Sword in the Stars (Once & Future #2) - Cori McCarthy Page 0,12
to find that Ari had stopped listening. He waggled his fingers and cast a few sparks to get her attention back. Gods, his immature impulses were growing stronger as he aged down.
Ari didn’t notice. She was staring out an arrow slit. Was more danger approaching the castle, about to scale the walls? Merlin followed her line of sight and found Gwen in the courtyard below, wearing a purple silk dress ringed in fur, Arthur following in her wake.
“I haven’t seen Gwen since we left the future,” Ari said, her voice somehow both breathy and tight. “I need to talk to her.”
“Absolutely not!” Merlin yelped.
“We know what it looks like when you two talk,” Lam said.
“The kingdom will erupt with adultery fever,” Jordan confirmed. “In one version of these Camelot stories, Gweneviere was beheaded for her interest in Lancelot.”
“I’ll be discreet.”
Merlin tried not to laugh. He tried very hard.
“Fine,” Ari said. “I’ll find a way to be near Gwen that doesn’t look suspicious. Maybe I should get close to Arthur. Lancelot’s supposed to be his best friend, right? His favored knight?”
“True…” Merlin said. The dark shadow of a memory rose, but he couldn’t quite see what cast it. Merlin hadn’t trusted Gweneviere or Lancelot when they first arrived in Camelot. He’d suspected them of some kind of scheme against Arthur. And then… a shiver raged through him. He pulled his robes tight, as if they could defend him against what came next.
“I think I remember something,” he whispered.
“Good,” Lam said, thumping his back like Merlin were a gassy infant instead of a rapidly de-aging mage.
“What is it, Merlin?” Ari asked.
“Right after Lancelot and Gweneviere arrived in Camelot… I tried to have them assassinated.”
A great beast roared past the window.
“By dragon.”
The dragon spun around the tower, parts of it visible in every narrow window at once, from its sleek head to its barbed whip of a tail. It was coming for Ari, hunting for Lancelot, because they were one and the same. Merlin felt sick and relieved at the same time. So, they weren’t ruining Arthur’s story and setting their future irrevocably off course!
“We’ll be okay,” Lam said, clutching Ari’s arm. “You’re a natural with dragons.”
“Ketchan dragons! Taneens are overgrown desert lizards. That looks like a serious medieval monster.”
Merlin jumped in, desperate to be helpful. “Dragons were an endangered species by this time period. Surly, yes. With inner fires that warmed their invertebrate bodies in the harsh northern climes? Certainly. Violent against humans? Hardly ever. If we break the enchantment binding the creature to the hunt, we’ll be fine.”
“Pretty sure it’s not going to wait for that before it attacks,” Lam said.
Jordan’s skirts flew up, and she started handing out a small arsenal that she’d strapped to herself. At least someone here was in their element.
Lam took a throwing knife to the arrow slits, hunting for weaknesses on the dragon while Merlin spun a quick, coarse plan. “All I have to do is get to my tower and break the enchantment Old Merlin cast before the dragon gets a chance to, you know…”
“Swallow us whole?” Ari provided.
“Oh no, there’s an obscene amount of crunching,” Merlin said.
“You remember that detail, of course.”
“Just keep it busy for ten minutes,” Merlin said, running for the stairs. “And draw Old Merlin away from the tower!”
“You want us to lure out the guy who’s trying to murder us,” Ari said, voice flat.
“I would never have killed you outright,” Merlin promised. “In fact, I believe I even pretended to fight the dragon so Arthur would think I was protecting his bride and his new knight.” Merlin winced. His crimes just kept getting worse.
“We have to get to Gwen.” Ari drew her not-even-remotely enchanted sword. “It’s going to attack her, too.” She gave him a dirty look that could never compete with how soiled he felt.
The dragon perched on the side of the castle, talons digging between the stones with a heart-crumbling sound. A second later, its tail made contact with the top of the tower. Stones flew in every direction, the roof now exposed to the sky.
Merlin stared up at the looming, green-black body. It took to the air, hovering. “I know this move,” he whispered. “It’s about to swoop down and snatch.”
Lam and Jordan drew back.
“I can work with that,” Ari muttered. When the dragon dropped toward them, claws opening like a vile black flower, Ari leaped onto the dragon’s outstretched leg. She climbed the thing like a gangplank, reaching the beast’s massive head and straddling its