Ever After (27 page)

Merlin, on the other hand, had fared much worse. He knelt next to Reginald, his hands shackled. One eye was completely swollen shut and the other was nothing more than a small slit. His face was barely recognizable for all the bruises. From what I could feel of his pain, I sensed a few broken ribs as well. A guard had his sword point pressed to Merlin's throat, ready to plunge it deep should I refuse to cooperate.

“You have quite the dilemma before you, Montrose,” Reginald drawled. “Surrender to save your friends, or take the coward's way out and run away.” His smirk grew as he nodded toward Arabella. “Either way, that whore from Sherwood is going to snuff it.”

I glared at him, weighing my choices, desperately searching for another option—my favorite one being throat-punching the arrogant dickhead and ripping out his larynx. But I glanced down at Merlin, catching his gaze, such as it was.

To my surprise, the wizard's mouth hitched up at one corner. “Lily, darling. Now that we're outdoors, would you be a dear?”

In the next instant, Lily shifted out of Reginald's hold and reappeared behind Merlin. She wrapped her arms around him, and they vanished before I could even blink.

Reginald's expression quickly morphed from shock to fury. Enraged at being deprived of his prisoners, he drew his sword and rushed me, murderous intent twisting his countenance into a gruesome mask. But it wasn't so much his expression that drew my attention but the beautifully crafted sword in his hand. It was exquisite, elegant. Fit for a king.

“Excalibur,” I breathed. As Reginald took the hilt in both hands and brought it down toward Arabella and me, I dropped, curving my body around hers to protect her, then pivoted on my knees, coming up behind him when the momentum of his strike made him stumble past us.

I gripped the sword I still carried, preparing to meet Reginald even as I held onto Arabella, determined to have the final relic.

“Go,” Arabella whispered, bringing my attack up short.

I sent a questioning glance down at her. She nodded and let her eyes close. Cursing in frustration, I shifted away just in time to avoid the next swipe of Reginald's sword. When I emerged on the other side of the shift, I was jolted by the numerous anxious faces that awaited my arrival—Merlin and Lily among them.

Nicky immediately rushed forward and attempted to take Arabella from my arms, but I clutched her closer. “No,” I snarled, causing him to jerk his hands back.

But Nicky reached out again, tentatively this time. “Let me help ya out there, Tiny,” he said, his tone cautious. “We'll let Lav have a look at her, see what she can do while Trish fixes that up for ya.”

It was only then that I felt the warm trickle of blood down my arm. Apparently, I hadn't avoided Reginald's attack completely. Luckily, there were no poison curses attached to Excalibur. Otherwise, I would've been in a world of hurt. A flesh wound I could deal with. I shook my head. “I'll be fine. I've got others for Trish to tend to.”

Confused glances passed among them. I jerked my head and uttered a sharp command, opening my temporal cache. “There.”

Trish, Red, and Nate immediately rushed inside.

I found Lavender's face among the others, my heart lifting at the sight of her. Her husband, Seth, stood slightly behind her, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders. He gave me a solemn nod in greeting.

“Can you help her?” I pleaded, forcing the words past the lump in my throat.

Lav came forward and placed a tender hand upon Arabella's brow, then she raised her eyes to me. I could sense the doubt in her heart even as she vowed, “I'll do everything I can, Gideon. I swear it.”

I
paced a tight line next to Arabella's bed as Lavender continued to infuse my darling lass with her healing light. Lavender was growing weary from the exertion, but she stood strong, determined to help Arabella. The
Book of the Ancients
, a collection of spells so powerful they were known only to their chosen guardian, lay open across her lap, the words glowing softly, infusing Lavender with the magic they held.

Seth stood nearby, ever watchful, his concern for the safety of his wife and unborn child clearly visible in the tension that pervaded every muscle in his body. “You doing okay, princess?” he asked, his tone gentle, soothing.

Lavender sighed and let her light slowly fade, then reached her hand out to Seth with a smile. “I'm fine, honey. Really.”

He came forward immediately and sat down next to her, pressing a kiss to her temple and placing a hand upon her rounded belly. “You need a break.”

She smoothed Arabella's hair. “Is this the woman you told me about, Gideon? The one who died the day Daddy found you?”

I cleared my throat, feeling guilty for putting Lavender through such strain. “Yes.”

Lav turned her eyes up to me. “And she has returned to you?”

I nodded.

“Well then,” she said with a sad smile, “I guess taking a break isn't an option.”

A low growl rumbled deep in Seth's chest, reminding me that although he was generally a mild-mannered chef who could work magic of his own variety in the kitchen, he was also a werewolf who was intensely protective of the beautiful fairy godmother he loved. “Lavender—”

She placed a hand on his cheek and leaned in to brush a kiss to his lips, instantly quieting him. “Could you check on Daddy and my sisters for me?”

Seth returned her kiss, then pressed his forehead to hers for a moment. “As long as you're sure you're okay.” When she nodded, he sighed and got to his feet, but when he sent a glance my way, his green eyes glowed in warning, his wolf still on alert.

