Set in Stone: A Contemporary Adventure Romance Novel (Legend Book 1)

by Kylie Stewart

  “Yes, but I’m sure he wasn’t expecting with his former companion.” M breathed on his glasses to fog them and wiped them again. “And I’m sure you were not expecting his former companion to be your conquest.”

  I let my head fall back on the chair and stared at the stucco ceiling. “What do I do? Do I just allow her and Lancer to start anew? What about me? What about what I had planned?” I huffed. “I kissed her, M, and she kissed me back. We have something that if allowed to grow could break us out of this hell we’re living in.”

  “You know she is in love with Lancer.”

  I was about to interrupt when M held up his hand.

  “I do believe she has started to have feelings for you, as well. How has the ring ordeal been going? Does she know yet?”

  Ashamed, I looked down. I had failed in showing her my face.

  “Does she know anything about her fate yet?” M pressed.

  My heart couldn’t take that I would eventually have to tell Alexandria. She would never believe me. To tell someone they are the reincarnation of a person, and a queen, no less, was madness.

  And my wife.

  There was a good chance she would break.

  “Does she know yet?” His eyes narrowed, and his thin face grew serious.

  “No. She knows nothing.” My voice was quiet.

  M sighed.

  “I suppose you still haven’t told Lancer, either?” he asked.

  “I think he understands a bit of what is happening here.” I met M’s gaze. “I told you, Vivian and I explained to him who he was a long time ago.”

  “You mean who he wasn’t supposed to be,” M corrected. “He is still reborn of Lancelot, Avalon. You know this.”

  My jaw flexed at the sharp reprimand.

  “No matter what life we are reborn into, our paths are still the same, Avalon. You must know that by now. You have seen history replayed. That boy was destined to be the greatest challenge to your goal, yet you still raised him.” M shook his head. “Perhaps he would have never met Alexandria if he hadn’t come here.”

  I slammed my hand on the armchair. “I do not regret my choices. He was a boy, M . . . an eight-year-old boy with no family. How could I allow him to live alone?” I raised my arms in defeat. “He knew nothing of his past until he learned of mine. He idolized me. He looked up to me. We always have a choice to choose the paths before us.”

  “Do you have that choice, or is that your God speaking nonsense?” The sarcasm seethed through his normally calm exterior. He and I didn’t see eye to eye on spirituality and the higher powers in the world. We never had.

  “My God directs me. That was how I ruled, and that is how I died, and that is how I intend to live.” I narrowed my eyes in warning, adding, “I never have questioned you and from where you are granted your gifts. Do not question me on this.”

  “He has forsaken you, Avalon. Why can’t you see that? Perhaps there are sins for which you cannot be forgiven. You have relied on me all your life.” M’s mouth twitched in a small smile. “And you know what I am.”

  “I don’t believe that for a moment.” I snapped.

  “You rely on my darkness to justify your light.” M grew a bit agitated. “Whenever you are in need, who is there—me or your God?”

  My eyes bore into his. I felt my pride and the very core of who I was being chipped away. Something was missing from me since that fateful day when everything in my life changed. A piece of me had been stolen, ripped out—my faith. Over the last few centuries, it had grown so damn thin it was as though I were holding on to the end of my rope.

  “She reminds me there is always hope.” I couldn’t stop my voice from shaking. “She reminds me of who I was and who I am.”

  “She doesn’t even trust you, Avalon. She is in love with your former charge.” His voice lowered. “She doesn’t even know who she is. Would she be so willing to fall into your arms if she did? Or would she run to Lancer?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t answer that, M.” I propelled myself to my feet. I couldn’t talk anymore.

  “You know, Avalon, sometimes I get a glimpse of who you are. There are moments when I wonder if that missing piece of you is back, but I know it isn’t. It can never be found. You won’t win it for yourself.”

  The man played with his hands the way he always did whenever he had a riddle or mystery for me to solve.

  “Oh, and why is that?” I snorted. I wasn’t interested in his games. I hated them more than I hated mine.

