27. Arthur
Chapter twenty-seven
Arthur
Drop your sword
W hispers and screams tangled into one never-ending cacophony, and I bolted awake. My vision swam with a red haze, and pain blazed like licks of fire across my skin.
Will slept on his side facing me, his messy hair fanning over his forehead and pillow. The large shirt he wore had slipped off his exposed shoulder, and my eyes swept over the bare skin that had been revealed. Those dark lashes of his fluttered as his eyelids twitched in sleep, and I wondered what he dreamed of. His lush lips were parted, and soft sighs slipped from them.
The longer I stared at him, the easier it became to breathe. For the haze to disappear and the pain across my skin to lessen. Because I was here. Here with Will.
Taking several deep breaths, I leaned back against my pillows and glanced toward the window. The moon peeked through the curtains, illuminating the fabric with a soft glow.
I needed air. Fresh air.
Slowly, I slipped out of bed and tiptoed across the room, not wanting to wake Will. Pushing the curtains aside, I creaked open the balcony door. A gust of wind swept into the room, and I inhaled deeply. The subtle smell of the sea called to me, reminding me of the times I journeyed on Prydwen . It had been a beauty of a ship, sleek and strong.
Now, if there was anything left of it, it was most likely unrecognizable and rotted away with age.
“ Arthur .”
I paused at the sound of my name, glancing back at Will. He had a pillow between his legs and was rocking his hips.
My hands clenched with the desire to wake him and try out what we’d done in the shower, but on a bed this time.
Will’s chest rose and fell faster, his breaths coming out in soft, quick pants of air.
My cock hardened at the sight, and I found it difficult to catch my breath. Especially when Will moaned my name again.
He was dreaming of me. A dirty dream, no less, too.
Planning to rouse him and see if he’d be up for testing in person whatever he was dreaming about, I started to turn away from the balcony. But I paused when something caught my eye. I scanned outside the castle once more, searching for—
There.
At the top of the steps, just past an open gate, was a sword sticking out of an anvil.
Well, that was familiar, wasn’t it?
But I knew, just knew , I needed to go down there.
Deciding to leave Will to sleep, especially now that he no longer seemed to be dreaming of me, I grabbed Excalibur and left the sheath behind. Then, I padded softly over the carpet and slipped out of our door.
Maybe it was a poor decision to leave without telling someone first, but I couldn’t ignore my instincts and wasn’t planning to leave the grounds anyway.
The halls were quiet as I prowled in what I hoped was the right direction. But the castle was a labyrinth of corridors and empty rooms, and as I turned a corner I could have sworn I glimpsed the back of one of Nana Joanne’s new bunny slippers poking out from a doorway just before the door quietly shut. I was almost certain that room hadn’t belonged to anyone from our group.
Finally, I stepped out into a grand foyer. A chandelier loomed from the ceiling, and I crossed beneath it on my way to the large, wooden doors.
Before I even touched them, they sprang open on silent hinges. From here, I could just make out the slight glint of silver under the moon. Still, I paused, glancing behind me and wondering if I should return and fetch one of the others.
But somewhere in my soul, I knew this was meant just for me.
So I stepped outside.
The air was heavy with moisture, and with every step toward the sword, my skin was coated in more sweat and condensation.
It was only when I was almost to the sword that they appeared.
The stone lions from earlier.
I didn’t know where they came from or why they were here. But then they sat down on either side of the sword as if to protect it.
Slowly, I moved closer, wondering if I’d simply be able to move past them and take the sword.
The living statues tracked every step I made as I circled them, and a low growl rumbled from their chests. Their tails swished back and forth, back and forth, scraping across the stone path.
I readied Excalibur at the sound of their growls, and I didn’t dare take my gaze off them as my sword glowed a bright white.
But this was a mistake. Because the moment I raised my sword, the lion closest to me lunged, stone fangs bared.
With a twist, I dodged the attack and brought Excalibur up and around in an arc. Before the large cat, hewn from a mountain with the strength to match, could react, my sword sliced through its neck.
When its head fell to the ground, shattering into several pieces, the remaining lion roared in fury.
It charged at me, pouncing before I could move out of the way.
We tumbled to the steps, and I yelped when its teeth sank into my shoulder.
Toppling down several stairs, I fought to rip the lion’s teeth from my flesh. Its heavy body pinned my right arm to the ground, making me unable to fend it off with my sword.
“Drop your sword,” a voice called out, confusing me as I finally managed to shove the fearsome face away.
But I paid the voice no heed, for without a weapon, I’d be defenseless.
The lion roared, snapping its mighty jaws toward my face, and I tried to free my arm so I could slice it through.
However, that voice once again drifted to me. “Drop your sword!”
I didn’t want to listen. It went against all my instincts to drop my weapon in a fight.
But as the lion gnashed its teeth, nearly reaching me, I decided to follow the command.
I dropped my sword.
Instantly, the stone beast stilled. It remained atop me for several long moments, staring into my eyes as though judging whatever it saw there. Then, it leapt off me, and I sucked in a shuddering breath, not moving as the lion continued past me and returned to its station by the sword in the anvil.
After several long moments, I pushed myself up to standing. Excalibur lay on the ground at my feet, but I knew better than to grab it now.
My shoulder stung from the lion’s bite, and since I hadn’t worn my sheath, blood tracked down my arm and dripped onto the stones as I climbed up the steps. And to my amazement, I watched as the lion I’d decapitated earlier returned to its post across from the other. But its head was back on its body, though I could see cracks and lines in the stonework.
But when I trained my sights on a short, stocky man standing before the sword, I paused. I recognized him as a dwarf, his skin dark and covered in mud, his white hair streaked with red. Like all dwarves, he had slightly pointed ears, though not as long or sharp as the fae and the little folk, and his white, wiry beard wrapped around his shoulders like a scarf. A muddy tunic draped over his body, and his bare feet were caked in dirt as well.
I knew he’d been the one to instruct me to drop Excalibur.
He’d saved my life.
My gaze slipped past him to the lions. “Why did they attack?”
“They attack the weak.”
That didn’t make sense. Because I’d passed through them just earlier that day.
The dwarf must have sensed where my thoughts had gone because he grinned. “When you entered today, you showed bravery by passing them unarmed. Tonight, you doubted yourself, so you depended on your sword, showing weakness. By unarming yourself, you showed bravery once more.”
“I definitely didn’t feel brave,” I admitted.
“Bravery is not the absence of fear. It is simply the courage to fight it.”
I peered over his head toward the sword. “Are you here to stop me from taking the sword?”
The dwarf shook his head. “It is yours, if you can retrieve it.”
I swallowed, my vision clouding with memories so similar to this. Taking several steps, I passed the lions, not even glancing their way.
This time, they did not attack.
The dwarf shifted out of the way for me, and as I stepped up to the anvil, my heartbeat slowed to a sluggish pace. Magic swirled in the air, almost like static.
Reaching out, I gripped the handle and pulled .
The sword eased out in one fluid motion.
Flames erupted along the blade, and though I felt its heat, the fire did not burn me.
And I knew then what this was. What I might have guessed all along.
I’d found the Sword of Rhydderch Hael.
The dwarf appeared at my side then, Excalibur proffered toward me as he bowed his head, and I accepted the sword with triumph coursing through my blood.
I held the Sword, White-Hilt, in my left and Excalibur in my right. One a sword of flames, the other a sword of light. Both were just as deadly as they were beautiful.
And when the heat of someone’s gaze settled on me, I peered over my shoulder, finding Will in the distance on our balcony.
His mouth was parted in awe.
And when he grinned at me, I couldn’t help but offer him one in return.
Only two more Treasures left to find.