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“I’m not going anywhere with you until you explain to me what’s going on, and why.”
Merlin stared up at the sky, clearly begging for patience from someone, somewhere. “Can I at least explain it to you on the way? We’re wasting time. And standing in one place is going to get us caught by Mordred and his damnable knights.”
She supposed that made sense. “Fine.”
“Good.” He turned on his heel and started off again into the woods. “Now shut up and follow.”
God, she hated that cat. Person. Whatever he was. “Can you please be nice to me? Even a little?”
“No.”
Well, at least it was definitely Merlin. At least she didn’t have to worry aboutthat.
* * *
Lancelot was unsure of how long he had been walking when he became aware of himself for the first time. In ages past, when he had been a mortal man, he had commanded a soldier who had been prone to walking in his sleep. It had puzzled Lancelot at the time, curious as to how something like that might feel.
Now he knew.
He was walking on the side of a dirt path through a glade. He paused and looked up at the sky—at the beautiful sunlight filtering through the leafy trees. Laughing quietly in disbelief, he rubbed his eyes. Was he still dreaming? Had imprisonment in the Iron Crystal sent him mad?
The world around him was beautiful—beyond beautiful. It caught his breath in his lungs as he took in the sights. It almost made him wish to weep in joy. In relief. The world had been mended—or perhaps it was all in his mind. He was not so certain he cared.
If this was insanity, he would take it over what he had just endured. He shivered from the memory of the emptiness—thecold.The sound that had once been whispers had become the deafening cries of others trapped with him but still separated. Surrounded by a crowd and yet entirely alone.
Had Gwendolyn truly succeeded? Or had he been trapped in that cursed place for a thousand years, until Mordred died?
It was impossible to know how much time had passed. All he could remember was the feeling of being ripped apart, then the horrendous cold and the screaming. He scratched at his chest, over where the crystal was embedded into his flesh, and—
He paused. Pulling aside his shirt, he looked down at his chest.
“Gone,” he whispered to himself before breaking out in a disbelieving laugh. “Gone!” He was free.Free!The iron that Mordred had used to corrupt him—to keep him obedient—was missing! He had a scar where it had once been driven into his flesh, but that was the least of his concerns.
Looking down at his hands, he summoned his armor. Silver covered him, glistening in the beautiful glow of the sun. He was still an elemental. And he wasfree.
A sound from overhead that he recognized sent him ducking under the branches of a nearby tree. It was the creak of metal wings. Sure enough—an iron dragon soared over him, blotting out the sun briefly as Mordred’s enormous minion swooped over the landscape.
That answered his question.
Mordred was still alive—and therefore, Gwendolyn was likely dead, having sacrificed her life to destroy the Crystal. Lancelot could not comprehend a world in which the Prince in Iron let the young woman live.
His next step was to make himself a steed. Focusing, he summoned his power, glad to feel the world flex beneath his will. There was comfort in it. The armor took shape before him until it resembled a horse. It shook its head, shining silver hoof stomping at the ground.
Climbing atop his horse, he commanded it forward. He needed to find the nearest town. He needed information—and he needed allies. He would have to discern where he was in order to locate the nearest elemental who might aid him in his new quest.
Gwendolyn was dead. The Iron Crystal was gone. And Mordred was still alive.
But not for long. He clicked his tongue, urging his creation to gallop faster.
Justice would finally be done.
Mordred would finally die.
TWO
Gwen walked beside the disgruntled old man that was, apparently, Merlin. He wasn’t looking at her. He wasn’t talking to her. He was just staring ahead as they made their way through the woods.
She walked along with him in silence for about ten minutes like that before she couldn’t take it anymore. “Okay, so where are we going? What’re we doing?”
