Claiming Excalibur Read online

  Wade paused before replying. “That’s good. But that’s not what I meant.” He flicked his hazel eyes back to the couple.

  Arthur’s gaze followed, his golden eyes softening for an instant before he closed them, trying to push away the image of himself holding Aliana the way Galahad was. Being denied what he wanted most was something Arthur was accustomed to. Just like he’d done for Lancelot and Guinevere, he would step aside so his friend could find happiness.

  “Aliana’s blind when it comes to the way people feel about her,” Wade explained, his voice a whisper. “I doubt she even knew Galahad had feelings for her until he made his move.”

  “As long as she chooses to be his…” Arthur looked Wade in the eyes, making a vow. “I will keep my feelings for Aliana to myself. So long as she stands by his side I will be nothing more than a friend to her.”

  Wade nodded with a sadness Arthur wasn’t accustomed to seeing in the typically carefree knight.

  “Arthur,” Merlin whispered, catching the king’s attention. Lancelot motioned for Arthur and Wade to join them up front. Rising, the two men walked forward and took the empty seats across from the dark-haired knight and the blue-eyed Druid.

  “What have you two found regarding the possible location of the Grail?” Arthur asked.

  “According to Galahad, a small Gargoyle stole it from him before the Sidhe caught him,” Lancelot said.

  “The description of the Gargoyle sounded like it could be a guardian from either Atlantis or Olympus.” Merlin rubbed a hand across the light stubble on his cheeks. “Both realms have similar creatures. I’ve gotten in contact with several allies in Olympus to see what they can find out for us, but I have no contacts within the Atlantian tribes.”

  “Explain this whole realms thing to me again,” Wade said. Although Merlin had restored Wade’s, Owen’s, Percy’s, and Leo’s memories of their lives in Camelot, it seemed certain details were still hazy.

  “Atlantis and Olympus are two of the seven realms that make up our planet,” Merlin said. “All the realms exist on this planet but in separate spaces, or dimensions, as many have called them. Centuries ago all the realms had bridges allowing people to travel between them.”

  “That’s why our world has so many stories about these realms,” Lancelot cut in.

  “Yes,” Merlin said, taking over again. “But one by one the realms started to separate themselves from each other. Greed and lust for power overtook several of the rulers, and wars broke out with rulers trying to take over other realms. The tribes of Atlantis were the first to seal their entries after a DragonLord of Tir Na Nog caused the violent eruption of a volcano in Pompeii, the city outside Atlantis’s main gates. Within a hundred years, all the realms had sealed their gates. Now only those with magic or a tie to other realms can enter them.”

  “Will you be able to get us into these different realms?” Wade asked.

  “Not all of them.” Merlin sighed, shaking his head. “My connection to Avalon has not reawakened. I fear Titania’s banishment still stands for me. That also means the Isle of the Blessed will be closed to me as that is her ruling domain.”

  “Wait, I thought she ruled Avalon.” Wade’s brow furrowed.

  “No, she married King Oberon centuries ago to form an alliance between the two realms. Her people can move through his lands and his through hers. But Oberon alone rules Avalon, just as Titania holds all power on the Isle.” Merlin’s frown deepened as he shared a heavy look with Lancelot.

  “If the two of you cannot join us, we will have to ensure Aliana is properly trained to locate and open the portals into those realms,” Arthur said. His eyes skimmed the hand drawn maps of Avalon and Atlantis and other random papers, several of which had come from Lancelot’s stash. Much of the writing was in foreign languages Arthur couldn’t read, but he recognized a few, including the Fae script that covered a small piece of paper sticking out from beneath a scroll.

  “There’s something else that worries me, sire,” Merlin said, a slight hesitation in his voice. He glanced behind Arthur and Wade toward Aliana. “When I approached Allen, Aliana’s father, all those years ago, it wasn’t because he was a renowned Arthurian scholar. I had reason to believe Morgana may have somehow been influencing him.”

  “What?” Wade hissed through clenched lips.

  “Whether she was leading him to or away from the truth, I’m not certain, but I’m convinced she suspected, even back then, that Aliana was the Destined One.”

