Page 78 of To Love a Dark Lord

Galahad roared. “No!”

The Gossamer Lady’s feet touched the ground. Then her knees, as she knelt, the blade still protruding from her body.

Flicking her wrist, the blade returned to Gwen. She’d reflect on how awesome that was another time. Looking over at Galahad, she frowned. “I’m sorry.” She dissolved the iron that held him in place and jerked her head for him to go to his wife.

Limping, but moving, the Knight in Gold went to the side of his wife. Crimson was flowing from her as she pressed her hands to the wound. She collapsed into Galahad’s arms as he knelt beside her. “Shush, my love, shush—” He kissed her, cradling her gently.

Mordred had yet to move. He was still standing there, staring at the severed finger in his palm. If he was aware of what was happening, he made no sign of it.

Gwen watched as Zoe lifted a bloody hand to touch Galahad’s cheek, but her strength was quickly waning. “My love. My sweet, my knight…”

“We are threads of silk and gold.” He grasped her hand and held her palm to him. “Wound together, now and forever. Death shall not separate us. Your soul and mine are one.”

Zoe’s smile was weak and forlorn. “I—I am so very sorry.”

“We are past regret. Think only of peace. And my love for you. Let it carry you to the stars, gold and silk together. We will be together soon.” He kissed her, holding the embrace, until Zoe’s hand went limp and slipped from his.

Clutching her close to him, Galahad let out a sound that broke Gwen’s heart. She was gone. Not even the elemental of life could stop her own death.

Gwen shut her eyes and wiped at the tears that threatened to slip down her own cheeks. This had to stop. All of it. The Knight in Gold had betrayed them, but she understood why. And he was still a friend in pain. Sniffling, she decided she was on to the next thing. There was a war to stop. She’d deal with the two men later.

She gestured her hand, and the villagers quickly worked to open the gates. “Bert. With me.”

The scarecrow went into action silently, the villagers filing in behind her in rows. Her soldiers, adorned in iron armor.

Heading out of the gate, she saw the mayhem in front of her. Elemental corpses and the remains of iron soldiers were strewn about. Sticking the pointer and thumb of her good hand into her lips, she let out a sharp whistle. Tiny was causing most of the mayhem, screeching and swiping at the elementals that were blasting it uselessly with their magic.

Her own obsidian dragon flew overhead, screeching loudly, before descending on the battle. He—no, she—crashed down right in front of the iron dragon. Her dragon was smaller than Mordred’s enormous creation. But her dragon, like Gwen herself, was pissed.

Her dragon roared in Tiny’s face. The iron monstrosity took a step back before…sitting down. It would have made her laugh if she hadn’t been so damn angry and in pain.

Their sudden arrival had stopped the fight in its tracks. Gwen let go of Caliburn, watching it float idly in the air beside her, waiting for a command. All the remaining elementals—maybe thirty—were watching her.

“I don’t want this!” She held up the crown in her bandaged hand. Blood was seeping through the gauze in places. It was weirdly fitting to see the delicate jewelry and crimson together. “I don’t. I didn’t ask for this. But I am sick of this. Sick of listening to all of you fight and moan and kill each other. People are dying. Love is dying.” She pointed behind herself back to where she knew Galahad was still holding Zoe in his arms. “And it ends here. It ends now. No more.”

Silence.

“Peace. This is what I decree. No more warmongering. No more squabbling over who owns what and where. You will come to me to settle these disputes.” She took a breath and let it out. There was no going back. “I am Queen of Avalon. Chosen by the island. By Caliburn. And by Merlin. Will any of you stand against me?”

Silence for a long moment. A few of the elementals glanced at each other. One, who was made of ice, took a step forward. “Why should we follow you?”

“None of you know me. None of you have had a chance to know me.” Gwen also took a step forward. She still refused to put the crown on her head. Holding it was good enough for now. “I’m not cruel. I will be fair. I will be kind. But this death, these wars, it ends now, once and for all. If you stand against me, I’ll send you from the island to a slow death. Or, you can have a fast one by the sword. Your call.”

“And what of him?” The ice elemental pointed behind her. “Is he to sit at your side?”

Gwen turned to see Mordred standing some ten feet away. She knew what she had to do. She loathed doing it. But there was no choice. “No. He…is exiled from Avalon.”

Mordred jerked his head again as if he had flinched from a physical blow. But he said nothing.

The ice elemental considered their answers, then nodded once. “Peace. Peace sounds…good.”

“Will you reign here?” said another elemental, this one made of rock, as he gestured up at the keep. His voice sounded like gravel in a tumbler.

Gwen thought about it for a moment, then smiled slightly. “No. I will rebuild Camelot.” That sounded fun. She was sure Bert and his friends would help her, especially for the right pay. “Now go. Go home. Go back to your loved ones. Tell the others what has happened here.”

The survivors didn’t wait long to disperse, heading back to the woods on foot, by flight, or simply disappearing into the ground, or the air, or into a swirl of greenery or leaves.

That left the iron army and two giant dragons. Tiny was staring at her obsidian dragon strangely.

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