  “Only she can give that back to you.” He looked up at me with a secret grin on his face. “Only if she’s willing.”

  Lancer arrived the next day. Alexandria rushed out to greet him as I watched from an upper window. I felt my chest tighten, and I tore myself away. I had made the conscious decision the night before to speak with Lancer privately about the situation. Never had either of us imagined that the woman would be his Allie and my Ms. York.

  No, my Alexandria.

  My lips still tingled with the memory of her mouth on mine. She put me through sweet torture, and I would endure it a thousandfold. I walked down the hall and a side stairwell to meet Lancer.

  He was smiling as Alexandria babbled on about something, but as soon as he saw me, his green eyes darkened.

  Ah, Lancer. How well I raised you. You are a man of your own accord and protective of what you believe is yours. I forced a smile as my inner thoughts raged on.

  “Welcome home, Lancer.”

  I stretched out my hand; he met me in a firm handshake.

  “It’s good to be back.” He nodded, only to retract the hand from mine and place it around Alexandria’s waist. I ignored the gesture.

  “Let M take your things to your room. Orla set it up for you. You and I can go to my study and talk.” I let my gaze wander to Alexandria. “You don’t mind giving us a few moments, do you?”

  I could feel her unease. I had something to hold over her head. In her mind, I would use the kiss for my benefit. The fear of Lancer knowing reflected in her eyes. Such a pure heart she was. They weren’t even back together, and already I had torn her conscience in two. Little did she know, I would never hold any of our moments over her head. I cherished them, the good and the horrible.

  “Of course. I’ll go get to work.”

  Standing on tiptoe, she kissed Lancer gently before walking off. The tension was clear as she looked over her shoulder at us.

  Once she was out of sight but not out of mind, I motioned for Lancer to walk with me.

  “Come on. I know you have questions. I just hope I have answers.” I let the frank sternness in my face drop. The false pretenses could be dropped around Lancer. He was family. He knew my secret as well as his own.

  I shut the door behind us once in the library. I sat down behind my desk. Lancer just glowered at me, the muscles in his jaw working over his anger. I sighed.

  “Out with it. You know we can speak freely here.” I folded my arms over my chest and waited.

  I didn’t have to wait long. Lancer exploded. “How could you?”

  “How could I what?” I dug my heels in for what seemed to be the beginning of a struggle.

  “How could you be so stupid that you never put two and two together?” Fists slammed on the dark oak desk.

  I arched an eyebrow.

  “You promised me when the time came, you wouldn’t force her hand. You told me this time would be different,” he went on.

  I had never seen Lacer get so angry.

  “You said this time you and I could work together. Dammit, Avalon! You didn’t even consult me.” His accent grew thicker as he became angrier.

  I sat forward, understanding his reaction on some level. I tried to explain.

  “You are right. I didn’t consult you. But you are also busy with your life, Lancer. I honestly wasn’t going to involve you if I could avoid it. There is really nothing you can do in this situation.” I rolled the chair back and stood. “Unfortunately, your Allie and my Ms. York are
one and the same. I never put two and two together because I had no reason to. I am sorry, Lancer.”

  It was hard for me not to see the little boy I raised as a brother as I noticed his trembling hands. “You knew this day would come. The day when I had the chance in this lifetime to end all that is holding me here. It not only sets me free, but also you and her and so many others.” Stepping around the desk, I placed a hand on Lancer’s shoulder. “She is the key to everything. Either I keep her or he kills her. I won’t allow that.”

  “You don’t think I could keep her safe? I could. I’m prepared.” Green eyes narrowed, causing a curious tilt to my head. “I could take her away from England. I have eyes, too, Avalon. Far better than yours are.”

  “What do you mean, Lancer?” A cold chill hit my chest at his words. I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “What have you done, boy?”

  He swallowed. “Sometimes, to win, one has to side with the devil.”

  I yanked my hand from him as if I had been shocked. “What kind of fire are you playing with? I’ve given you all the warnings, Lancer. What have you done?” I was worried. Not just for Lancer’s safety, but now for Alexandria’s, as well.

