’re fine here.”
Shit. In one fluid act, Lance’s fist connected with Minseo’s, cheek splitting it along his cheekbone. I turned, and the swords of five Viran guards pointed at our throats. I channeled my remaining energy to the bottom of my lungs and pushed the guards across the room with a gust of wind.
I pulled Lance to the door and shoved him out before turning back to the stunned guards. “I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness. My friend has obviously hit his limit. I will take him home immediately.” The wide-eyed prince brought his hand to his bleeding cheek.
“That wind thing was impressive. Are you coming back after?” he asked.
Unbelievab
le. I left the tavern, pulling Lance along with me. At least I didn’t have to worry about retaliation. In fact, it seemed Prince Minseo of Vires could be the key to getting everything I’ve ever wanted—both Charlotte and Lance.
10
Minseo
We stayed at the tavern until the tree was cleared, the room whirring with the excitement of witnessing Merlin's power firsthand, Junho, Hanbit, and Jay Hyun acting out the scene and arguing over its details. It was a sealed room and she'd conjured a wind powerful enough to push most of the ale off the tables, even in the back of the tavern.
Instead of being angry about their spilled drinks, the guests gushed about their experience. Even strangers outside of our company joined us to swap stories about the king's favorite new weapon. She had garnered a reputation for being unpredictable and her unique appearance, highlighted by her green braids, made her easy to identify. It was as if the force from the gust came directly from her soul. Was all of Camelot this interesting, or did I have a habit of finding trouble?
I leaned back in my chair, entertained. They were the kind of stories anyone might have dismissed as fantasy, but it was undeniable now. I wasn't sure what to do with this new information. I wondered what my brother would have said if he’d seen the magic up close. He’d no doubt be searching for a logical explanation, a hidden device.
“And her companion,” a red-bearded man said, his dark eyes gleaming with delight. “Lancelot. He's on a knighthood quest.”
I shook my hair out of my eyes. “What's that?”
“That's how we do things here in Camelot. Certain soldiers are given the opportunity to win a title and become a noble family after completing a trial set by our king.”
I laughed. “Win a title?”
He scratched his beard. “It's how Arthur plans on spreading out the new wealth. It ain't natural for a kingdom to grow so quickly, if you ask me. And on the backs of prisoners no less.”
“So what's this guy's quest?” I asked.
“Not sure. But I'll tell you what, knighthood quests are supposed to be completed alone. The fact that he's got a witch helping him means it's probably something crazy, like slaying a dragon or something.”
I smiled with delight. “Hey, don't joke about dragons. Earlier today, I was sure magic was just a myth.”
The bar shook, and for a split second, my mind stuck to the word dragon. But a heavyset bar patron pulled himself off the floor, brushing the ale off his shirt. He waved off our attention and the tavern returned to normal. Dragons. What a thought.
Hanbit’s whistling started up again, a clear sign he had checked out of the conversation. I turned to him, hoping to distract him long enough to spare myself the sound.
“Any news? I received word yesterday that Camelot means to ally with Quembly.”
“Really? That far north?” I supposed they had some decent mountains up there, some mining camps, but that was as far north as Vires was east. Surely Arthur wasn't planning on stretching his reach that far. How long until he went after Vires? I needed to find Charlotte and get out of here.
“Is the tree cleared?” I asked Jay Hyun. “Almost, Your Highness,” he said as he and two other guards dragged in three huge velvet sacks.
“What's in there?”
Jay Huyn reached in, pulling out a handful of pale pink blossoms. “Part of the tree,” he said, his eyes holding a touch of green in the tavern light.
“Why are we keeping the tree?”
“Sir, it's only part of the tree. You know,” he scratched the back of his head, “since it was made with magic. We figured we should take it back to Vires, to see if there was some kind of trick to it.” I nodded, and the soldiers carried the bags out to the carriage.
“We should get moving,” I said.
Jay Hyun nodded, and I was surprised by his eagerness because I’d remembered him to be a man who frequented bars in Vires. He sat down beside me and leaned forward, his cheeks red from ale. “Your Highness, shouldn't we rest for the night?”
I shook my head, feeling the world lag behind, weighed down by my alcohol consumption. When did I get this drunk? I suppose from all that posturing with Lancelot. “If they'd meant to follow us, now is our best chance to put some distance between us and them.” I sighed. “I'm tired too, but it looks like that Lance guy will be out for the night. I've never fought a magic wielder before, and I'm not sure if, even with our superior numbers, we’d be able to take them down. Merlin is too much of a wild card. We can't risk it.”
After a momentary pause and an exasperated groan, the soldiers one by one prepared for the long night ahead, some putting down their nearly-full ales in one shot.