  Arthur’s brows shot up in surprised worry. Wade looked back at Aliana as if to assure himself that she was still there.

  “If that’s so—” Arthur pushed down the bile in his throat “—why didn’t she try to…stop Aliana when she was a child?”

  The dark thought spoken aloud was met by a silent pause.

  “I don’t know,” Merlin finally said, his steepled fingers tapping his chin. “She may have only suspected who she was, as I did when I first met Aliana.” Merlin sat back in his chair. “But I cannot say for certain that she didn’t make any attempts on her life.”

  Anger boiled in Arthur’s blood as he remembered the story Aliana had told about getting trapped in Mordrid’s prison chamber when she was only a child. Could Morgana have arranged that? A darker thought stole into his mind. Aliana hadn’t yet told him how her parents had died, but from what little he’d gathered, it hadn’t been a natural death. Was it possible Morgana had been involved?

  Wade’s next question to Merlin pulled Arthur away from his troubling thoughts. “Did you ever find out if Morgana was interfering with Allen’s work?”

  “Not definitively, no.” Merlin again tapped his fingers on his chin—it was the same tell he’d had back in Camelot when he was anxious about something.

  “We’ll need to be cautious when we arrive in Charleston,” Lancelot said. “If she was influencing him, whatever she was using to do it may still be in play.” He fixed a hard look on Wade. “I know Aliana and Lacy want to bring their friend into our circle, but I must protest again.”

  “Lancelot,” Wade growled in warning. “Dawn is trustworthy. Lacy, Lia, Dawn, and I have been friends since before we could run. She’s family.”

  Merlin and Lancelot exchanged guarded looks of frustration.

  “Aliana has already told her friend some of what’s happening,” Arthur said. He continued before they could voice their protest, his flint-hard gaze moving over the pair. “She did so with my blessing. Keeping Lacy ignorant didn’t keep her out of Morgana’s path in England. If she has been spying on Aliana and her family, then she knows how important Dawn is to her. By bringing Dawn into our fold we have a better chance of protecting her from any scheme Mordrid and Morgana may have in mind to use her against us.”

  Lancelot looked down at the papers on the small table between them. Merlin met Arthur’s gaze then nodded his acquiescence.

  “What’s with all the hushed conversations and cheerful faces?” Owen’s words slurred as he leaned around his seat, still looking half asleep.

  “Just planning what our next moves should be,” Merlin answered, straightening the scattered maps and papers.

  The intercom from the pilot’s cabin clicked on. “Excuse me, Mr. Wylit. We’ll approach the airstrip in about twenty minutes. Everyone will need to take their seats and buckle in.”

  With a yawn, Owen rose from his seat. “I’ll wake the happy couples,” he mumbled. Stepping across the aisle, he lightly smacked Percy’s blond head, jolting the tall knight awake.

  “What the…” Percy glared at Owen who was grinning like a fool as he repeated the process with Leo.

  Arthur smiled ruefully at the promise of payback in both Percy’s and Leo’s eyes.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Arthur heard Galahad grumble. Arthur knew Owen was smarter than to try the same wakeup technique with Galahad.

  2

  I could never have imagined this would be my life. It’s been over two weeks since I found Aliana in that hedge maze
at Morgana’s mercy. In the last week, things have changed again. The visit to Lancelot’s storage locker was confounding. The weapons and artifacts I had expected. It was the sheer number of maps and files that threw me. I can’t fathom why he has so many, but Owen and I agree there may be valuable information within them that Lancelot either doesn’t know of or is purposely not telling us about. All of us are under an incredible amount of stress, but Lancelot worries me most. I fear our mate may be the closest of us all to breaking.

  ~Leo

  ALIANA WAS STILL TRYING to calm her fluttering pulse fifteen minutes after Galahad had woken her with a gentle shake and a tantalizing kiss. The second she’d first touched him, right after freeing him in Avalon, a band had formed around her heart, causing some sort of connection between them that went beyond their natural attraction to each other.

  Everyone was back in their seats, buckled in for landing. Aliana hid her smile when the plane tilted and Galahad’s hand involuntarily tightened on hers. She glanced at Arthur, surprised to see his calm expression. He seemed to be handling his first plane ride very well. Then she noticed his white knuckles as his fingers clutched the armrest.