As soon as Seth closed the door behind him, I pulled my hands down my face, then heaved a weary sigh. “Tell me the truth, Lavender.”

She averted her eyes, turning her gaze back to Arabella. My darling love's wheezing had greatly decreased, thanks to Lavender's tender ministrations, but her fever still raged. She'd been sleeping peacefully while Lavender infused her with magic, but she was becoming restless again.

Lavender smoothed the back of her hand along Arabella's cheek. “She's lovely, Gideon. Truly lovely. And strong. She's fighting harder than anyone else might've been able to in such circumstances. I see why you never truly got over her.”

I felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that as much as I'd loved Lavender once upon a time, I'd held back on that love. And she knew it. As well as the reason why.

“But I don't know that anything I can do will be enough,” she continued. She looked back at me, frowning. “Do you really think the relics are the key to saving her?”

Between Lavender's sessions with Arabella over the course of the past several hours, I'd managed to bring everyone quickly up to speed on our pursuits and the information I'd gathered from the king.

I shook my head on a sigh. “I don't know, Lav. But it's all I have.”

Lavender's brows came together. “And do you know where Reginald and . . .” She paused and cleared her throat of choking emotion before adding, “Where Reginald and
my mother
may have gone?”

I crossed my arms, the black T-shirt I'd borrowed from Nicky stretching tight across my back. “I can't even guess.”

Lavender's frown deepened. “What of Fabrizio? Has he returned to the mirror?”

After a few pressing questions and one very pointed threat, Fabrizio had admitted that he'd known all along that Reginald had Excalibur but had withheld the information, knowing that if Arabella came for the sword, his double-dealing would be laid bare and his chances of offering any further information would be impossible. At least, that was his story. However, I had my doubts that his motives were entirely altruistic.

Still, I needed his help. If he'd found the sword's location once before, I hoped he'd be able to find it again. I glanced at the bedside table where we'd placed the hand mirror, frustrated to see it still empty.

“No,” I told Lavender. “He's not back yet. Mab bound him to Reginald's will; for all we know that asshole has called Fabrizio back to him.”

I began pacing again, torn between my need to go after the sword and my desire to stay at Arabella's side. I needed the sword to complete the collection of relics and hopefully save her life. Yet I couldn't leave her, not when she was like this, not when she was in danger of—I shook my head, refusing to articulate the words even in my head.

“Gideon,” Lavender said softly, “you're going to wear a hole in Trish's carpet.” When I came to an abrupt halt and sent a confused look her way, she offered me a smile. “Pacing isn't going to help Arabella. Why don't you go see how Red's coming along with everything?”

I went to Arabella's side and knelt next to the bed, smoothing her hair. Then I bent and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. I peered down at her for a long moment, reluctant to leave. But Lavender was right—all I was doing was distracting her from her efforts to help Arabella. “You'll call me immediately if there's a change.” It wasn't a question.

Lavender placed her hand lightly on my shoulder. “Of course. She'll want to see you the moment she awakens, I've no doubt.”

I squared my shoulders and gave a terse nod, then pushed up from the bed and strode from the room before I could change my mind. There was no doubt where the others were. The animated conversations were easy to hear as soon as I made my way downstairs. Red and Nate were both on their phones, barking out orders and giving instructions to their subordinates. Maps of what looked like an office complex were rolled out on the dining room table, with Nicky, Trish, and Merlin hunched over them, trying to determine where the king's children were most likely being kept.

“This is the area where we were taken three years ago,” Trish said, pointing at a subbasement comprised of numerous maximum-security cells. “If they're trying to hide Tale children, this would be the best place to do it.”

“I'll be there in thirty,” Red barked into her phone, motioning me into the room as she hung up. “How's Arabella?”

I shook my head as everyone's gazes darted my way, eager for an update. “No change. Lavender is doing her best, but . . .”

“You need the sword,” Merlin filled in.

“I have to return to the king's estate,” I told them, “to see if I can pick up on Reginald's trail. Fabrizio has not yet returned and I've already delayed too long.”

“They'll be waiting for you,” Nicky said. “You know that, yeah?”

I nodded. “I have no other choice. Arabella's life hangs in the balance. I'd give my very last breath to save her.”

“If you go in there alone, that's exactly what will happen,” Trish informed me, her forehead lined with concern.

“He won't be alone.” I turned to see Seth leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed. “I'm going with him.”

“This isn't your fight,” I insisted.

He gave me an offended look. “That bitch Mab made this our fight when she attacked Lav's dad.”

“I'm going too,” Merlin assured me, clapping me on the shoulder.

“Count me in,” Nicky said, giving me a terse nod. “Nate?”

Nate glanced at his wife, clearly torn between wanting to assist and his duty to the FMA. Red pursed her lips and grabbed the blueprints from the table. Muttering under her breath, she rolled up the plans and returned them to the cardboard tube that Nicky's informant had used to smuggle them to us. But then she sighed, “Fine. You boys have your fun while I go play bureaucrat.”