  “Nothing for you to worry about, but it keeps me in the know about how certain people operate.” He shrugged. “There are many different types of demons, Avalon. Not all are the death of one’s soul.”

  “They are if you lose yourself to them.” I studied him, trying to find some clue. There was none.

  “Unlike you, I haven’t bound myself to anyone or anything. I haven’t ingested any potion or let any blood. Right now, I just have eyes where I need them. You have to trust me, brother.” He placed his hands on my shoulders. “You’re not the only one who can protect Alexandria from harm. Perhaps you’re not even the right one to protect her in this age?”

  I snarled at his comment. “I’m always the one with the right to protect her!”

  A faint curl of his lips foretold the blow he was about to lay on me.

  “Three times, you have won her hand. Three times, she has been taken from you. And three times, she was killed before our very eyes.”

  I winced as he hit me with the statistics I was well aware of.

  “Now, eleven times, she has chosen me. Eleven times, she has lived and died with me of natural causes. Who is more equipped?”

  My head lowered in shame. The echoes of her screams, her calling my name, her ghost haunted me at night tore at my soul. I leaned against my desk, blinking hard. Maybe allowing Lancer in on his history hadn’t been a good idea. I had thought I had been raising an ally. Instead, I had been raising a challenger.

  “You say you need her to break this hell hung over all of us.” Lancer walked over, his voice dropping to a whisper. “What if you do win her? What if it doesn’t help? Does that mean we all lose?”

  “I must try. You know this is all I have left.” Covering my face with my hands, I inhaled. “I know if I win her, we will be free.” Hands dropped to my lap. “I don’t care anymore, Lancer. This is all I have to fight for, and she is worth fighting for. Alexandria is different from the rest. She’s good, pure, kind, and patient. So damn patient.” How could I make him understand?

  “She’s also my former girlfriend. The woman I wanted to make my wife, but you said there would be others.” Lancer’s jaw clenched. “I worshiped you and your damn opinions so much that I let go of the woman I love! I don’t plan to let her go off like a lamb to slaughter.”

  His hands gripped my shirt collar, but I did not attempt to fight him off.

  “She loves me, Avalon. I love her. This lifetime isn’t yours to win. Call off the contract. Let her leave with me. If you have any heart left or any love for her, please, God, let her go.”

  I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t look into the begging eyes of the man who once betrayed me most of all. I couldn’t do any of the things he asked, even if I wanted to. Her blood on the contract sealed all of our fates.

  “I can’t let her go, Lancer.” I didn’t recognize my own voice. It was gravelly and ragged, like a man dying from unseen wounds. “She’s contracted to me.”

  “Call it off.” He shook me. “M can dispel anything!”

  Looking up into panicked eyes, I shook my head. “Her blood is binding. Should I fail, Lancer, she will live like me—forever.”

  His hands let me go. I’d never seen a man go so pale so fast. Lancer stumbled back as the weight of the words sank in. He leaned on a chair. His breathing was uneven. His hands curled into fists.

  “You sick bastard. You bound her to you in blood!” He lunged at me.

  I sidestepped, just missing a well-aimed blow at my face.

  “I didn’t mean to! She stabbed herself with the pen and drew blood. I never meant for it to happen.”

  He circled back toward me.

  “You are always innocent, aren’t you? You I think that’s a good enough reason?” He reached out and grabbed my jacket.

  I quickly slipped my arms out and twisted the coat around his arms, shoving him back.

  “Listen to me! Would you?” I was yelling now. He had pushed me one step too far. “I never meant for it to happen. It was an accident, and now, I have to fix it!”

  “She’s going to live in hell for eternity with you to thank, Avalon!” he spat.

  The buzzing at my chest grew louder. Lancer’s eyes lowered to where the gunmetal gray gun set in his holster.

  “Pfft. Does Exi find me dangerous?” The man stalked closer. “Would you shoot me, Avalon? Could you shoot me? You’d have one less in your way, but you’d never gain her forgiveness.”

