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“He is the only one that remains. It likely pains him too much to admit otherwise. He was gifted the power of fire by the island as he watched his people and his family die. He is an elemental, same as any of the others—and that afforded him protection under the law that says that unless all other elementals vote for it, he could not be killed. They put him on trial, and he almost joined his family. There was one dissenter who wished to spare him.”
“Who?”
Doc smirked. “Mordred.”
That made no sense to her. They hated each other. “Why?”
“You would have to ask him. I think the prince took pity on the demon, and thought perhaps, with a show of empathy, Grinn could help Mordred in his quest to calm the warmongering of the others. He wanted an ally.” He snorted. “You see how wellthatworked out.”
She shook her head. Poor Mordred seemed to go from one betrayal to the next, over and over again. And here she was, potentially setting him up for another.
“I think you’re doing the right thing, for what it’s worth.” The sorcerer scratched his stubble. “But I don’t envy you for being stuck in the middle of all these idiots.”
She chuckled. “Yeah. All I really want is to avoid a massive war. But I don’t know if it’s possible.”
“Probably not, I’m afraid to say. But by trying to prevent it, you may save many lives in the process.”
“Don’t you know how it’s going to play out? Like, how the future is going to go?” She watched him, hoping he might give up something with his expression even if he didn’t tell her the truth. Was everything going to go to shit? Was Avalon doomed?
“I only know everything thatis.I know what was, and what is, but not what will be.” He gestured aimlessly in the air as he tried to explain. “But think of it like a lighthouse. I can use thenow—which is the flame in the lens—to see out into thewhat will be.Because I can see what was, which…uh…I guess the tower in this metaphor—I can predict what is to come. But the farther away I go from the source, the fuzzier things get. Does that make sense?”
“Um. Kind of?”
“All right, think of it this way. Say you knew that I was having a fight with Lancelot. The two of us were screaming, shouting, absolutely furious at each other. Say you knew that I had picked up a rock. Say you knew that I was rearing my arm back. What do you think might follow next?”
She furrowed her brow. “You throw the rock at Lancelot?”
“Precisely. I know what is, what got us there, for every single thing in the history ofever, and so I can use that to tell you what might follow next. But maybe, instead of throwing the rock, I choose to swallow it whole. It’s possible. It’s unlikely, but it’s possible.”
She supposed that made sense. “Huh. That sounds complicated. How do you keep it all straight?”
“My head is a crowded place, we’ll put it that way.” He laughed. “And I think that’s probably why I’m a bit insane and don’t remember a damn thing about myself. I’m too full of everybody else’s details.”
“I guess I don’t blame you.” She smirked. “I’d be loopy too.” After a small pause in the conversation, she had to ask. “Do you think you might be Merlin?”
“It’s possible. But the knights you’ve met, including that hothead up there,” he said, as he gestured at Lancelot. “Have all met the real Merlin. Unless I somehow managed to change my entire self, or…reverse age, or something, I don’t see how they wouldn’t recognize me and clue me in by now.”
“Do you know where he went? Merlin?”
“No. Which is strange, seeing as I know everything else. So perhaps I am him, since I can’t see any of my own details.” He shrugged. “Or maybe it’s a wizard thing. I don’t know. Why?”
Gwen sighed. “I guess I just hoped that somebody like him would be able to just…get me out of this whole mess. That he’d know what I should do.”
“Life isn’t that easy, no matter how much magic you throw at it. Sometimes, there’s nothing that magic can do to fix the situation.” The wizard shifted in the saddle and grimaced. “My ass is going to be so bruised later.”
She laughed. “Not a rider?”
“Allergic to horses, remember? And I can’t justmakemyself one like the elementals can. I’d have you make me one, but I prefer not to be immolated before lunch.”
“Wait. I can make horses?” She blinked. “Like Lancelot and Mordred?”
“Hon, you can do whatever you want with fire. Want to make a giant dragon made out of flame? You could. The only thing stopping you is, well, you.” He shifted again, grunting in pain.
“I guess I haven’t tried.”
“There’s your problem.”
“It won’t matter for long anyway.” She frowned and folded her arms. “I won’t be an elemental forever.”
