Knight Hunted (The Return of the Queen Book 1)

by L. A. Grant

  “For now,” I said. “I imagine eventually I’ll remember on my own. I get flashes. Glimpses. But that’s all.”

  “I guess you will,” Wane said, though he didn’t seem any surer of it than I felt.

  “Were we friends?” I asked, hoping against hope the answer would be yes, but knowing full well it wouldn’t be.

  “No,” he said, though more gently this time. “The queen kept her counsel. She had a very close circle of maids and friends. She never made time for the knights, unless it was a favorite,” he indicated Lance, though he certainly didn’t need to. “Truth be told, I was glad when she left court. Though I was devastated by what happened to Arthur after her departure.”

  A shiver ran down my spine at his tone. I was gripped by regret and pain.

  “We’re here,” Lance called back. Percy stepped out of the woods and grabbed his clothing from Lance, turning his back to throw them on. I tried not to look, but his powerful and muscular frame was hard to ignore.

  “It was harder to find than anticipated,” Percy said, grinning back at us. He looked invigorated, thrilled, even. The forest air did him some good, and being a wolf had loosened him up. That is, until he glanced at me turned sour again.

  So much for that. But I’d now seen what lay beneath Percy’s harsh demeanor. I’d just have to find a way to get him to open up again.

  In the meantime, I focused on where he’d brought us. A clearing rose around him, the trees bent inward, forming a canopy, stretching the shadows much deeper.

  Where the hell is here supposed to be?

  28

  Wane

  The tension between Percy and Arlena crackled in the quiet air like lightning. Lance stayed near, his own little storm cloud, desperate for Arlena to remember him. Probably desperate to find someone who cherished him in this world.

  We’d all been surprised that Lance had returned. The rest of us had stayed loyal to the crown, but he’d betrayed Arthur. Questioning Merlin had proven as useful as usual.

  “Was he not one of you during the final battle against Mordred’s armies?” he’d simply asked. “If a man lays down his life for a cause in the end, when he could easily stay away and survive with his beloved, does he not deserve the same respect, if not more, than those who never had anything else to lose?”

  That hadn’t helped ingratiate Lance to Percy. It might even have made Percy angrier, and I hadn’t thought that possible.

  Lance kept busy rolling and re-rolling hempen rope, which we’d soon need. First, we waited for Percy’s word.

  But Percy just stood by the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, analyzing Arlena.

  I shared a quick look with Hayden, and we came to a quiet and simple agreement: we were staying out of that storm for as long as we could manage. Whatever Percy was waiting for could take a while, so we settled near a tree.

  The only one still moving in the clearing was Arlena, though she moved slowly, as though trying to figure something out. I glanced at Hayden again. He shrugged, then returned to observing her, trying to be subtle about it. We were all observing her, only Percy doing so blatantly. The rest of us at least tried to pretend we were looking elsewhere.

  I leaned back and half-closed my eyes, still focused on Arlena’s figure. Her curves were perfect, and definitely accentuated in the clothes I’d chosen for her. Not that that had been the goal – I just got things that seemed to reflect her style. The girl had already been whisked away from her home and attacked, and was about to be brought to a land so different from her own. I didn’t want her to feel foreign in her own clothing, too.

  I’d missed the little things the first time I’d arrived at Avalon, like clothing, and my usual products. It was the absence of those little things that could make home seem even farther away.

  Arlena kept looking around slowly, as though she might be able to make out the slight shimmer that pervaded the air around us. A shimmer that was difficult to detect, unless you were attuned to a certain gateway. As our leader, Percy was attuned to this one, to ensure we could make our way back home.

  Although the sun barely filtered into this part of the forest, a thin strip of light always seemed to find her hair, turning it fiery red.

  She was stunning. I fought against my instincts not to stand in her presence. Not to walk to her, and hold her. Every fiber of my being wanted to keep her safe and happy.

  I’d never felt that way with Gwenhwyfar.

  But these were different times. And a different life for all of us.

  29

  Arlena

  This place called to me with its tall surrounding trees forming a canopy of fiery leaves, its sunbeams that seemed content to follow me, its air so crisp and fresh, scented of unseen roses.

  I held out my hand, fingers extended, touching the air around me. A slight shimmer formed at the tips of each finger, entangling with the air around them, as though I’d found cellophane and could just rip it away to reveal the gift within…and I wanted to.

  More than anything, I wanted to pull on that veil, to make it reveal its secrets to me.

  What am I doing? I pulled away, suddenly very self-conscious of the four men staring at me, lips parted in surprise. Except for Percy, whose eyes had simply narrowed further.

  I forced myself not to shy away from any of their gazes.

  “What is this place?” I asked softly, as though speaking too loudly would awaken the spirits of this forest.

  “It’s a stone circle,” Percy answered, his face in shadows beneath the tree where he stood, his silver hair and eyes still piercing, even in darkness. “This was set here by the druids long ago.”

  “There are druid circles here? Like Stonehenge?”

  He nodded and took a step forward, out of the shadows. “None that are easy to find. Stonehenge used to be a hub of activity long ago, and that one survived the ages well. But, this one,” he placed his hand on my shoulder to turn me around slightly, sending a shiver down my spine, “is easy to see when you know where to look.”

