Page 75 of Swords and Curses

"Go back. Tell me the truth. Was it a magic sword or not?"

"Eli and I made it with magic, so yes it was, but I created an illusion of Deryn to present it to Arthur. He needed to believe in it as much as everyone else. He never knew that we made it, and he didn't need to. The sword was made for him, and whatevermagic it had only was possible because it was tied to him. All it did was make Arthur believe in himself enough to form his kingdom. There was nothing else special about it. The real magic was all him."

Rosa shook her head. "The placebo sword."

"That's what I tried to tell you about swords, magic, sovereignty, and symbols. If Arthur hadGaeaf Storom, something with real power, I have no doubt he would still be ruling either in this realm or the Aos Si."

"You miss him."

"Of course I miss him." His face grew somber as he stared across the lake. "I know you want to hear stories about it, Rosa, but it's…it's hard to talk about him after so long. During the wars with Morgan, I created the persona of Eldon Blaise, apprentice to Merlin, and went to search for allies across the worlds. It wasn't long before being Eldon became much each easier than Merlin. I know it was the reason why I put a spell on myself to forget, but despite how much it worked, the pain was always there, but I didn't know what it was from. That's something you must learn about being an immortal, Rosa. If you tangle with the human world, you will watch all those you love die and fade about you."

"Did Arthur really die?"

"More or less. Arthur sleeps and will never wake. He's as good as dead, but I couldn't let him go. There already had been too much death." Merlin ran his hands through his hair. "It was stupid and selfish of me. Another great failure."

"So that prophecy about him being reborn one day is all bullshit because he's not dead."

"Correct."

Rosa stopped in her tracks. "You were the one that hid him, didn't you?"

When the word came, it was barely a whisper, "Yes."

"What will happen if he wakes up?"

"That is something only time will be able to answer." Merlin took a deep breath. "I hope he'll be able to forgive me when he does."

Balthasar and Nimuecontinued their easy conversation long after Rosa and Merlin had disappeared. Nimue had lost most of her nerves around him now that she'd seen past his fierce exterior to the surprisingly funny and warm person Rosa loved.

"I hope Rosa doesn't cause too much damage down there," Balthasar said, placing his cup in the dishwasher. "I don't know if teaching her how to throw fireballs is a good idea…not without teaching me how to properly shield them at the same time."

Nimue smiled fondly. "She is already very powerful and doesn't realize it. She will be magnificent when she comes into her own."

"Without a doubt."

They were interrupted by a very neatly dressed Gwaed Gam with an iPad. Nimue recognized her as Vincenzo's formidable assistant. With the way she shadowed Vincenzo, Nimue suspected she was also his bodyguard.

"Buon pomeriggio. You are both needed by the Masters," she said formally.

They followed her upstairs to the library where the three Seren Du brothers sat in front of the wall of windows in the library. Eli looked tired as he turned to greet them.

"Forgive the summons, but I needed to talk to you both while Rosa and Merlin were out of earshot," Eli apologized.

"Morning, children," Vincenzo said, studying Nimue over the rim of his cup. "Fun night?"

Nimue flushed. "None of your business."

"That's a yes. I'm pleased that Eli's children have found mates that are so fiery."

"So could you, if you stopped being such a whore," Balthasar teased, pouring himself another coffee from Vincenzo's pot.

"You are lucky I like you, little nephew," he grinned sharply. "You know how I hate it when you're right."

"Where's Saul?"

"Probably tucked up with Zalan's general," Eli replied. "I love him to pieces, but he can't hear this either. He can't say no to Rosa, and he'll need plausible deniability."

"He isn't with Adelina," Zalan snapped.

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