by LH Nicole
Aliana couldn’t deny that she felt the same impulse. After a quick sigh, she slipped through the passage with Lacy right behind. The hall was surprisingly well lit with what seemed like natural light despite there being no trace of any windows.
“Do you feel that?” Lacy asked, looking around nervously. “There’s a…”
“A power. I feel it, too, and it’s crazy strong and kinda—icy—feeling.” The cold power slid down her spine. “Something or someone very bad used this place.” Lacy pressed into Aliana’s side. “Still feel the instinct to continue?”
“Yes,” Lacy whispered, and they followed the faraway glow. The corridor turned again, ending at a thin doorway. Aliana raised her bow, ready to fire, as Lacy grabbed the ring-like doorknob. The door opened with a loud creak, and Aliana flinched, summoning an arrow of power from the ruby.
The light split apart, landing on two torches just inside the doorframe. The torches sputtered to life and lit the secret room. Hesitantly, the girls entered. The room contained dozens of books and twice as many scrolls as the last one. Several vials were scattered across tables, still half filled with colored and clear liquid. The iciness crawled through Aliana again, and this time she felt a familiar pull within it. “I think this place may have belonged to Morgana,” she whispered, almost afraid that saying the witch’s name in this magic room would summon her.
“You mean you think this was her bad-magic-potion-lab-secret-hidey hole?” Lacy gasped.
Too scared to laugh at her friend’s outrageous description, Aliana murmured, “Who would lead us here?”
“And for what purpose? Just to scare the bejesus out of us?”
Aliana took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Let’s look around. Maybe there’s something in here that we need.” She peered at the vials. “Merlin hasn’t told me anything about this kind of magic.”
“Take some pictures. Maybe he’ll see something in this stuff that we don’t.”
Banishing her bow and lifting her camera, Aliana focused the lens on the benches and their contents, snapping photo after photo until a strange glint caught her attention. After pressing the shutter one more time, she lowered the camera and reached out to the wrought iron box that had caught her attention.
“Lia, isn’t that the prop box you used in your Pandora’s Myth photo? You know, the one you sold at the gallery?”
Aliana traced her fingers over the edge of the box, fascinated and terrified. “It certainly looks like it.” She picked up the capsule for closer inspection. “It looks like it might open, but…” She saw a barely-there seam but found no latch to release it. “Maybe I’m wrong.”
Lacy frowned. “Maybe we should take a lesson from Pandora and not open it.”
Aliana arched a brow. “Come on, do you really think I’m stupid enough to open something that Morgana probably bad magicked? I’m gonna leave it nice and safe right here.” She opened her pack and slipped the box inside. “Until Merlin can look at it. He might know what she did to it and how to make sure it can’t hurt any of us.” A shooting pain bashed against Aliana’s shields so suddenly, she lost her breath.
“Lia!” Lacy rushed to her side, gripping her arm in support as she held out her sword.
“It’s Dagg,” Aliana wheezed when she could suck in a breath again. “They’re looking for us. He’s trying to find me through our bond.”
“Why is he hurting you? Didn’t you say he can talk to you in your head?”
Aliana nodded, massaging her chest. “We need to get back right now. I think whatever led us here might’ve blocked my mental connection with him.”
She drew her bow in a flash of pink magic, and Lacy led the way out of the room. Moving double time, the girls made it back to the throne room quickly. The second they burst through the door, the guys broke out in a chorus of loud fury.
“What did you two think you were doing?”
“Have you gone completely mental, Aliana?”
“What happened? Why did you two disappear?”
“Why’d ya run off without tellin’ us?”
“It’s not safe for you lassies to be wandering around by yourselves!”
“Why couldn’t I reach you?”
Galahad was instantly at Aliana’s side. “We’re okay!” she assured him and the others as Dagg wrapped himself around her shoulders.
“Of course they were perfectly safe,” a smoky, sultry voice said.
Everyone’s heads snapped in the direction of the familiar voice. Dagg leaped from his perch before he’d even had a chance to settle, and the knights drew their weapons. Titania stood next to Arthur’s throne, dressed in a royal purple, gypsy style dress.