  He indicated the base of a large tree. In its roots, tall and spreading across the forest floor, I could see a rock. Moss-covered and now part of the tree, it must have been here for centuries. If not longer.

  Percy indicated four more stones, including the one near Hayden and Wane, who had now stood. Lance stayed quietly to the side, though he watched everything very intently, especially Percy’s hand on my shoulder.

  “I see them,” I said. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It is,” Percy agreed, his voice a whisper, and he turned to look at me, as though seeing me for the first time. Not Gwenhwyfar, but me, Arlena. “It is beautiful,” he repeated, his lips tantalizingly close, as though we might kiss at any moment. The anger I’d felt from him all morning dissipated into something more powerful.

  He felt it too, and leaned in a bit.

  “It’s a portal,” Lance said, taking a step toward us. Percy pulled away, his hand dropping from my shoulder. Its warmth was immediately missed.

  “A portal?” I turned to Lance. I thought he’d look at me with anger, but he looked concerned, instead. Like he was caught in a gale and didn’t know how to break free.

  “To bring us back to Avalon,” Lance said.

  “Back home,” Wane added.

  “Step away from the center,” Percy ordered, and I immediately stepped sideways to stand near Hayden, who seemed the most relaxed of the four. I could use some of his calm right now, rattled by my emotions and by the strange energy of this place.

  “Let’s go back home and see if Merlin can figure you out,” Hayden said, placing a hand on my back as though to help balance me. I leaned into him, comforted by his presence. By all of their presences.

  Percy moved his hand up, then down, three fingers extended towards the center of the clearing. Then, more slowly, he brought his hand to his right before sweeping it to the left, as though in a cutting motion.

  The air shimmered and responded immediately, filling with a lig
ht mist, that same scent of roses floating in.

  “Do we just step in -and we’ll be in Avalon?” I asked Hayden.

  “Not quite,” he said, looking at me with a smile. “We travel the mists to gain faster access to the next circle. It’s not like teleportation.”

  My disappointment quickly vanished as Hayden pulled me gently back, the ground vanishing in the clearing. I stared at it, a great gaping hole of mist and shadows where I’d stood just seconds earlier. A few moments passed, and then a flag popped up, a red dragon wrapped around a sword against a dark background, the hilt of the sword matching the gold thread of the dragon’s crown.

  I know this. These colors. The design. The dragon. The blade.

  Memories spun in my mind but refused to surface fully, and I grew dizzy. Sensing my discomfort, Hayden braced me by pulling me closer.

  “The magic can be disorienting at first. But you’re safe.”

  I nodded and swallowed hard, and leaned into him as the flag continued up, held by a pole. No. Not a pole. A mast.

  The rest of the ship followed, a single-mast boat with a flat base, windows lining its hull, silver and gold intertwined around the intricate woodwork. Once out of the ground, the mists formed beneath its hull as though to support it, cushioning it like a cloud.

  “That’s a magnificent ship,” I whispered.

  “She’s called the Dragon Dreams,” Hayden said, still holding me, “and she’s our ride back to Avalon.

  As if on cue, the ship turned a bit on the mist, getting ready to move. From its back a walkway extended out, made of the same pale wood, and landed directly at my feet. Hayden took a surprised breath and I saw Lance and Wane exchange a look. Percy seemed intent on just staring at me.

  “It seems,” Hayden said, no longer holding me up as I stood before the ship’s welcoming mat, so to speak, “that you’re expected.”

  I took a deep breath of rose petals and stepped onto the walkway, intent on finding out if there could be a place for me in their world, since there had been none for me in this one.

  30

  Percy

  She walked up the walkway, the ship trembling slightly as she stepped onto it.

  “Go on,” I told Wane and Hayden. No way was I letting Lance get to her first. Hayden shot me a questioning look, but didn’t voice any lingering question. I had no answer to give, so that was just as well.

  The Dragon Dreams had been Arthur’s ship, and had never known Gwenhwyfar. Or so we’d thought. Perhaps it knew her because of Arthur’s feelings for her? It had welcomed her as it always had Arthur.

  I indicated that Hayden should keep going up, and he did. But the doubts that had been nagging at me since seeing her heal Wane had not vanished. They’d only grown in intensity.

  Could Arthur have kept the breadth of Gwenhwyfar’s powers from us? Women tended to be the core of magic, hence why more witches existed than warlocks, though certainly there were plenty of both, if you knew were to look.

  What if Gwenhwyfar had been such a witch, and not just a noble of the court? What if her powers had even demanded she have more than one mate, Arthur’s powers not enough to keep her satiated?

  I’d never bothered asking those questions, or getting to know her, my bitterness toward her betrayal clouding my curiosity.

  And yet…

  Lance barely waited for my signal before heading up, intent on staying close to her, for when she remembered what they’d once shared. Maybe that’s why she felt close to all of us. Maybe she’d always needed more than one mate.

  I’d almost kissed her. In a different time, a different place, I would have gathered her in my arms and kissed her full on the lips, discovered her body at my leisure. Laid her on the soft grass and shown her pleasure until we’d both have fallen asleep, exhausted, wrapped in each other’s arms…

  No.

