\u201cWhat has she already told you about the sword?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron jolted, twisting, and Phelan smiled grimly.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t meant to startle his cousin\u2019s lover, but there was a little piece of him that delighted in having done so.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot enough,\u201d Cameron said, brows knitting together as he turned slowly back toward the ravine below.\u00a0 He was standing amidst the holly bushes that edged their settlement, their community, formed an extra protective boundary between them and everything outside.\u00a0 \u201cShe told me what it was and then shit started happening pretty fast.\u00a0 After that, Thordin was with us and we really didn\u2019t have much time to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now instead of asking her, you\u2019re asking me.\u201d\u00a0 Phelan shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he drew abreast of the younger man.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeemed like a better idea than bothering her with it right now,\u201d Cameron said.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s got enough to worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like the fact that she\u2019s in love with you and she fears what your intertwined destinies might hold.\u00a0 To be honest, I don\u2019t think I blame her, either.\u00a0 I keep hoping I\u2019m wrong about so much\u2026it\u2019s a wonder I dare to open my mouth anymore.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cI suppose you\u2019re right.\u00a0 What do you want to know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m guessing \u2018everything\u2019 isn\u2019t a very good answer, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan laughed.\u00a0 \u201cOh, it\u2019s a perfectly good answer, it\u2019s just not an answer I can handle.\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot about that blade that I don\u2019t even know myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron blinked at him.\u00a0 \u201cBut Neve\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s been its guardian for a very, very long time,\u201d Phelan admitted.\u00a0 \u201cAnd in some instances, she\u2019ll know more about it than I could ever hope to know.\u00a0 I just happen to know enough to tell you more about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it really Arthur\u2019s sword?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis name was Artorius,\u201d Phelan said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd it really was his sword.\u00a0 It was forged well before his birth, though, and Neve\u2019s been its guardian for centuries\u2014almost since the day it was forged, give or take a couple years.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s an ancient, ancient blade and probably not as ill-fated as you fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it Uther\u2019s before it was Ar\u2014Artorius\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no Uther,\u201d Phelan said, stretching and crossing just beyond the holly hedge and the wardings it anchored.\u00a0 His skin prickled slightly as he passed through the warding line to the edge of the ravine, abruptly becoming aware of other sensations, of the power that pulsed from the trio of power nodes settled in the ravine, two nearer and one farther away.\u00a0 Those sources of power were what made this patch of earth so desirable\u2014the confluxes of lines of power that wrapped the earth in what Phelan had always visualized as glowing gossamer threads.<\/p>\n
The winding river directly East also made a difference in the desirability of the area, though.\u00a0 For all its troubles, the Grand was a strong line of power recognized throughout the history\u2014clearly displayed by the array of burial mounds local native tribes had built on its shores over the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the stories aren\u2019t true,\u201d Cameron said.\u00a0 \u201cAbout how Merlin helped Uther disguise himself so he could take advantage of the lady Igraine\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Phelan said softly.\u00a0 \u201cFabrications of later storytellers because the actual tale was somehow not interesting enough.\u201d\u00a0 He snorted softly and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose maybe it wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 Artorius\u2019s father was Roman and his mother was an Erse princess.\u00a0 Artorius was a product of the Roman occupation that became a legend well before his death.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled a faint, humorless smile.\u00a0 He hated it.\u00a0 Perhaps that\u2019s why the truth of his story\u2019s been all but lost-because he didn\u2019t want it remembered.\u00a0 There\u2019s something to be said for the wishes of a man being honored after his death.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cArtorius was a good man and a brave warrior\u2014and that sword kept him safe on more than one campaign, in Britain and beyond.\u00a0 But it couldn\u2019t save him, not when his time was up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like it won\u2019t save me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan shivered and shook his head, smiling slowly.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t make assumptions yet,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 \u201cYou never know what might happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do,\u201d Cameron pointed out.<\/p>\n
Phelan shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI do.\u00a0 And I also told you not to make assumptions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron swallowed but said nothing, just stepped through the hedge to join him.\u00a0 Phelan grinned and clapped him on the shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cRelax.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell you what I know, for what it\u2019s worth.\u00a0 Remember, though\u2014nothing, nothing<\/i>, is ever written in stone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight,\u201d Cameron said, only the barest hint of a tremor in his voice.<\/p>\n
Phelan nodded and began to talk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWhat has she already told you about the sword?\u201d Cameron jolted, twisting, and Phelan smiled grimly.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t meant to startle his cousin\u2019s lover, but there was a little piece of him that delighted in having done so. \u201cNot enough,\u201d … Continue reading