When I sent a questioning look her way, she waggled the cardboard tube a little. “I'm meeting Al Addin at the Agency's headquarters to have a little chat with their director so he can give us some bullshit about not knowing where the king's kids are.” She grinned, her eyes taking on a reckless glint I was beginning to recognize. “Then I'll have a little fun of my own.”

“On second thought, maybe I
should
go with you, sweetheart,” Nate said. “Keep you out of trouble.”

She winked at him, her grin growing. “Ah, come on, Spooky. Me? Get into trouble?”

Nate crossed his arms over his chest, returning her grin with one of his own. “My point exactly.”

“Gideon!”

Lavender's urgent call from upstairs sent me bolting from the dining room and bounding up the steps to the balcony where she stood waiting. “Arabella?” I panted, my heart pounding.

Lavender gave me a tentative smile. “She's awake.”

I rushed into the room, dropping down at Arabella's side, unable to hold back the tears that stung my eyes when I saw her weak smile. I took her hand in both of mine and pressed several kisses to it before I could manage to speak past the emotion that was choking me.

“Well, there y'are, lass,” I whispered, attempting a comforting smile.

“Hello, love,” she managed, her voice a dry croak.

I reached for the glass of water on the nightstand, then slid my other arm beneath her shoulders and lifted her up enough to accept a drink. She closed her eyes as she swallowed, then forced her lids open again to meet my gaze.

“You look like hell,” she observed, reaching up to brush her fingertips to my cheek.

I chuckled. Although my wounds had healed, my hasty effort at cleaning the blood and grime from our adventures at the king's estate had most likely left something to be desired.

I peered down at her, alarmed at the increasing translucency of her skin, but managed to force a smile. “
You
look beautiful.”

The corner of her mouth turned up in a barely perceptible grin. “Liar.”

The
fading
was increasing rapidly, now affecting her actual presence, her hold on the world of the Here and Now. But I refused to voice my fears, not when she needed to keep fighting, not when she needed to believe there was still hope.

“I'm going back for Excalibur,” I told her, abruptly changing the subject. I averted my gaze as I set the water glass aside, then gathered her into my arms and sat down on the bed, cradling her in my lap.

“You can't go there alone,” she murmured, resting her cheek against my chest.

“I won't be alone,” I assured her. “I'm getting the band back together.” When she turned her face up to me to give me a questioning look, I grinned. “Seth, Nicky, and Merlin are going with me.”

She chuckled. “That's quite a band of merry men.” Here she sighed, her sorrow washing over me. “But I'm afraid you'll have to do without your Robin Hood.”

My arms tightened around her. “Ah now, don't y'worry, lass, you and I'll have many adventures together once you're well.”

She closed her eyes. “Gideon—”

“Ah, we've certainly had our fair share, haven't we?” I interrupted. “Do y'remember the tournament? The one where y'disguised yerself to sneak in? The look on Prince John's face when you split his arrow right down the middle!”

“Gideon, love—”

“And when we broke in to the sheriff 's house to steal back the silver candlesticks he'd taken from the monastery as payment for taxes?” I said. “That was a night! We very nearly got ourselves shot full of arrows.”

“That
was
a close one,” she admitted on a sigh. “Good thing I was there to keep you out of trouble.”

I kissed the top of her head and pressed her closer to my chest so she couldn't see the tears in my eyes. “Aye, that it was. You've saved me more times, in more ways, than y'know. I'm not sure how I've managed—” My voice broke, forcing me to bite back the words.

Arabella's arms slid around my waist, her embrace weak as she attempted to comfort me. “You've managed just fine without me,” she rasped. “And you will again.”

I shook my head, grinding my back teeth together to keep from roaring my frustration. “No,” I ground out through clenched teeth. “No, I'm not letting you go this time, lass. I won't.”

“I'm so sorry,” she breathed, tears in her voice. “I know I promised not to put you through this again. Please forgive me.”

My lips trembled when I said, “There's nothing to forgive. If anything, I'm the one who needs forgiveness. I've certainly never forgiven myself for letting you go that day at the falls, for failing you.”

“Oh, Gideon,” she admonished. “It wasn't your fault. You didn't let me go. I was the one who couldn't hold on.”

I gathered her closer, not bothering to check the tears that were scalding my cheeks. “You have to hold on now, lass. Promise me.”

Her hand came up to grip my bicep as she clung to me, and she nodded. “I swear it.”

I held her close for a long while, needing to feel her in my arms, reluctant to part from her but knowing that if I was to save her—if there was to be any hope—I'd have to leave her side.

“You know, you were wrong, lass,” I told her, at last breaking the silence.

“About what?” she asked, her brief rally beginning to diminish again.

“When you said I never needed anything back in Make Believe,” I explained. I put my finger under her chin and gently lifted her face to mine. “I needed
you.
I still do.”

The kiss we shared then was filled with longing, both of us knowing it could be our last.