Page 16 of Kings and Monsters

"You think he could?"

"Honestly, Rhosyn, nothing would surprise me. The Unseelie will take us to the other allies at the Night Court, and then we can hit the queen where it hurts."

"Oh, I know exactly where I am going to hit her."

"Rosa Wylt, you'll make me blush if you keep talking like that." Merlin grinned.

"You wouldn't know how."

"I've seen him blush. What about that one time with the giantess?" Arthur called to them.

Merlin glared. "Don't you dare, Pendragon. I don't care if you did save Rosa tonight. I'll thrash you."

"What giantess? Like an actual giantess?" Rosa demanded.

"Aye, she was a real one all right. Beautiful creature, twice the size of any man I've ever seen. She'd legs as tall as Bleddyn and her breasts…well, you can imagine. She came with a delegation and took quite the fancy to our Merlin here."

"It would have been ungentlemanly to reject the lady on account of her height," Merlin said defensively. "Besides, we needed that treaty. I had a duty to king and country."

"So you took a giantess for the team?" Rosa giggled.

"Well, none of the others were man enough for the task."

"They were too frightened they'd never survive the night," Arthur replied. "I had never seen such betting pass between the lads whether or not he could actually succeed in seducing her. Or if he was indeed man enough to satisfy her."

"But you did?" Rosa raised an eyebrow at Merlin.

"I am Merlin Wylt, Prince of the Seren Du," he said, puffing himself up proudly. "Of course I bloody did. Not many people could say they had a chance at a giant princess."

Arthur smirked. "I have never seen a man so bashful after a tupping. See, Rosa, he can blush."

"Sod off, Pendragon. Ailsa was a magnificent woman."

"She certainly smiled a lot more during the rest of the peace talks."

Rosa laughed so hard, Merlin grabbed her in a playful headlock. He planted a kiss on her cheek. "I hope you aren't silly enough to believe all of his lies, Rhosyn."

"I'd never lie to Rosa!" Arthur said.

"Come along, children." Bleddyn rode up beside them and held out his hand to Rosa. "You will ride with me, dear one. After tonight's adventures, I want you close." Magic hummed from his cool hand, and he lifted her up behind him as if she weighed nothing.

"Are you okay, Bleddyn?" she whispered, wrapping her arms around him.

"I am. This king is another mask. You know who I really am. Don't be afraid of me, Rosa."

"Never," she assured, squeezing him tighter. "Let's go find your court."

CHAPTER SIX

The forest flashed beside them in streaks of black and moonlight. Rosa had been on fast horses before, but the Faerie mount moved so quickly that all she could do was hang on to Bleddyn and try her best not to fall off. They knew instinctively where every tree, boulder, and stream lay and never placed a wrong hoof. Rosa could hear Arthur's wild whooping laughter as the land was churned up beneath them, so unlike the commanding, frightening king he'd been on the moors.

You were saved by Arthur Pendragon; think on that. The more she did, the more embarrassed she became. Was she that desperate for Balthasar that she'd believe any old ghost? Somewhere in the afterlife, Glenna Wylt would be cursing her for a damn fool.

It felt like hours before they finally stopped running, and Rosa's legs were trembling from the effort of hanging on. Rosa couldn't help but think of how much Balthasar would have loved the Faerie horses. A sharp stab of longing went through her, and she crushed the thought. Balthasar hadn't fallen apart when she had been taken by the queen. He had made a plan and carried it out. She owed it to him to do the same and not fall into any more stupid traps the Aos Si set for her.

Now that the horses had slowed to a walk, Rosa could see what they had been heading for. In the pre-dawn light, she could make out a tree the size of a skyscraper.

"It still stands," Bleddyn said softly, gazing up at its glossy black trunk that was reinforced with stone arches, columns and retaining walls.

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