Claiming Excalibur Read online

He pulled back and Aliana’s eyes fluttered open, studying him with awed confusion. She’d expected him to be demanding and rough, not caring and…sweet.

  But her confusion didn’t get a chance to linger because the mirror behind her shattered into a showering hail of shards. Mordrid spun her around, his body curving around hers to shield her from the shrapnel. She looked over the wizard’s shoulder and saw Dagg zooming toward them.

  Mordrid whirled around, his fury burning the air as he flung a staggering blast of magic at the guardian. The silver Dragon swooped to the side, and Aliana threw herself away from Mordrid just before Dagg unleashed the strongest gust of Dragon fire she’d ever seen from him. Mordrid cried out, but his power swelled and smothered the purple and silver flames.

  “How did you get here!” the wizard raged.

  Aliana got to her feet and Dagg placed himself squarely between her and their enemy. An enemy she had just kissed. Her confusion swirled with panic, fear, and worry. Dagg shouldn’t have done this. How was she going to save him? She’d just promised to stay of her own free will, but as she’d realized earlier, Mordrid hadn’t said for how long. Her honor didn’t like the thought of breaking a promise on a technicality, but she couldn’t stay here. Desperate, she grabbed at her ruby magic, surprised when it came to her this time. She summoned her bow, but seconds after she grasped it, a half dozen raccoon-eyed Zombies and black knights appeared, closing in on her and Dagg.

  Mordrid’s furious power clotted the room, but Aliana wasn’t willing to surrender. Drawing on her magic arrows, she fired at the knight closest to her. The pure energy freed the blackened soul and fried the armor. She did it again and again on knight and Zombie alike until only two remained. She leveled another arrow, but Mordrid appeared in front of her and smacked the weapon from her hand. She lunged for it, but Mordrid wrapped her tightly in his arms, tugging her off her feet and imprisoning her against his chest.

  “You can’t leave here,” he said.

  She wrenched her hand away from his body and commanded her ruby to blast him. He roared and released her. She staggered forward, scooped up her bow, and quickly finished off the two Zombies battling Dagg. Her guardian was instantly at her side. Mordrid crouched with one shaking hand covering the right side of his face.

  “You never said how long I had to stay.” Aliana gasped, trying to bring her singeing adrenaline under control. “How do we—”

  The room started to shake with the violence of a mega earthquake. The stones beneath her feet cracked and fell away. She shrieked, jerking back as the floor she’d just been standing on crumbled. Everything was disintegrating quickly, and Mordrid appeared to be even more surprised than she was. “What the heck’s happening?” she shouted.

  The floor beneath Mordrid broke apart, and he barely had time to throw his hand out and grip the edge of the remaining floor.

  “Mordrid!” Aliana didn’t realized she’d rushed toward him until another tremor forced her back. His shocked, black eyes met hers for a moment before the stone he grasped onto like a lifeline separated, and he fell into darkness.

  “No!” she screamed, but it was too late. The room stopped shaking, and she dropped to the crumbling edge just in time to watch his gray magic surround him. She gulped down the hard lump in her throat and looked at Dagg. “Did you do that?”

  “I did that,” a smoky, sultry voice said from behind her. Scrambling to her feet, Aliana met the sparkling emerald eyes of Queen Titania.

  “What are you doing here?” Aliana gasped in outrage and shock. “How…”

  The queen stared at her, arching her brow. “I’m saving you. You have no way out of here without my aid.” The Fae stepped close, her hand brushing her granddaughter’s face, tucking her wild chocolate hair behind her ear. “This seemed like an opportune time to collect on the task you promised me.”

  “What?” Aliana shrieked. “You can’t be serious! I need to get back to the guys. They’ll be going crazy!”

  “They’re far past that point,” Dagg said, taking his place on her shoulder.

  Aliana shot him a glance, but Titania drew her attention again. “You have led Arthur and his men to Excalibur, but you must now find the Grail of Power.”

  “We know that,” Aliana snapped. “That’s why I need to get back—so we can try to find it!”

  “You never will without a certain artifact,” the queen said.

  “So that’s the task you want me to do? Find the object?”

  “That’s not the task, but it’s linked with the deed I have in mind.” Titania smirked like the Cheshire cat.

  Aliana crossed her arms, meeting the queen’s cunning gaze. “And what’s the deed?”

  “I’ll send you to the place you need to be to find the object. You’ll meet people there who will help and guide you to it.”

  “Can you at least tell me what this object is?” Aliana questioned.

  The queen shook her head, her copper ringlets swishing with the movement. “You’ll have to discover that as well as what my task is for you on your own.”

  “But—”

  “You must go now or you’ll not be able to leave. This pocket is already starting to fight off my magic.”

  Aliana didn’t want to stay there any longer than she had to. Maybe once she was free of this pocket realm, she could find a way to contact Arthur, Galahad, and the others.

  “Brace yourself, my dear Aliana.” The Fae queen lifted her hand, and her multi-colored magic swirled upon it, just as it had the first time Aliana had met her in Arthur’s hollow in Avalon. The queen brought her hand to her mouth and blew gently. The glittering magic danced in the air, swelling in size before it wrapped around Aliana and Dagg. It sparked like a starburst, sinking into Aliana’s skin, blinding her to everything but the slashing pain that ripped her from where she stood.

  Epilogue

  ALIANA RUBBED HER EYES, trying to rid her vision of the never-ending glittering spots. I wish just once Titania would do something the simple way. She sucked in a breath, immediately struck by the strange, almost pure smell that surrounded her. Slowly, she opened her eyes, squinting against the bright light of midday.

