I backed up. Tripping over a stone, I fell to the ground, landing with a splash into a mud puddle.
“You fought well, Clemeny Louvel. But it’s done. Give me the stone.”
“No,” I whispered.
This couldn’t be happening.
It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
I brought him here because I knew I could defeat him. This wasn’t happening. I wasn’t supposed to be covered in blood, lying in a mud puddle.
I gasped.
Looking past the faerie who was advancing menacingly, I saw the standing stones, and then I saw back to Glastonbury Abbey.
Gothel worked her hands, casting shimmering blue light. And a moment later, Rapunzel stepped into Avalon.
Seeing what was happening, she paused.
Melwas must have sensed the presence of another because he turned and looked behind him.
“Who are you?” he asked.
For the love of all things holy, if it’s true, come to me now.
Through my blood-clouded eyes, I looked down at the mud puddle in which I was sitting.
The water shivered, then I saw a glint of silver.
I plunged my hand into the water.
Suppressing my shock when my hand connected with metal, I wrapped my fingers around the pommel then rose.
The earth shuddered. The air rung with a slicing sound as I drew the sword from the belly of the earth.
I rose, Excalibur in my hand.
“Rapunzel,” I called.
The girl turned to me, her eyes wide.
I threw the sword to her.
The glowing golden light from the sword reflected on Melwas’s face for a brief moment.
“No,” he said, turning in panic to snatch the amulet from me.
I raised my hands, and the water below my feet lifted me away from his grasp.
“Lady of the Lake,” he whispered, a confused expression on his face.
The unexpected show of power knocked the faerie off guard just long enough for the heir of Pendragon to swing Excalibur.
The air shook as the sword, which had slumbered so long, awoke to strike.
Light flashed as the blade slid through the neck of the faerie prince.
He stood perfectly still for a moment, then dropped, his head tumbling to the ground.
The torrent of water that had been holding me aloft lowered me once more.
Breathing hard, Rapunzel stood there, the Sword of Kings in her hand. She stared at the decapitated body.
“What did I just do?” she whispered.
“You saved your country.”
Rapunzel looked from the sword to me. “How did you…where did you get this?”
“She is the Lady of the Lake,” a voice called from behind us.
Rapunzel and I both turned to see the druids I had met upon my last visit standing there. It was my aunt Nyneve who’d spoken.
Nyneve smiled at me. “I told you.”
I looked at Rapunzel.
“Agent Louvel…what do I do? I don’t want to be Queen. Victoria is Queen. I don’t want to be Queen,” Rapunzel said.
“The sword is yours, Rapunzel Pendragon,” Nyneve told her.
Rapunzel shook her head then crossed the space between us and handed Excalibur to me. “Put it back.”
I hesitated. I was loyal to Her Majesty, of that there was no doubt, but Excalibur…this was something else.
“If we need it again, we’ll get it again,” Rapunzel said. “Please.”
I stared at her for a long moment. I had not spent much time with Rapunzel when we’d last met, but there was an honesty to her nature. I looked into her eyes. The colors therein moved and turned. I had never seen anything like it. But her gaze also spoke. Just like me, she wanted to keep Britannia safe. To do so, she couldn’t disrupt the monarchy. There was already a steady hand on the throne. We could protect our realm, but not by deposing our monarch and causing chaos.
Taking Excalibur, I walked over the pool of water from which I’d drawn the sword for the heir of the Once and Future King.
“No offense,” I whispered to the sword. “I suspect we’ll meet again,” I said then dipped my hand back into the water. Somehow, that shallow pool felt bottomless. I let go of the sword, which sank back into the deep earth.
Rising once more, I wiped the blood from my eye. I swooned a little when I stood. There was a throbbing pain blasting through my head, and my ears were ringing.
“Clemeny, you’re hurt. You should come with us,” Nyneve said, extending her hand to me.
I looked from her to Rapunzel then through the stones. On the other side, I could see Harper and Agent Rose looking for me.
“Clemeny? Clem, where are you?” Harper called, a look of panic on her face.
“No. But thank you,” I told her then turned to Rapunzel. “Let’s go.”
Rapunzel nodded at me.
“Clemeny,” Nyneve called gently. “You are welcome here. Please come back…when you’re ready.”
I inclined my head to her then bent to take the pieces of the device from Melwas’ unmoving hand. When I did so, a sense of dread washed over me. Rapunzel and I had just murdered a faerie prince. Would there be a reckoning or would the Unseelie accept that Melwas had taken a risk and lost? I wasn’t sure. I slipped the device into my pocket then took Rapunzel’s hand.
I looked back over my shoulder at Nyneve one last time.
Maybe.
Some day.
But not today.
I nodded to Rapunzel, and together, we crossed back into the real world.
Chapter 30: The End is the Beginning
The moment we stepped into the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, black spots appeared before my eyes.
“Clemeny,” Harper called, rushing to me.
Agent Rose exhaled with relief, but then I saw her eyes narrow as she studied me.
I handed the pieces of the artifact to Harper. “Here. Melwas bashed me on the head with a rock, I think…” I said, unable to form words as the throbbing intensified. My vision grew dim as the black dots danced.
“Harper,” Agent Rose said then moved toward me.
The world around me began to spin. “I think I’m going to—”
But before I could say the word faint, everything went black.
* * *
I could hear Harper humming even before I opened my eyes. I was lying somewhere warm and soft. Despite this fact, my head ached terribly.
Groaning, I opened my eyes to be greeted by the soft morning light. I moved to sit up.
“Take it easy,” Harper said, setting aside the pile of papers she was working on. She moved to my bedside. “Don’t try to get up.”
“Hell’s bells,” I muttered, reaching to touch the back of my head.
Harper chuckled softly. “There is a very nasty lump back there.”
“Melwas,” I muttered.
“Well, according to Rapunzel, you cut off his head. So I guess the two of you are even.”
“Wait, Rapunzel said I cut off his head?”
“Um, yeah. That’s what she said. Wait, are you saying—”
“Where am I?” I asked.
“Abbey House,” a familiar, masculine voice called from the doorway.
Lionheart.
“Hey,” I said softly.
He smiled at me. “Welcome back.”
Harper looked from Lionheart to me and back again. She smiled. “All right. Well, I need to finish this paperwork anyway. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
“Harper, where is Rapunzel?” I asked.
“Gone. She left with the Pellinores. An agency airship took them back to Willowbrook Park. They said you should come visit when you feel better.”