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Draven had the grace not to flinch when I glanced over at him. Was now the time to tell Lancelet that Draven had no intention of letting me give the sword to Arthur and wanted it for himself?
More importantly, now that Lancelet had arrived and Vesper was there, could I thwart Draven’s plan? Would they help me fight him, if it came down to it? I shifted uncomfortably and not just because of the wounds on my back. For some reason I didn’t want to examine too closely, I greatly disliked the idea of returning Kairos Draven to the status of arch-enemy. Like it or not, he had become something else. Something more akin to protector. I didn’twantto fight him. Even if he wanted Excalibur.
But would he want to fight me? Was he preparing even now to do so?
Before this, it had seemed like such a pointless thing to even worry about. Valtain had seemed so very far away. The sword hadn’t seemed real.
But now here was Lancelet, telling me Merlin herself had said I could not bring the sword back to Arthur. Clearly, Merlin believed Excalibur was very real.
“That’s why I’m here,” Lancelet said simply. “To tell you not to do it. Sir Ector agrees. Arthur cannot possess the sword.”
“So they believe it’s real?” I felt oddly shocked. Somehow a portal that could transport Lancelet halfway across Eskira was easier to accept than a magical sword supposedly capable of destroying the world.
“They do. The fact that Arthur seems to so strongly believe it is real is part of what I think convinced Sir Ector. But Merlin... I think she may have known about the sword all along.”
“Then why did she not tell me before I left?” I muttered.
“She didn’t know for sure then where you were even heading. And she said you would not confide in her when she asked you to.” Lancelet gave me a pointed look and I flushed. It was true. Would I have saved us all some trouble if I had?
“Sir Ector and Dame Halyna are the ones who...” She paused awkwardly. “Well, I think they’ve been going through Arthur’s things. Or getting someone else to do it. And then Merlin scried and that made things a little clearer. Besides, when you left, Arthur hadn’t invaded Lyonesse yet. Merlin didn’t know how bad things were about to get.”
“You’d think she might want Arthur to have the sword,” I said thoughtfully. “Wouldn’t that end the war? Help us win?”
Lancelet’s face was horrified. “Is that what you want, Morgan? For us to dominate Lyonesse? And Tintagel?”
“No, of course not,” I said hotly. “But what’s the alternative? Arthur has gotten Pendrath into a terrible position. I don’t wish for our people to suffer either.”
Lancelet’s face turned bleak. “I know. But giving him a weapon that’s supposedly capable of unlimited power. A weapon that would make him unstoppable...”
“That does sound like a nightmare,” I acknowledged. There were too many ways Arthur would immediately abuse such terrible power. “So who do we give it to? Does Merlin have a plan for that part? Perhaps she wants to wield it herself? It sounds like she might be capable.”
Lancelet shook her head, looking uncomfortable. “No...”
My face split into a wide yawn. “You know what. I’m exhausted and I don’t think I even care right now. This sword that everyone is so obsessed with... I don’t even know if I believe it exists. I wish I were home. Right now, in Camelot, with Kaye. That’s honestly all I care about. Not a stupid fucking sword that Arthur could use to destroy the world. I don’t even want to think about that part.”
“It exists,” Draven interrupted. He was glaring at me in an all-too-familiar way. So familiar in fact that the expression made me feel oddly comforted rather than put off.
“Well then? Tell us.” When he hesitated, I pressed him. “Look, you obviously know a lot more than you’ve cared to share so far. Are you ever going to let us in or are you really expecting me to walk into... wherever it is we’re going blind?” I threw up my hands. “Perhaps you don’t even know yourself. If that’s the case, I guess we’ll all be traipsing around Valtain for a very long time searching for this sword that may or may not exist.”
“The ruins of Meridium,” Draven said slowly, refusing to be riled. “That’s where we’re going. The sword called Excalibur was hidden there, in the midst of a lake.”
“The sunken ruins?” Vesper leaned forward, his golden eyes wide. “I’ve heard the stories.That’swhere you’re going?”
“They aren’t all sunken,” Draven said, sounding peevish.
Vesper whistled. “Still, no one enters Meridium. No one. For good reason, too.”
“Well, we’re going. We have no choice. And it’s the sword we’re discussing at the moment, not Meridium.” Draven looked at me. “They say that long ago, the goddess Zorya created Aercanum and along with her brothers and sisters forged powerful items to give to the races of the world.”
“Which races?” Lancelet said, looking interested.
Draven looked slightly uncomfortable, but answered quickly, “There are only two. The fae and humans.”
Lancelet nodded.
“Well, depending on which source you read, a fair number of items were created, but three were imbued with more power than the others. The sword, the spear, and the grail. The sword was created by Perun. Marzanna made the grail. And Zorya made the spear. But when Zorya went to give the items to the rulers of Aercanum, Devina tried to stop her.”
“Why?” Lancelet demanded.