  She looked out the window at the marshland, strips of beaches, rows of houses, and the outline of downtown Charleston. Galahad stared in awe when an old battleship in the harbor came into view. She’d have to take him to see it when they had a chance. Owen had never been to the States, neither had Leo nor Lancelot, and she wanted to show all of them the beauty of her historic hometown.

  The plane touched down on the tarmac with barely a bump, but Galahad’s jaw clenched tight. He breathed a small, relieved sigh when the plane taxied into a small hangar near the end of the private airstrip. It was funny—Aliana had lived here all of her life, but had never known this little strip existed.

  Unfastening her seatbelt, she sent a quick text to Dawn to make sure her friend had found the hangar all right. As soon as Aliana, Lacy, and Dawn had gotten their driver’s licenses, the three girls had made a tradition of meeting each other whenever one of them returned from a trip. The drive home usually consisted of giggling, gossip, and blasting whatever music they were into at the moment.

  “Let me talk to Dawn first before you just pop up, Dagg,” Aliana reminded her Dragon guardian as everyone stood and stretched. Dawn always had an open mind, but a Dragon, no matter how small, would be too much for most everyone.

  “Right, right,” he said.

  Smiling, she patted her guardian’s head and opened her black bag so he could jump in. There was still so much she needed to tell her other best friend.

  “Looks like Dawn’s right on time.” Lacy pointed out her window on the opposite side of the plane. Aliana leaned over Leo and looked out the window to see a short, chestnut-haired girl with her arms crossed over her familiar KEEP CALM IT’S ONLY FOREVER tank top.

  “I haven’t seen her since I left for London,” Aliana said. Dawn and her mom, Aunt Michelle, had watched over Aliana’s house for her while she was gone, with the help of Uncle Joe, who’d been a good friend and colleague of Aliana’s dad.

  “Let’s hope Mordrid and Morgana haven’t already been watching your friend. Otherwise she’s led them right to us,” Lancelot said.

  Ignoring the caramel-skinned knight, Aliana turned to Galahad. “Dawn will be thrilled to meet y’all.”

  “As nice as this plane is, I want to be on solid ground,” Lacy said, pulling Percy behind her as she followed Leo to the stairs. She glared at Lancelot as she passed.

  Following Percy and Wade, Aliana ducked through the doorway and descended the stairs.

  “Lia! Lacy!” Dawn’s voice carried through the echoing hangar. Aliana and Lacy bounced down the plane stairs in a quick dash as Dawn rushed forward to her best friends.

  “Incoming!” Aliana ignored Wade’s laughing taunt, grabbing her best friend in a crushing hug. Lacy joined her, and the three friends did a hugging, happy-girl dance. Aliana wrapped her arms around her girlfriends’ waists. They were like sisters to her.

  “D, I can’t breathe!” Aliana fake choked as her friend loosened her bear hug.

  “That’s what you get for being gone so long.” Dawn hugged them both again before stepping back. Her green-brown eyes flicked to Aliana’s bag as Galahad set it down next to the other luggage. She studied it for a second, looking confused.

  She shifted her gaze away from the bag and over to the guys. They were all in jeans, and all but Lancelot and Merlin wore plain T-shirts in various colors, each of them favoring the color that had represented their families back in Camelot. A grin spread across Aliana’s face as she pulled out her cell phone. She needed to have a group picture of these drool-worthy guys in America. Her eyes went to the silver cuffs Merlin had given each of them before they’d left London. The cuffs bore the Pendragon crest and matched the one Galahad almost always wore. Arthur had asked his knights to wear them as a sign that they were a part of the Round Table. It had been a moment of pride and joy for the eight brother knights.

  “So these are your fairy-tale friends,” Dawn said.

  Aliana pinched Dawn’s side in annoyance. She hoped her friend’s funny, tough girl attitude would help her deal with all that was coming. “Remember, they’re just people, not mythical creatures.”

  “But that doesn’t mean we can’t get one or two of your wonderful pictures, right?” Dawn whispered with a sly wiggle of her brows.

