Legendary (31 page)

Still a bit leery, she repeated his actions, but nothing happened. She tried again, but no magic came to life.

“Concentrate, Aliana,” Dagg told her, jumping from his perch to hover next to Merlin. “Find the magic inside again. Imagine just a small flicker in your hands.”

She cupped her hands, imagining the pink lights from days ago. Warmth trickled into her palms. Opening one eye, she gasped, amazed at the small ball of pink sparks jumping in her hands.

“Dagg!” she cried. “I did it!” She laughed, her smile bright as the sun.

“A nice first step, Aliana, but don’t lose focus,” the Dragon warned.

“Try to guide it around the room,” Merlin instructed.

She imagined the sparks moving in loops around Dagg, and they leaped to do as she wished. “So cool! I can’t wait to photograph this.” Next, she imagined them zooming off the walls before bringing them back.

“Well done!” Merlin praised her. “How do you feel?”

“Fine. I don’t get why I was so weak a few minutes ago.”

Merlin nodded, his fingers rubbing across his chin again.

Aliana’s insecurities nagged at her. What if Merlin couldn’t figure out the problem with her magic? She could put everyone in danger if she wasn’t able to use it to defend them.

“We will figure it out,” he assured her, like he could still read her feelings.

“Pardon me.” A small, high-pitched voice interrupted them. A girl no more than two feet tall was half hidden by the door.

“Estrelle, come in. How are you?” Merlin smiled kindly at the small girl, surprising Aliana with his tenderness.

The redhead was dressed in a soft, brown, dress-like top and a pair of green bell pants. On her back was a pair of wings like a dragonfly’s, shimmering with color as the light hit them. “I’m sorry to interrupt. Sabine says dinner will be ready soon. She wanted to know whether your guests would prefer wine or ale tonight.”

“Ale.” Merlin motioned her closer. He towered over her tiny frame. “Estrelle, allow me to introduce Aliana Fagan.”

“The Destined One.” The Pixie smiled and curtsied.

“Nice to meet you.” Aliana held out her hand to the Pixie. After a slight nod from Merlin, the Pixie took her hand.

“I will let Sabine know your choice.” The Pixie peeked shyly at Aliana and added, “It will be an honor to serve the Destined One. If you need anything, my sisters and I would be more than happy to help.” She curtsied again. Her wings fluttered, lifting her in the air as she zoomed out of the room.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Aliana said, her eyes still on the door. “But so totally cool! Do you think she would mind being a model for me?”

Merlin chuckled. “Estrelle is very shy, but her sisters, I’m sure, would love to.” The Druid cleared his throat. “Before we go to dinner, I want you to try the summoning spell for Sir Leyon.”

“What do I do?”

“You said you dreamed of us. You saw all of us as we were, correct?”

Aliana nodded.

“Can you remember what Leyon looked like?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t really see everyone in clear detail. It’s more like I saw certain features, bits of what you all looked like, but not the full picture. But I think he had really short, blond hair and was kind of tall.”

“Yes, that’s him. For the spell to work, you need to see him and draw him to you.”

Aliana frowned. “Isn’t that manipulating a person’s free will? What if he doesn’t want to be a part of all this?”

Merlin studied her carefully. “You have heard the others say they believed a part of their lives had been missing. Leyon could be feeling that loss too. Wouldn’t it be cruel to leave him missing a part of himself?”

“Okay,” she whispered. Pushing her doubts aside, she tried to remember more details of the dream. She saw the missing knight again trying to avenge Owen, the first of Arthur’s men to have fallen. Leyon was less than six feet tall with dove gray eyes. He was amazing to watch in a fight. All of them were.

“I see him,” she said, hating that she was going to have to watch him die again.

“Focus on him until everything else falls away,” Dagg instructed, resting his small claw on her hand.