“Do you really feel that’s necessary, dear king?” she asked.
“Why is Camelot here in your realm?” Arthur demanded, not lowering Excalibur.
She ran one pale hand over the intricately carved wood of the throne. “I would think that’s quite obvious. I wanted to preserve your kingdom, not let it fall to the barbarians who claimed it after your battle with Mordrid.” She descended the two steps and approached them.
Aliana tried to suck breath into her suddenly constricted lungs. Taking a real look at the queen, Aliana saw a resemblance between herself and the cunning woman. They did have the same eyes, the same “half lips,” and rounded cheeks. As much as she wanted to deny it, she couldn’t—she and Titania were family.
“Are you really my grandmother?” she asked, finding the strength to speak through her dry throat.
The queen’s lips turned up, and she held out a hand to her. But Galahad pulled Aliana closer. Arthur and Owen stepped in the queen’s path as Leo and Percy watched her with eagle keen eyes.
“She’s my blood. That makes her the last person I’d ever harm. I’ve ensured her safety since infancy,” Titania insisted in a low, frosty tone.
Aliana looked up at Galahad, pleading with her eyes for him to let her go. His eyes darkened with swirling color. He was fighting for control. His eyelids shut, and his hand loosened its grip on her hip.
“Thank you,” Aliana whispered. She pushed past Arthur and Owen. Dagg landed on her shoulder in support and protection. “Why?” she asked the Fae.
“Why not?” the queen countered. “To wield the great power that you do, you needed to have a powerful magical lineage.”
Aliana’s heart pounded in her throat and ears. “Then is Oberon…?”
She queen scoffed. “Not in this or any lifetime.”
“Then who?” Owen asked, stepping forward. Aliana looked back and forth between her cousin and the queen. He also bore a resemblance. “Aliana and I are cousins, does that make me part of your blood line?”
Titania gave him a smile, but it wasn’t friendly. “Indeed, you are. And you have done your heritage proud, even if you lack magic.”
Owen gnashed his teeth but held back his words.
“Why did you want us to come here?” Galahad took his place at Aliana’s side, and Arthur stepped between her and Owen.
Titania’s emerald eyes narrowed on Galahad. A flash of pure fury sparked for a moment before vanishing behind one heck of poker face. “I wanted you to see what awaited you,” she crooned. Her sudden mood swing felt like a lightning strike. “If you can defeat Mordrid and his armies and the witch, Morgana LeFay.”
“What do you mean?” Arthur asked wearily.
“I mean, if you fulfill the prophecy, stop Mordrid’s Armageddon, and restore balance to the realms, Camelot will live again. You, King Arthur, will be returned to your throne of power, and your kingdom will prosper and thrive here on the Isle of the Blessed.”
18
The Fae queen’s revelation is staggering. Since awakening, the loss of my kingdom has haunted me. Now I feel that loss turn into a heavy weight on my shoulders. But I can’t give in to the pressure. I must succeed! My knights and I have devised a plot to free Aliana from her foolish promise. I’m even more determined to see it through after learning of the task set t
o Silzik. I look at my mother’s empty throne. No one has sat in it since I was crowned, and no one will until I find my queen. I can see an image of Aliana, dressed in red and gold, sitting in that throne…but I know I must push distracting thoughts like this away for the sake of my kingdom, my people, my friends, and her.
~Arthur
THEY STOOD IN SILENCE. How could Camelot live again when it was in such a state of ruin? Aliana fisted her hands. As her grip around the magic bow tightened, the ruby gauntlet slid over her skin. She looked down at the glinting gem, then back to Titania. The Fae wore a knowing smirk of satisfaction as she returned Aliana’s gaze.
The ruby. Could the ruby make Camelot live again? Aliana narrowed her eyes in question, and the queen’s smirk widened, as if answering yes. Aliana opened her mouth to tell the others, but the Fae quickly interrupted. “Does it not please you all to know that your home may yet live again?”
