The Darkest Knight (Guardians of Camelot #3) - Victoria Sue Page 0,71
Dark shadows clung under long closed eyelashes.
“Is he injured?”
“I don’t know if they are serious,” Charles said, sickly panic stealing his breath. “I can’t see—” Charles’s voice cracked as he couldn’t articulate the horror or the relief of having him close. “He breathes.”
“Go,” Mel said, “but no lights until you are clear of the park. There will be roadblocks.”
“Thank you,” Charles whispered and closed his eyes for a second as utter weariness threatened to overwhelm him.
“Be strong,” Mel encouraged. “And come home.”
Charles nodded, but he knew wherever he was going, it wasn’t home.
He didn’t have one.
Chapter 19
Kay tried to open his eyes, and a few faces swam in and out but not the one he wanted to see. He shoved away the cloth in disappointment and recognized the sigh from Mel. “Where am I?”
“At home. Safe,” Lance supplied immediately. “We got an alert to go to the boathouse in Prospect Park. There was a wedding going on when the Ursus arrived. A dozen casualties but no deaths, and thanks to Mel, he got us out of there before the cops saw us.”
“But we made the news. Possibly domestic terrorists.” Kay looked over at Ali and Roxy, both looking at him with equal concern.
“Has Charles gone?” Even not wanting the answer, he had to ask.
“No,” Charles said from the corner. “I’m here.”
Kay’s eyes widened as he took in Charles’s face. To say he was aging was an understatement. “How long have I been gone?”
“About thirty hours, give or take.” Kay stared at Charles, and worry ramped his pulse up another notch. Charles looked like he’d aged another fifteen years in a day and a half. It was the last thing he remembered—Mordred’s glee. That they had Kay and all they had to do was wait until Charles died. He struggled to sit up. “Charles.”
“We need to talk to you first,” Lance said almost apologetically and sat down on one of the chairs they’d dragged in from the office. Kay blew out a disgusted breath when he realized he was in the medical room. This was getting to be a habit.
“He’s in no immediate danger,” Mel said, “and you have to hear this.” Kay subsided, but worry for Charles was a constant ache in his chest.
“We have much to tell you,” Gawain explained. “But I think the reverse is probably true.”
Kay nodded and sat up. “Let’s go sit in the kitchen. I always feel more normal in there.” And hopefully it was a step nearer Charles. He wouldn’t even look at him.
They went to the kitchen, and Roxy made coffee out of habit. Kay took in her appearance. The leather pants of Ali’s. The now empty scabbard fitted across her belt. “You’ve been fighting?” He glanced in confusion at Lance, and Roxy grinned.
“You know I used to fence.”
Kay frowned. “In competitions, yes. And as part of your cardio routine, but that’s—”
“Completely awesome,” Ali interrupted, shaking her head and peeling her blood-soaked shirt away from a completely healed wound. “She wields my sword like it’s a feather, and she nearly castrated Lance.”
Kay’s jaw dropped, and Roxy grinned. “My name does translate as ‘battle cry.’”
“What?” Kay asked almost breathlessly. He could hear his heart thudding.
“My name,” Roxy repeated. “In French it literally means ‘little rock,’ and you can imagine how much teasing I got at school, but we had a German exchange student come when I was in tenth grade and she said it meant ‘battle cry.’ I much prefer that.”
“Roxy doesn’t translate to ‘battle cry,’” Gawain said, and Roxy pffed.
“Roxy is my model name. My real name is—”
“Rochelle,” Kay said in complete wonder.
“Your sister,” Mel confirmed and beamed.
Roxy pushed away from the counter and nearly fell into Kay’s arms. “I didn’t know you had a sister.” He shook his head, unable to speak, and pulled her close as something that had been broken for a long time in Kay started to heal a little.
“And I will tell you all about her when we are through.” He smoothed Roxy’s dark brown hair off her face and wondered why their similarities had never occurred to him before. He looked over at Mel and nodded his thanks.
“I’d love to take credit, but I think this was done a long time before I was born.”
“Galahad called you my sister, but I thought he meant it figuratively.”
“Galahad?” Lance’s voice was suddenly raw with longing. Kay nodded and let Roxy go, glancing at Charles, who was still standing too far away.