  I couldn’t think like that. That wasn’t my duty. My duty was clear. Bring back the beacon to Merlin, to figure out our next steps. Figure out why she’d returned.

  I ran my hand through my hair and took one more close look at our surroundings, listening intently. We’d taken a circuitous route last night, and today in the forest, too, in a bid to throw off Mordred and his goons. But they’d already tracked Arlena once, and even the magic protecting the cottage and this circle might not be enough.

  Still, the surroundings seemed quiet.

  I made my way up the walkway, and it followed behind me, collapsing on itself, sensing our need to depart hastily.

  The mists thickened and gathered, casting a shimmer and temporarily blocking out the sun. I stepped on deck and almost tripped at the sight. Arlena was not diminished for the lack of sun, her hair dancing gently in the mists, standing tall as she looked around, awaiting the next steps. The three knights had naturally assumed positions around her, far enough to give her space, but close enough to intervene if necessary.

  They made a perfect tableau against the backdrop of the shimmering mist. And that would just make everything else difficult.

  “Let’s go to Avalon,” I whispered to the ship, and it gently moved at my command, drifting forward through the shadows of the large trees surrounding us.

  Arlena looked around, eyes wide - not with fear, but with wonder. She did not cower, nor did she cry out. She simply gazed in marvel at the world, the ship quiet as it slipped through its mists. Anyone seeing it pass would only see a momentary shimmer and dismiss it as a sunspot in their eye.

  For us, their world would slip by in shadows and light. We’d already cleared the forest, moving toward the great vast waters that would take us to Avalon, where we’d arrive by tomorrow sundown, at the latest.

  The mists grew thinner, letting in some of the sun as we reached the water and glided easily over its great waves, some of its spray gently cooling us.

  Arlena headed to the rail and looked down, eyes wide with wonder. She turned to me for a split second and smiled my way, with joy so infectious that I couldn’t help but return it. She seemed pleased and went back to observing the water below.

  My smile turned to a scowl. I couldn’t let myself get wrapped up in her too easily.

  The ways of magic were many, and not all aligned with the greater good. Her return might not herald a new age for Avalon.

  I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

  No matter how much I wanted to.

  31

  Arlena

  The water spread beneath the mists, great waves rocking below, their movement unfelt from where we glided over them, a part of this world and yet already a foot outside of it. I leaned against the silver railing, not clunky like on ships in my world, but wispy and decorative yet surprisingly sturdy. I reached out to touch the mist.

  It danced gently around each finger, a shimmer of power.

  “That’s Avalon,” Wane said, stepping up beside me, a thin coating of mist clinging to his hair and beard. I smiled and invited him to join me. He did so, his warm body near mine. I hadn’t realized that it had grown chillier.

  “The ocean isn’t the warmest place, and the mists can hide the sun,” Wane said, as though also grateful for our shared warmth. I shuffled a bit closer to him and turned away from the water to look across the boat, where he was focused. Lance and Percy had gone down, and Hayden had vanished, as well.

  “Do we need to do anything for the boat?” I asked. “I’m a city girl, so I don’t know much about them…”

  “This isn’t exactly a regular boat,” Wane said with a teasing smile.

  “Well, I know that much,” I said with mock annoyance, and laughed.

  He placed a hand on the side of the boat. “She takes care of us. If she needs us, she’ll tell us.”

  “She’s beautiful,” I replied, meaning every word. A lot of love and care had been put into her design, and her magic seemed to gift her a soul.

  “She was Arthur’s ship,” he said softly. “She awoke right before I felt the beacon, after centuries of slumber, so we were sure…�
� he stopped, gave me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. You’re probably tired of hearing that you’re not the person we were looking for.”

  “No, I understand,” I mumbled, even though I was tired of it. It wasn’t their fault, and they’d had all their hopes invested in finding Arthur again. It made me wonder why he was so important. Was it really just because he was king? Or was it something more?

  “Why is he so important?” I asked, then softened my answer. “What happens if Arthur doesn’t return?”

  Wane grew still, as though seeking the words that would best convey the answer. Or maybe he was unclear as to what the answer even was. He stared ahead, reminding me of a falcon gliding the air, letting it carry him where he needed to be.

  Maybe Arthur was the wind for him. The breeze that carried him home every time. My heart ached at the thought that he’d follow that breeze first chance he’d get, and it would lead him away from me.

  “He’s supposed to return,” Wane said, so softly that I strained to hear. “We all came back, as prophesized. The knights of the Round Table return to protect their king. Without him, the magic of Avalon will die. It’s already dwindling. Without magic, none of us exists. Not our powers, not Avalon…he has to come back.”

  The last words were almost completely lost to the sound of the ocean below. I wrapped my arms around Wane and leaned against him, wanting to take away the grief in his words. He held me back, lowered his head to mine. We stayed wrapped in each other for a few minutes, finding comfort in each other’s warmth.

  He seemed to calm, and I whispered: “Maybe I’m just the next step in the puzzle. Maybe now that your powers led you to me, you’ll get another sign.”