Phelan found them both standing there not too much later, shoulder to shoulder, staring out at the storm, which was worsening instead of abating.\u00a0 He stepped into line with them until Thom was sandwiched between them, the leader that is flanked by the leader that was and the leader still to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won\u2019t attack until morning,\u201d Phelan said after a moment, looking sidelong at Thom.\u00a0 \u201cHe can deal with snow, but he prefers not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you didn\u2019t know that much about him,\u201d Thom said quietly. \u201cYou said you\u2019d never faced off with him before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot then,\u201d he admitted.\u00a0 \u201cBut I knew enough that did to know what he\u2019ll do.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t like to fight in weather\u2014he\u2019s one of those who never did well in it, so he\u2019s always tried to avoid it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom shook his head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cStrange of him to decide on Midwinter\u2019s Eve, then.\u00a0 Weather\u2019s always iffy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan smiled a grim little smile.\u00a0 \u201cThis is new territory for him.\u00a0 Believe it or not, we\u2019re operating from a position of strength.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe it,\u201d Thom said with a wry smile.\u00a0 \u201cBut not believing it might work to our advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strange way of looking at it.<\/i>\u00a0 Cameron frowned, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.\u00a0 His muscles twinged and he winced a little.\u00a0 \u201cYou have a strange way of looking at the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, but it somehow works for me,\u201d Thom said, his lips twisting in a wry smile.\u00a0 \u201cHasn\u2019t gotten me killed yet.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping that it\u2019s not going to in the next thirty-six hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan clapped him on the shoulder, squeezing gently.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve survived getting shot, stabbed, clawed, and having a building collapse on you.\u00a0 You\u2019ll make it through another close encounter with Cariocecus, too.\u00a0 I\u2019m certain of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom snorted humorlessly as Cameron looked at him askance.<\/p>\n
\u201cShot, stabbed, clawed, and a build collapse?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom shrugged with one shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been a busy few months since the end of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d\u00a0 Cameron took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.\u00a0 \u201cSpeaking of a busy few months, when was one of you planning on telling me that I was carrying around Excalibur?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom just blinked and Phelan growled under his breath, glaring at the sky beyond the tent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThom didn\u2019t know and it wasn\u2019t my place to say,\u201d he said, jaw set.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t tell me that Neve didn\u2019t tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe she hinted.\u00a0 But she didn\u2019t say it flat-out.<\/i><\/p>\n
But the once and future\u2026hell.<\/i>\u00a0 Cameron squeezed his eyes shut.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s why she told me,\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\n
\u201cTold you what?\u201d\u00a0 Thom asked.<\/p>\n
Cameron shook his head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cShe said something about prophecies and the Once and Future King.\u00a0 I should\u2019ve really started putting it together when the whole princess of Avalon thing came up.\u201d<\/p>\n
One corner of Phelan\u2019s mouth twitched toward a smile.\u00a0 \u201cOne would think sleeping with the last princess of Avalon would have been a clue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not the once and future king,\u201d Cameron said.\u00a0 The bottom dropped out of his stomach.\u00a0 Christ, she\u2019d tell me if I was, wouldn\u2019t she?\u00a0 She\u2019d have to.\u00a0 I know she would.<\/i><\/p>\n
Wouldn\u2019t she?<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cChrist,\u201d Cameron breathed.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019d tell me.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t she tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot if she was afraid of losing you,\u201d Thom said quietly.\u00a0 He stared at the ground without really seeing it, his eyes focused on something else, something no one could see\u2014perhaps the past, perhaps the future.\u00a0 Cameron couldn\u2019t be sure.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d be shocked the lengths someone goes to when they love someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan put an arm across Thom\u2019s shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cSecrets are painful,\u201d he said, speaking to both of them at once.\u00a0 \u201cSome are kept for good reason.\u00a0 Others are kept for piss-poor reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom snorted.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Phelan.\u00a0 Way to make me feel even worse about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron wanted to ask, but he kept his mouth shut, brows knitting.\u00a0 \u201cSo why do you think she didn\u2019t tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably the same reason Thom keeps secrets from Marin about what he\u2019s seen,\u201d Phelan said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cBecause she\u2019s afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does she have to be afraid of?\u201d\u00a0 Cameron wondered aloud, his stomach twisting, uncomfortably unsettled.<\/p>\n
Thom smiled grimly.\u00a0 \u201cWhat anyone who loves another person is afraid of.\u00a0 Losing the person they love the most.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Phelan found them both standing there not too much later, shoulder to shoulder, staring out at the storm, which was worsening instead of abating.\u00a0 He stepped into line with them until Thom was sandwiched between them, the leader that is … Continue reading