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“Will you ever forgive me for sending you away?”
“Yeah. I understand why. I don’t like it, but I understand. I am—was—a weakness. People would try to use me against you.” She sighed.
“I fear we were doomed from the start.” Turning, he scooped her up and placed her onto his lap, sitting sideways. He wrapped his arms around her, wishing to hold her, careful to avoid crushing her wings.
She snuggled into him, tucking her head against his neck. Though they were never to meet again in the waking world, they would have their dreams. He could be at peace with that.
For as long as it lasted before he died.
“I’m sorry, Mordred. For not telling you about me and Grinn. I just didn’t know what to do. I haven’t felt like I could control anything since I showed up here.”
“You were right to be wary of me. The need for revenge—the hatred that he and I share for each other—it is a force that is hard to overcome. You were trapped betwixt us—caught in a centuries-old war you had no stake in.” He kissed the top of her head. She smelled like the campfire. Welcoming and warm.
“I do have a stake in it, though.” She sighed. “I don’t want you to die. And to be honest, I don’t want him to die either.”
“One of us is going to die. Very soon.”
“I know, I know. And I know he probably deserves it. But…”
“You are compassionate by nature.”
“Yeah, but also—like, some part of me still holds onto the fact that he was my cat for ten years. I took care of him. Fed him. Talked to him for a decade. All of my young life, he was there, being the asshole that he is.” She chuckled, and he joined her. Letting out another disheartened breath, she continued. “But he was still there. I know he hates me. I just can’t hate him back.”
“It is part of what I adore about you, Gwendolyn Wright. That in your heart, you always hope for the best in those around you. Even an unforgivable tyrant, alone, with only usurpers and traitors around him.” He tilted her head up to him with the crook of a finger.
“You aren’t alone. You have people who care about you. Galahad. Maewenn. Me.”
“One who has returned to Earth. And two others. In sixteen hundred years.” He managed to smile, if weakly. “Yes, I have done so well for myself.”
She laughed. “Yeah, but you do this shit to yourself.”
“I have come to think there may be wisdom in that.” He turned his attention to the men around the fire, who were oblivious to her existence in the dream. “I have decided to release Galahad.”
“Really?” She blinked, surprised.
“He should be with his love. They have sacrificed enough time for my foolishness. But it will be a heavy loss when he leaves my side.” That would, technically, only leave him with Maewenn for anything resembling a friend. The other knights loathed him, and his soldiers were forced to follow him. He truly was a sorry bastard.
“What about the others?”
“Should I survive the ordeal with Grinn, the other elementals will surely come for me. Without any other knights to aid me, I would fall to their numbers.” He shook his head. “And they would not stand willingly beside me. Of this, I am certain.”
“Maybe. I don’t know the others. I barely had a chance to meet any of them. Except Percival. He can go get wrecked.” She glanced around the group again before her attention settled once more on Arthur. “He has a nice smile.”
“He led by inspiration and loyalty. It was a lesson that I was never capable of learning. You would have adored him—and he you. You share a penchant for kindness.” He combed his fingers through her hair, loving the silky sensation against his fingers. “He likely would have swept you away for himself.”
“Too skinny for me. I like guys I can climb like a tree, apparently.” She snickered. “Where’s Merlin?”
He had to laugh at her obsession with the old wizard. “He was wont to come and go as he pleased. He was not always at the king’s side. Next time, I will have to try to summon a memory with him, so you can placate this silly fascination of yours.”
She turned her attention back to him. She touched his cheek, then played with a strand of his blond hair. “You look so weird as a normal human.”
“Why, thank you for your flattery.”
Chuckling, she kissed him. Slowly, but not without its passion. “You know what I mean.”
He held her closer, returning the kiss, deciding he was not finished with it just yet. Shutting his eyes, he leaned his forehead against hers. “I will cherish these moments, Gwendolyn. I meant my words to you, though they were spoken in a dream. I love you. And I always shall.”
“Damn it, don’t make me cry.” She sniffled and wiped her eye with her hand. “I’m so sick of crying.” She nuzzled into him. “I love you, Mordred.”