She could feel the magic sparks rushing to life as she paused the vision, blurring out everyone but Leyon. The blurriness cleared, revealing a historic-looking street filled with shops and cafes. She spotted Leyon sitting in the window of a used bookstore, working on his laptop.

“Leyon,” she murmured, approaching the shop.

His head snapped up, his eyes searching.

“Leyon?” she asked, louder this time.

“Who’s there?” His voice was lightly tinted with a Scottish brogue.

“I’m Aliana Fagan.” His eyes met hers through the shop window. “We need you. The Knights of the Round Table won’t be whole again till you join them. If you want to,” she added.

She conjured a picture of all the guys in the clear shop window, hoping he would see them and understand. The magic inside her grew hotter and her energy quickly started draining away.

“Hurry!” She lost the vision. Aliana rubbed her temples, hoping to soothe the headache building there.

“What did you see?” Merlin kneeled next to her, offering a glass of water.

“I saw him, but I have no idea where he was,” she said after gulping down half the glass.

“Did he hear you?”

“Yeah, I tried to show him who y’all are, but I started to feel weak and I lost the connection.”

“But he heard you. That’s the important part. You’ve established the connection. The magic will do the rest.” Merlin watched her carefully, as if searching for any side effects of the magic. “Do you have enough strength to stand?”

Nodding, she got to her feet.

“The others are waiting on us for dinner,” Merlin said.

“Do you mind if I skip it? I’m super tired and I really just want to take a bath.”

“Are you sure, Aliana?” Dagg asked, crawling across her shoulders.

“Positive. I’m just really tired. I’ll come down later and get some food,” she promised. But right now her insides felt like they were twirling, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to eat anything.

“I will have one of the Pixies bring you a plate.” Merlin nodded to her, leaving for the kitchen. Hesitantly, Dagg followed him.

Trudging up the stairs, Aliana pushed open her door, shocked when a white blond Pixie flew out of her bathroom.

“Hi!” the little Pixie said vibrantly. She had on a bright pink dress and black, lacy slippers. Her wings buzzed behind her with a purple hue. “I’m Flora.”

“I’m Aliana.” She couldn’t help smiling at the Pixie’s lively face.

“Oh, I know. Stella told us all about you! I heard you were coming up, and I thought you might want a bath, so I prepared it for you.” The Pixie flew up to Aliana, leaning in as if to tell her a secret. “Don’t tell the others, but I added a bit of flower root and Pixie dust to help rejuvenate you.”

“No one will hear it from me,” Aliana promised. “But why is it a secret?”

“Pixie flowers are rare and hard to harvest into Pixie dust. We try to only use it when we have to.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you for your kindness, then.”

“Think nothing of it.” The Pixie looked down at Aliana’s shirt and busted out laughing. “I bet you drove Merlin crazy with that all day! He hates Harry Potter.”

“I didn’t expect you to know pop culture,” Aliana said, kicking off her shoes.

“Are you kidding? This is the twenty-first century! Who isn’t connected?” Aliana laughed at Flora’s duh-you-idiot expression. “Besides, I like to dress in the latest fashions. Sometimes I can even convince the others to wear the clothes I make.”

“Well, I think you have great taste. Would you like to model for me sometime?”

The girl squealed in delight. “I’ve always wanted to be a model!”

“Then it’s a date, but first I should get in there before the water gets cold.”

“Of course. I’ll make you a plate for dinner.” The Pixie fled and the door closed behind her.

“Unbelievable,” Aliana laughed, laying her clothes on the bench next to a fluffy white robe. She sank into the tub. The water tingled, tickling her skin. She inhaled the fresh floral scent and something else she couldn’t describe. It kind of smelled like Deidre’s valley, but not quite the same.

She thought about how much everything in her life had changed in only a matter of days. A small part of her still thought this could all be a dream, but she also knew she couldn’t have dreamed up all of this. She drifted off to sleep, not waking until Flora knocked on the side of the tub.