  “Yeah, buddy!” Lacy echoed eagerly.

  “Way ahead of you!” Aliana winked and held up her phone.

  “My man. Or rather woman.” Dawn winked, her words imitating one of her favorite radio DJs.

  “Hey, guys!” Lacy shouted.

  The knights looked over and Aliana snapped several quick pictures.

  Wade moaned. “I can’t believe we fell for that.”

  “You are so sending me those!” Dawn said. “I know exactly where I’m gonna put them. And if you don’t send them, I’ll take away all that delicious food I’ve stocked at your house.”

  “Well, I’ve got more pictures from the last several weeks. I’m thinking you might need them to believe everything we have to tell you.”

  Dawn fixed a stare on her. “Lia, you’re the one who needs pictures to see and believe what’s actually right in front of you. I like to go on faith and trust my eyes.”

  Aliana snorted and shook her head, leading Dawn to the guys. “Arthur, everyone, meet my other best friend, Dawn Anson.” Aliana pointed to each knight as she introduced him. “Obviously, this is King Arthur.” She smiled at the dark-haired king, dressed in a close-fitting red polo shirt. “And next to him is Galahad Scipio.” Galahad hadn’t liked the new last name Merlin had made for him, but he hadn’t fought it, either. With the fortune Merlin and Lancelot had amassed over their very long lives, getting modern identities for Galahad and Arthur seemed as easy for them as a kid buying a lollipop in a candy store.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Arthur wasn’t the tallest of the group, but he still towered several inches over the girls. “Aliana has told us so much about you.” He smiled kindly, his golden brown eyes crinkling at the corners. Galahad gave Dawn a friendly smile and nodded hello. His brown hair brushed his chin, and the deep blue of his eyes was offset by his forest green shirt.

  “This is Merlin Wylit and Lancelot D’Arn,” Aliana said.

  Merlin gave Dawn a passive, “Nice to meet you.” His raven black hair was combed back in a fashionable style, and the sharp angles of his face were highlighted by the early afternoon sun. Lancelot’s smile was slightly warmer that Merlin’s, but his impatience was plain to see on his Roman features and in his pale green eyes.

  “This is Leo Kell, formerly Sir Leyon.” The quiet, whip-smart knight said hello, his Scottish brogue thick enough to make most females swoon. His auburn hair was cut close to his head, and his features were a little rougher than those of the other knights, but Aliana thought it made him look like the rugged Highlander that he was.


  “Percy Wincott, our fellow Southerner, aka Sir Percival,” Aliana continued.

  Dawn smiled brightly at the Georgia boy’s devilish grin. His Southern charm was in full effect. With his long face, thin mouth, lengthy upper body and wide shoulders, he wasn’t what would be considered hot by the CW TV network, but his quirky looks were one of the things Lacy seemed to like best about her boyfriend.

  “Pleased to meet ya, darlin’.”

  Dawn nodded, her smile pulling to the side. She had plenty of experience with Southern boys. Her eyes went to Aliana’s bag again, and one of her eyes narrowed.

  Playfully knocking Percy to the side, Owen stepped forward, offering his hand to Dawn. Aliana had met Owen soon after arriving in London, before her Arthurian adventure had begun. For the first few months of their relationship, she’d only known him as her long lost cousin. “Apparently, my dear cousin rightfully saved the best for last. I’m Owen Nyhart, otherwise known as Sir Owaine.” Dawn took his offered hand.

  Bringing her hand to his lips, Owen placed a kiss on her knuckles and winked coyly with green eyes the same shade as Aliana’s. He also shared his cousin’s light brown, wavy hair and fair skin.

  Dawn pulled her hand away, popping out her hip. “I bet you think that sexy British accent makes you quite the charmer, huh?”

  Wade frowned at Dawn and Owen’s flirting. How interesting, Aliana thought. She and Wade had been close for as long as she could remember. Of all the shocking things that had happened these past few weeks, finding out that her childhood friend was a reincarnation of Sir Gawain had to top the list. Though she shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that he’d been a warrior in a past life. Despite his laid-back behavior, he was arguably one of the best young martial artists in the world, with several tournament wins to prove it.