  Her eyes adjusted from the shadowy world she’d just left, and she looked around at the thick trees on both sides of her. “Dagg?” she called out.

  Her guardian’s weak growl came from behind her, and she turned to see her friend lying on the ground. His usually bright silver-scaled body was coated with a thick layer of dirt. She rushed over, kneeling next to him. The coarse dirt of the road pushed harshly into her palms. “Are you okay?” she asked, dusting him off and stroking his thin body.

  “Yes.” He flapped his wings, snapping away the rest of the dust. Aliana coughed, waving her hand to dispel the cloud that formed and getting to her feet. “How do you feel?” the Dragon asked.

  “Better than I did.” Dagg lifted himself into the air, his eyes appraising her. “What?” she asked, rubbing her dirty hands onto her thick skirt…Wait, what?

  “Why are you wearing that dress?” Dagg asked.

  She ran her hands over the heavy but soft material. It was a deep plum color with a silver and gold embroidered belt fitting the fabric to the curve of her torso. The dress hung off her rounded shoulders, which were rimmed with silver and gold stitching that matched her belt and the edges of the garment’s wide bell sleeves.

  “I look like I’m supposed to be at a Renaissance festival.” She tried to lift the bodice so she wouldn’t feel like she was flaunting her chest. “Clearly we’re not in Kansas anymore. So where in the world are we?”

  Dagg sniffed the air, flying in a slow circle and rising higher. Aliana took the time to run her hands through her hair and braid the long mass. Gathering her restored magic, she used it to secure her braid together until she could find a ribbon. “Well?” she asked when Dagg returned to her, settling himself onto her shoulders.

  “I don’t think where is as important as when.”

  Aliana growled in fr
ustration. “Just once I wish you magical beings would speak in plain English, not in stupid riddles!”

  The thundering of horse hooves sounded from down the road, signaling an approaching rider. “Get off the road!” Dagg ordered even though Aliana was already dashing to the closest tree, hiding behind it.

  Peeking around the wide trunk, she watched a young man come into view astride a brown horse. He had a long sword at his hip and a shield strapped across his back. His hair was short, dark, and wavy, and he wore a loose, cream-colored shirt with a leather vest and black breeches. The way he held himself and the air of confidence about him made Aliana think he might be nobility or something like that.

  He pulled his horse to a stop at the spot where she’d stood only seconds ago. He scanned the area as if searching for something. “Hello. Is anyone there?” His voice was familiar.

  Aliana gripped the tree to keep from falling over. “Merlin?” she asked incredulously, stepping out from her hiding spot.

  He turned in his saddle, his light blue eyes running over her and stopping on Dagg, who was still perched on her shoulders. “You know me?” Merlin asked, his brow scrunching before he offered her a friendly smile.

  Aliana braced her hands on her hips and stared at the Druid. “Uh…yeah.” It was definitely Merlin, but she could see why she hadn’t recognized him at first. This version looked much younger and happier than the one she knew—less burdened by the weight of the world and whatever secrets he kept.

  The Druid lifted his leg over his saddle and dismounted, taking his horse’s reins as he approached her. “Forgive me, my lady. You know my name but I do not know yours or your friend’s. It is not often I see a DragonLord in these parts, much less a silver one.”

  She hesitated, but said, “I’m Aliana. Aliana Fagan and this is my guardian, Daggerhorne.”

  Merlin smiled widely, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Pleasure to meet you, my lady, Lord Daggerhorne.”

  “What made you stop right here?” Aliana asked.

  “I was instructed to be here at this time today,” he answered.

  Aliana frowned and crossed her arms. “By whom?”

  He grinned. “A messenger sent by the Fae queen—”

  “Titania,” Aliana finished for him, shaking her head.

  Merlin frowned, studying her again. “You are brave to speak of the Fae queen so informally.”

  Aliana snorted. “So where and when are we exactly?”

  Merlin’s head tilted to the side, a confused smile on his face. “We are on the borders of Camelot in the year five hundred eighty-seven.”

  Aliana reeled back, her eyebrows threatening to jump off her face as they shot up. “Son of monkey!”

  Acknowledgments

  To me, the best thing about being a writer is the ability to take a story, mythical and real places, legends, people, and fantasy creatures and present them in a new light. There are so many wonderful King Arthur stories out there that I wanted to make mine stand out. I decided to do that several ways: changing the spellings of a few names, blending different myths and characters into the classic legend, and most of all, giving my own spin to mythical lands.

  I owe a huge thank you to everyone who has supported my twists and different takes on all these characters and places. Be assured, there are more to come.

  I also was to thank, again, my amazing Omnific team! Especially Beverly—my fantastical editor, Jennifer for continuing to be my champion and sane voice when I get a little crazy, and Micha and Amy for creating such wonderful and beautiful covers!

  About the Author

  LH Nicole is a seasoned pastry chef in our nation’s capitol and a lifelong fairy tale (Disney and Grimm) lover. She believes in love at first sight, is addicted to eighties and nineties cartoons, and anything that can capture her ADD-way-too-overactive imagination. Joan Lowery Nixon and L.J. Smith were the first authors she became addicted to, and they inspired her to steal away whenever she could to read and write. You can keep up with LH and all her news and adventures on:

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/LHNicoleAuthor

  Tumblr: LHNicoleLegendary.tumblr.com

  Blogger: LHNicoleAuthor.blogspot.com

  Legendary Saga website: LHNicoleauthor.com

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