“Sorry to wake you, but I didn’t think you wanted to spend the night in there.” Flora grinned like she had a secret, turning her back as Aliana got out of the tub and wrapped herself in the soft robe.

“Whatever is in that Pixie dust of yours is amazing! I feel better than I have in weeks.”

“I can bring you a small bottle if you want,” Flora offered.

“Thanks, but I don’t want you getting into trouble, Flora.”

The Pixie shrugged. “Just let me know if you want some more. I can bring you a pinch or two.”

“What time is it?” Aliana asked, slipping on fresh clothes.

“It’s almost nine. You’ve been asleep for almost two hours.” Aliana looked at Flora unbelievingly. “Don’t worry. Your food is being heated for you right now. I should also tell you the really tall, hot guy, Galahad, has been asking about you, like, every ten minutes.”

Aliana flushed bright pink.

The Pixie giggled in delight. “I love having a mortal girl around!” She zoomed out of the room, giggling the whole way.

Aliana finished dressing and made her way to the kitchen, waving at Percy, Lancelot, Owen, and Wade when she passed the media room. Her stomach growled loudly as she walked into the kitchen, and she salivated at the smell of hot chicken and a distinct wintery scent. Galahad sat at the counter next to a plate piled with Parmesan-crusted chicken and vegetable risotto.

“Hey.” Her green eyes met his and she thought of the last time they’d been alone in a kitchen.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked as she took a seat, passing a glass of rose-colored wine to her.

“I am. I didn’t realize how much magic drains a person.” She took a bite of the juicy chicken and a sip of the wine, surprised by its sweet taste. “Wow, that tasted just like fruit punch!”

“What is fruit punch?” Galahad asked.

“It’s just a blend of fruit juices. I’ll see if Merlin can get you some.”

“I’d like that,” he said, taking a drink of ale from his pint.

Taking another bite of risotto, Aliana wondered if Galahad would bring up their kiss, half dreading the idea of talking about it. But as she finished her dinner, he only asked questions about modern devices. Apparently Wade had tried to show him how to use a cell phone. Aliana tried to hide her laugh when he told her about almost crushing it. But why didn’t he ask her about the kiss? Was he regretting it, like he had when he’d kissed her for the first time to free her from the Sidhe? Disappointment soared in her chest, and a very small part of her was starting to regret the mind-blowing kiss.
Both
of them.

“Good. You’re here.”

The pair turned to see Dagg and Wade enter the kitchen. Dagg jumped from the knight’s shoulder to the counter.

“You look better,” the Dragon said, sniffing at the small bit of risotto still on Aliana’s plate.

“Thanks?”

“What I think he means is, we’re glad to see you looking more like yourself again.” Wade wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a half hug.

“Don’t you dare!” Aliana warned Dagg when he tried to eat the last of her dinner. Pouting, he backed away.

“So what were you kids chatting about?” Wade asked, leaning against the counter.

“Galahad nearly breaking your phone,” Aliana said, taking another sip of her wine. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Galahad frown. “Don’t worry,” she said, patting his hand. “Wade has broken his phone so many times that people have started to refuse to give him a new one.”

Galahad smiled at Wade’s glare.

“Not nice, Aliana. The rest of us are going outside. Apparently the Pixies have set up a nighttime obstacle course for us. Care to make a wager on who wins?” Wade winked at Aliana.

“Sure, I bet on Galahad,” she said and smiled at her best friend’s look of disbelief.

“Then win I shall,” Galahad vowed, standing.

“You’re not so tough,” Wade joked. “I’ll take your bet, Lia. The usual wager?”

She nodded. “Have fun boys!”

“You are not joining us?” Galahad stopped in the doorway, glancing back at her.

She shook her head. “No, I need to ask Dagg a few questions and I have some stuff I need to get done.” She smiled at him as she put her dishes in the sink and ran water over them.

“Come on, G,” Wade said, pulling her knight toward the backyard.

“What do you want to know?” Dagg asked once they were alone.