We had no leads to go on, and we hadn’t even given this city a look yet, but something about being in proximity of Merlin and Lancelot unsettled me. She’d reminded me that anything imaginable was possible, starting with the most ridiculous. So I made a snap decision; our next city would be decided by fate. Hanbit whistled mindlessly from the corner as we came up with our travel plan. Junho and Jay Hyun held up a hand-drawn map of Camelot against the tavern wall. The cities listed were just the ones the bar patrons could think of off the tops of their heads. The place where one man met his wife. Another man's favorite city for fishing. They were so sloppily placed on the map, it resembled more of a list than anything else. I unsheathed my dagger and aimed at it.
“He's too good at this. Make him close his eyes or something,” Jay Hyun said.
“Hello,” Junho interceded. “You realize he's throwing that dagger at us.”
Jay Hyun's eyes bulged. “Aim true, Your Majesty.”
With one throw of the dagger, we loaded up the carriage and rode through the night, and I wondered if it was the last I'd ever see of the strange enchantress. I didn't know why, but I hoped it was.
11
Charlotte
“She’s finally in bed,” I said, scanning the room for Gabriel, but the room was empty. A knock banged from the door, and I opened it to find Lynn, hair puffs and all, a basket of baked goods slung across her arm.
Before I could greet her, Morgana’s tiny footsteps came blasting toward us. “Lynn!” she said, jumping into Lynn’s arms, nearly knocking the basket over.
Lynn spun Morgana. “There’s my little princess.”
I clenched my jaw. “Any other nickname, Lynn. So what are you doing here? No tavern tonight?”
She nuzzled Morgana. “I took the day off and Gabe called in a favor.” I must have looked puzzled because she added, “For your anniversary.”
She stepped aside, and there stood Gabriel in his finest clothes holding a fistful of yellow wildflowers. His dark features and sunny smile warmed me.
“Wow, Gabe. This is so…” Unnecessary. “Sweet.” I turned back to Lynn. “Are you sure this is okay? You never take time off.”
She tickled Morgana, who squealed and squirmed from her arms. “I’m overdue. Besides, it’s been too long since I last spent time with my little pri— I mean monster.”
“Thank you so much, Lynn,” I said, kissing her cheek. “Anytime. Now go, so Morgana and I can have a tea party,” she said. Morgana’s face lit and, within moments, she was pushing me toward the door, her curly hair bouncing with equal enthusiasm.
As Gabriel and I strode along the cobblestone streets of the city, it was as if we’d just met all over again. We chatted as we always did, avoiding any heavy conversation—nothing important. Except, I felt it coming. When we’d first come to this arrangement, I feared Gabriel would ask too many questions about my past, but he didn’t and I knew it was because he had his own secrets to protect. But now I could feel the questions coming. I could feel his intentions pressing down on our small talk.
We stopped into a restaurant, a nice one, and I worried that my dirt-hemmed dress wouldn’t be suitable for somewhere so nice, but we didn’t eat there. In fact, Gabriel merely spoke to a servant and was handed a large basket that the server made look heavy. Gabriel took the basket out of the res
taurant and we headed out of the city. On the outskirts, we came across a small pond. Normally, it was too small to be striking or even noticed, but tonight it seemed infinite as it reflected the star-speckled sky and orange crescent moon. We took a seat silently beside it, and Gabriel pulled a small candle from the basket and lit it before he broke the hush.
“Part of the reason I wanted to do this tonight was to talk to you about our arrangement. Please understand that this all is coming from a place of love. We never talked about what this plan would mean long term.”
My eyes moved to the flickering candle, unsure if it would stay lit in those first few gusts of wind. “I mean,” he took my hand, “what happens if you fall in love with someone?”
I laughed. “Is that what you’re worried about? Don’t worry, love is over for me.”
“Forever?”
I nodded.
“I think that’s a mistake,” he said.
I froze. Where was this coming from? “Are you in love with someone?” I asked. He put his hands up defensively. “No, no, but if I ever get the chance to, I’m going to take it… and I want you to do the same.”
“You’re free to go, of course, whenever you want, but I can’t love. Not anymore.”
He nodded solemnly. “I think you’re too young to just give up on it altogether. I mean, I know your husband died in the war, but maybe if you told me the whole story, I could understand.”
I looked up at him. I had spent the last four years trying to close that book, and here he was asking for me to open it. My mind raced with recollections I hadn’t dared revisit. My parents. My unusual childhood. My friend Milly. A kingdom at war. An arranged marriage. Two princes. Poisoned wine. Emmett. And Young, my lost love. My stomach clenched. “No, I can’t.”
Kingdom Soul Page 4