“Of course we’re pleased by this joyous news,” Arthur said with diplomatic grace. His face was even and calm, his eyes assessing. He lowered Excalibur a fraction. “But what about my people? The citizens of Camelot.”
“Some already reside in various parts of the Isle. But if Camelot lives again, you’ll have more than mere mortals as your subjects. Many of the magical races and creatures that live in my realm and Avalon will flock to your kingdom.”
Arthur nodded and subtly signaled for his knights to lower their weapons. “You have our many thanks, Queen Titania, As happy as it makes me to be here, we need to be going. Is this all you wished for us to discover here?”
Aliana wondered if the queen had been the one to lead her to the box that was now in her pack.
“Indeed, you have seen what I wished you to. But I believe we have an accord to complete.” Titania stepped closer to the king. “You have Excalibur; you now owe me a sword in return.”
Arthur’s golden eyes never left the Fae’s as he held his hand out to Leo. The Scot unhooked the jeweled Elf sword from around his waist and handed it to him. The jewels again gleamed and brightened. “Before I hand you this sword, I have another proposal,” Arthur said.
Titania arched a brow in mock question. Aliana opened her mouth to stop her friend, but Galahad’s hand gripped her waist tight in warning. What are they up to?
“We agreed on the price for Excalibur, but I offer myself in Aliana’s place.” Arthur stood a little straighter, his gaze focused and unyielding. “Whatever task you would have her do, I will do in her stead.”
Galahad gave Aliana a small shake of his head when she turned her questioning gaze to him. Why was Arthur doing this? Not that Aliana was overly excited about having to do a favor for her treacherous grandmother, but Silzik had a point—Aliana seemed to be very important to the queen, and now she’d confirmed that she was kin, so surely Titania wouldn’t place her in a situation that could harm her.
“I’m not in the habit of amending bargains once struck. Not even for a king as mighty as yourself,” Titania said.
“Your Majesty.” Arthur’s voice took on a calmer, more persuasive tone. “Surely you see the benefit of having me and Excalibur at your bidding.”
Titania hesitated, seeming to waver for a moment, and Aliana wondered if Arthur might actually convince her. Then Titania drew herself out of her thoughtful daze. “Indeed.” Her tone was frosty. “But you are not the Destined One, and though your talents are not without value, you lack her particular skills. We struck a deal, and it will be honored.”
“We understand.” Aliana ignored Galahad’s third attempt to keep her quiet. The hard look Arthur shot her was almost enough to make her reconsider. She licked her dry lips. “I’ll do whatever it is you want me to.” And these boys can shove all their plotting down their egotistical throats. How dare they decide this behind her back!
Titania smirked, and Aliana felt herself flush. Had the queen noticed her anger at the knights? The Fae held out her hand to Arthur. “I’ll take my weapon now, King Arthur.”
Arthur’s grip tightened on the hilt. “What is it you would have Aliana do?”
“I’ll come to her when the time is right. Now, if you would be so kind as to hold up your end of our agreement, I will have my new sword.” Her emerald gaze blazed on the king. “Do not defy me in my own lands.”
A tremor of terror sliced down Aliana’s spine. The queen was beyond dangerous, and the foolish knights had only pissed her off with their pointless attempt to protect Aliana. “Arthur,” she pleaded, hoping her friend would calm down and accept their predicament. “Everything will be all right.”
Raising the sword, he held it out to the Fae queen.
“You’ve made the right decision, your Majesty.” Titania took the Elvish weapon, stroking a long, tapered finger down its sheathed edge. The decorative stones glowed. Her emerald eyes practically devoured the wondrous sword, and it seemed as if she relaxed a fraction as she studied it. Aliana had the dreadful feeling they’d just given this cunning queen a weapon that could change everything.
When Titania looked up, the sword vanished from her hands. “I suggest you remain here for the night.”
“And why is that, your Majesty?” Leo’s voice was gentle, and Aliana knew he was trying to charm the queen.
She looked to Aliana. “What has Merlin taught you about the gates of the seven realms?”
Aliana gulped, hoping the panic and conflicting emotions pounding inside her wouldn’t spill into her words. “He said they correspond to similar locations in the other lands.”
