Sword in the Stars (Once & Future #2) - Cori McCarthy Page 0,76

yelled, his words cottony as if Ari’s ears were still full of Nin’s liquid time magic.

Once she was out of the lake, Gwen grabbed Ari by the front of the shirt. Ari came back to Earth gasping, mind spinning. The screams of Gwen’s people on Ketch were still circling in her ears.

“Gwen,” she said, out of breath. “We have to go home. Now.”

Gwen spoke with measured calm, cradling Kairos to her chest. “You’ve had a serious blow to the head. We’ve all had one of the worst nights of our lives. Take a minute.”

“Every minute here is lost for our future. Ketch is burning.”

“Nin is messing with you, Ari,” Val said. “She could have shown you months ago or years from now.” Ari let him believe that could be true, but she knew Nin had gone from asking to demanding that she take her deal.

Ari beheld how small Merlin had become. He sat beside her with his knees drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around thin legs. She’d stopped herself from thinking of him as a child so many times in the last few weeks… but that was over now. She put a hand on his bony little shoulder, surprised when he launched himself into a hug, his head tucked against her chest.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” he chanted.

“That wasn’t you,” Ari said. “It was Old Merlin.”

Merlin pulled away, chin thrust up in defiance. “And I used to be him. So it was me, back when I was a villain.”

Gwen handed off Kai to Ari and took Merlin by the upper arms. “We are all knights and villains, commoners and kings. A true hero plays every role.” Big tears rolled down Merlin’s face, and Gwen wiped them away with her thumbs. “I am so proud of you. You saved all of us.”

Ari looked for Old Merlin, finding the ancient magician sitting on a log beside the misted lake. He muttered fragments of magic that sent small rocks spinning in the air like a tiny galaxy.

“He’s fucked up,” Val said quietly. “Barely remembers his own name.”

“Arthur!” Old Merlin suddenly shouted. “Arthur? Where are you, boy?”

Lam jogged over to the magician, quieting him with murmured words while Ari turned back to tiny Merlin. “What did you do to him exactly?”

“It looked awful,” Val added as if he couldn’t stop himself.

“I stole his memories of us. Ripped them out. Synapses were… severed. His mind is broken earth and shifting ground now, and it will be for many lifetimes.”

Ari looked at Merlin anew. He was impossibly skinny, his head somehow larger, or perhaps his shoulders had shrunk. “That’s why you didn’t remember us,” she said. “Why you didn’t realize that I was Lancelot and that Gwen has always been Queen Gweneviere.”

“That’s why I didn’t know a great many things.” Merlin’s high voice bled with regret. “I stole them from myself.”

Ari cocked her head. “Merlin, that’s different magic for you. How did you do it? It’s like you channeled Morgana.”

“This place has opened my eyes to a few curious realities about my powers.” Merlin looked at Ari as if he were waiting for her to do something. She smiled and tried not to stare at the way he reminded her of Kay, back when they’d first met. Her brother had also been chubby-cheeked, red-haired, and full of pouts. “The baby has strange magic, too.”

“Wait, the baby can do magic?” Val asked. “Like you?”

“After they were born they sort of… glowed,” Gwen said, eyeing the sleeping baby in Ari’s arms. “What else can they do, do you think?”

Merlin shrugged. “I don’t think there’s a full answer to that one yet.”

“They were born in the water,” Ari said. “Do you think that had something to do with it?”

Merlin stared out at the lake. “Yes. But I don’t know what it means.”

“You know what it does mean? This baby cannot be Mordred,” Gwen nearly shouted, her expression melting into relief. “Mordred couldn’t do magic in any of the stories! He was a whiny, power-hungry cis boy. See? I told you I knew who my baby was the whole time!”

Merlin coughed, and Ari squinted at the tiny one in her arms. They certainly didn’t look like an entitled princeling with patricidal leanings. Little Kai began to fuss, and Ari bounced them. She couldn’t stop herself from staring at Merlin, gauging his years. Seven… eight? Seven. He was too young now to even think about calling up a portal, unless they wanted him toddling into the