  “I’d never shoot you, Lancer. Calm down.” My voice was stern, but his rage was consuming him. I had years on his youth. Though he’d been told of his past, he had no memory of it. He had no experience to handle, just his current life’s journey thus far.

  “Why should I?” he snarled. “Why should I believe you anymore?”

  “Because we want the same thing.” I raised my hands. “We want Alexandria to live.”

  Lancer’s body crumpled at that moment, and he flung himself into a chair. “Yet you’ve sentenced her to a lifetime of misery. How could you be so selfish, Avalon? You took her from me.”

  “You let her go.” I didn’t care how much that truth would sting; it was fact. “I learned that you never even told her about the engagement ring you bought for her. She never knew your true intentions.”

  “You lied to me.”

  The look in his eyes made me think I’d made a new enemy.

  “You told me not to let a woman lead me astray from the path I wanted in life—yet you let her lead you astray for centuries!”

  “The past can’t be rewritten. We only have the future now, Lancer.” I sat in a chair opposite him. “I know this better than you do.” I shook my head, rubbing my chin. “I never thought this would get so messed up.”

  “Does she know yet?” His cold gaze forced me to face him.

  My jaw tensed.

  He leaned forward, glowering at me. “Does she know yet?”

  Nineteen

  Alexandria

  Try as I might, I just couldn’t concentrate on working when I knew the two men locked away in the library could snap on each other at any minute. I knew how angry Lancer was at Avalon, and I knew how set Avalon was at getting his way. I just hoped they both had enough sense to talk through it rather than get into a fistfight.

  I rocked back on my haunches, staring up at the statue. It was a quarter of the way finished. Already, I could see how well it was taking form. I decided to calm my nerves by taking a lap around the castle’s interior. I had stopped considering Caliburn an estate after further inspection of its rooms. The stone was still visible in some of the rooms, and the heavily draped fabrics on the walls hid the fortress beneath it.

  I left the ballroom and stopped to glance out one of the large picture windows. The sun was setting over the English countryside, casting bright purples, pinks, an
d oranges into the sky. I would have to bring Elaine here sometime, so she could exercise her oil painting skills.

  I would be a liar if I didn’t admit my stomach was in knots. The man I wanted and the man I didn’t think I wanted were in the same room together. Fingers lifted to my lips, and my feet slowed their pace. The kiss Avalon had wrapped me in yesterday still lingered. I didn’t want to feel this way. I didn’t want him to have any power over my already conflicted emotions.

  I checked to make sure Pridwen was tucked in the back of my pants.

  Trotting down the large staircase and rounding to the right, I continued. Caught up in my thoughts, I didn’t notice I had made my way all the way to the back of the long walk. I opened the door in front of me and peeked inside. This must be the exercise room Avalon had spoken of.

  My gaze automatically focused on the various weapons hanging on the walls. There were so many different swords, blades, and axes, all from different corners of the globe. Some were extremely old. I could tell by their worn leather grips. A few of the metal blades were also worn down.

  A fallen kick bag lay in the center of a small area of mats. The torso of a manikin stood with no head, arms, or legs on another square space. I gulped. I wondered how angry someone had to get to rip off limbs. I navigated around the various weight machines and noticed a door in the back. I looked over my shoulder before taking the plunge into the unknown.

  The door creaked with age as I leaned against it. Poking my head in carefully, I didn’t see anything. It was so dark I felt if I stepped in, then I’d disappear. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and slid the screen to turn on the small flashlight.

  My eyes widened. It was like a damn arsenal. Guns lined the walls, other gadgets—and what I assumed were weapons—littered the ground in an organized mess. Two computers were powered off in the corner, and a multitude of maps hung above them.

  “Is Avalon James Bond?” I mused to myself. He did drive an Aston Martin. His head of house’s name was simply M.

  I moved deeper into the space, and my light reflected off another door. The brass fittings were rusting and the oak splitting with age. I narrowed my eyes and cautiously pulled it open. A dark staircase spiraled downward before me. Unease crept through my stomach. This estate was originally a castle. This castle was originally a hill fort. There must be remains of a dungeon somewhere.