She nodded, her copper hair flowing around her. “Indeed, but what did he tell you of the Isle’s gates?”
Aliana frowned. Merlin hadn’t mentioned any realm-specific characteristics of the gates.
The Fae sighed, “If you all were to leave here and return to the portal you came through, you wouldn’t end up where you were in the mortal realm.”
“What?” Lacy asked. She immediately bowed her head, seeming to regret speaking out.
“Portals here continuously move and change. It’s one of the many ways I protect my realm from those who’d seek to do dastardly deeds here.”
“Then how do we return to Aliana’s home in the mortal realm?” Galahad asked.
Titania regarded him for a moment before looking to Arthur. “As it happens, there’s a portal that will appear just outside the gates of Camelot tomorrow morning at dawn.”
“Rather coincidental, our being here just before one of your gates arrives,” Owen murmured. The queen gave him a twitching smirk.
“With respect, we should not delay,” Arthur said. “Aliana and Dagg can create another way home for us, I’m sure.”
“And how would you do that, Destined One?” Titania asked, a lilt of superiority in her tone.
Aliana’s spine stiffened, and she stood straighter. “Lacy and I shifted our group here. We can do it again to take us home.”
“Interesting.” The queen stroked her pointed chin with one elegant finger. “But shifting only works within the realms. It won’t allow you to cross dimensional lines.”
Aliana frowned. “Dagg was able to create his own portal to Tir Na Nog.” The small Dragon had explained that it had worked because Tir Na Nog’s magic was in his blood. Aliana was a descendant of the Fae who stood before them, which meant she was of the Isle…or was it Avalon? She sighed inwardly. This was getting too confusing.
“I can see you’ve realized the flaw in that plan, though it is a good one,” Titania placated her. “Again, I say stay here until morning. Enjoy one more night before returning to your quest.” She stepped back. A sudden whirlwind sliced through the open doors of the hall, wrapping around her. Green, orange, and pink leaves swirled, caught in the gusts. With a loud pop, the queen vanished, and the leaves fell to the ground.
“I hate to admit this,” Lacy said, “but that was pretty cool.”
“I guess we’re staying here tonight.” Percy sheathed his blade and wrapped his arm around Lacy’s waist. “Should we set up ca
mp in here or near the gates?”
“Here,” Arthur said. “We don’t know what else may be around, so it will be safer in the great hall.”
They again divided duties to get camp set up. Leo and Owen left to find food while Galahad and Percy went to search for enough wood to light the fire pit. Arthur and Dagg remained with the girls. The timing of Titania’s appearance had allowed the girls to skirt an argument with the knights. Aliana thought about the box again as she laid out bedrolls around the large fire pit.
“Are you okay?” she asked the king softly. Since Titania’s disappearance, he’d been quiet.
He nodded but didn’t say anything. Aliana groaned inwardly, trying to figure out how to get him to open up to her. She looked over her shoulder at Lacy and Dagg on the other side of the pit. “You just found out some pretty mind blowing news. Don’t tell me none of it’s getting to you.”
He let out a breath, running a hand over his short, thick locks. “I’m not sure how to ‘process’ everything, as you always say.”
Aliana smiled and laid her hand on his arm. “Do you want to go for a walk and talk about it? Maybe seeing a little more of your home will make you feel better.” He didn’t look at her, but he offered her his hand. Taking it, she got to her feet and told Lacy and Dagg what they were doing. She and Arthur exited the room though a door on the opposite side of the room.
“So, you gonna tell me what’s eating at you the worst?” she teased as they walked down the ivy infested hall.
“I don’t know where to begin.”
“Why don’t we start with why you’ve been avoiding looking at me since Titania dropped in on us.” Arthur’s golden brown eyes snapped to her. “Yeah, I noticed.”
A light flush stained his golden cheeks, and Aliana smiled. She’d never seen the king of Camelot blush before. As they continued their stroll, her artistic eye imagined the grandeur this monument to greatness must have possessed. She had no doubt the rest of the castle would’ve been as beautiful and awe inspiring as the great hall.