As Blaise released her, Seren's gaze fell to her belongings, which were on the floor beside him. She'd never thought to see any of it again, and even though it was a worthless bunch of objects, those few things meant the world to her.
Picking up her loom, she held it to her as gratitude overwhelmed her.
She almost felt whole again as Blaise passed along Wendlyn's words.
How she wished she could see her friends again, but Morgen would never allow that, and she knew it. If she went to them, Morgen would find her.
Blaise hesitated before he held his hand out to her.
Seren frowned as he placed something cold in her palm. She opened her hand to see her mother's two necklaces. One brought relief to her, but the other…
It infuriated her.
"Kerrigan has no way to come here."
Blaise shook his head. "He wanted to make sure the doorway was closed. For your safety."
"Formy safety?"
"Aye, Seren. What he did, he did for you."
Still it didn't make sense to her. "But why? Why won't he come?"
"The Kerrigan is our enemy," Merlin said quietly. "And he knows this. The men who have fought him all these centuries past would never welcome him here."
Stunned, she indicated Blaise with her hand. "Is he not an enemy as well? He's Kerrigan's servant."
Merlin's next words stunned her most of all. "Blaise has been a friend of ours for many centuries, Seren. He's no enemy of Avalon."
"What?"
Blaise nodded. "I was taken in as a child by Emrys Penmerlin. I was there when Camelot fell to Morgen, and she captured me to be her servant as punishment after Emrys vanished. I was given to Kerrigan, but I've been in touch with Merlin many times over the years."
"You spied for them?"
"Aye."
Seren shook her head in disgust. "You know the truth of Kerrigan. Tell her that he isn't evil. He belongs here, too."
Blaise looked away.
Even angrier than before, she met Merlin's gaze. "Is it the will of the Merlin that a man who sacrifices so much for the well-being of another person should be denied entrance to this place?"
Merlin sighed. "There is much in our past that you don't know about or understand. Kerrigan—"
"I don't want to hear one word against him," she snarled between clenched teeth.
Glancing down, Seren saw the medallion her mother had given her in her dream. Aye, with this she could go to Kerrigan. She didn't have to stay here.
That thought had barely completed itself before Blaise snatched the medallion from her hand. "You can't leave Avalon, Seren. Ever."
"Fetch me more wine, slave."
Kerrigan hissed as he felt the bite of Morgen's whip against his back. He tried to send a sorcerer's ball at her, but she easily deflected it and sent another one straight into his chest. The blast of it knocked him off his feet and sent him skittering across the stone floor.
He tried to rise, but couldn't. His body ached too much. The pain of her abuse tore through him like shattered glass.
Morgen crossed the room to kick him over, onto his back. She glared down at him with open hatred. "Poor worm. Look at you. Yesterday you were the Kerrigan, king of Camelot. Now you're nothing but a nameless slave. Worthless. Disgusting. And for what? For a peasant who cares nothing for you." Curling her lip, she kicked him again and again.
Kerrigan couldn't even move. Without the magic of Caliburn to back him, his Merlin's magic was no match for Morgen's.
"Mistress?"
Morgen paused to look at a female Adoni who was in the doorway. "What?"
"They are fighting in the hall over who is to be the next king."
Morgen made a sound of disgust in the back of her throat. "You," she snarled at Kerrigan before she kicked him again, "stay here."
She stalked from the room.
Kerrigan lay there for several heartbeats as he struggled to breathe. Knowing he had to get off the floor, he drew a deep breath and tried to push himself up. The best he could manage was to sit up as a wave of pain assailed him.
"Here."
He looked to find Brevalaer, naked as always, beside him, holding out a cup of water.
"What are you doing?" he growled at Morgen's Adoni lover.
There was no pity in Brevalaer's eyes, only sincere sympathy. "You need it."
Those words only made him suspicious. "Why areyou helping me?"
Brevalaer set the cup down beside him. "Drink it or don't. You're not my concern."