Page 19 of Kings and Monsters

"I thought she would stay with us, that's all." Rosa wasn't blind. She had seen the way Eirianwen had looked at Bleddyn when he had changed and the way she had guarded him at the ruins. It wasn't love when she looked at him, but deep heartache mingled with duty. Rosa thought Eirianwen would advise Bleddyn despite that, not abandon him as soon as he got back.

"Eirianwen has her own business and soldiers to tend to, Rosa. She'll return when she's needed," Merlin reassured her. "We are all subjects of the king now, whether we wish it or not."

After ensuringRosa and Arthur were both sleeping soundly in their rooms, Merlin lifted the hood of his jacket and slipped out of the royal apartments. The palace halls were quiet, and the magical lights burned low as he walked silently through them. The guards at the black gates didn't blink an eye as he made his way past them and into the streets.

Too much magic. Merlin shook his head. He had never experienced anything like it, even in the Otherworlds. The entire structure of the tree city thrummed with a deep pulse of power. The streets were still busy with Unseelie, and everyone from the smallest child to the soldiers had more magic than most of the people Merlin had ever met. To the Unseelie, it was as miraculously mundane as the moon in the night sky.

How did Bleddyn shut himself off from such power?Merlin knew better than anyone did what it was like to close down huge parts of himself, and he was beginning to understand Eirianwen's confusion at his father leaving the Aos Si.

Bran had said that the allies had been called, and Merlin couldn't trust anyone's eyes but his own when taking the measure of soldiers. He had seen what the queen had at her disposal, and she was going to fight to her last breath to stop them from taking their magic, as well as Nimue and Balthasar, back. She would sacrifice every last Seelie if it meant winning.

Before dawn,Merlin crept back into the palace with a heavy heart. He was so caught up in his head he completely failed to spot Bleddyn standing in the shadows.

"Where have you been flying, my little Merlin?" Bleddyn asked, startling him.

"Out and about. Don't you sleep?"

"I sleep as much as you do." Bleddyn gestured at him. "Come with me."

Feeling like a guilty child, Merlin followed Bleddyn into his chambers. They were spacious and filled with a large, carved wooden bed, fireplaces, curving lounges, tables, and books.

"These were my rooms growing up," Bleddyn said, looking sadly around him. "I couldn't bear going into my parent's chambers. These will suit me just fine."

Merlin collapsed on a chair in front of the fire and kicked off his boots. "Did young Bleddyn have anything to drink?" His father smiled, and a decanter of a dark amber liquid appeared on a small table next to Merlin.

"Bloody magic. It feels wrong that there is so much of it around," Merlin grumbled. He poured them both a drink as Bleddyn joined him. "If I drink this, am I going to be stuck here?"

"Of course not," Bleddyn replied. "As for the magic, it's just how the Aos Si is. It flows so strong here that it's odd if you don't use it."

"Yes, but who's to say it won't kick me in the balls as soon as I get back to the real world? I am still part human after all," Merlin said.

"You will be fine, Merlin. Now tell me, where did you go tonight? I shouldn't have to remind you that you are only safe in the Aos Si while you are with me."

"And I shouldn't have to remind you that spying about incognito in an unknown city is what I do best." Merlin sipped his drink. It tasted of summer: sunshine, honey, flowers, and apples. He pulled a face until he felt a familiar burn run through him, and he sighed. It would have to do for the moment.

"What did you learn on your walk?"

"That we are going to need far more men," Merlin replied. "The queen has us outnumbered three to one and that's just her soldiers. We have the able-bodied, but they aren't all fighters. Most of what remained of the Unseelie army is locked in the cells beneath the Autumn Court."

"What else?" Bleddyn steepled his fingers thoughtfully.

"They don't trust you. They are frightened."

"Good."

"No, it's not bloody good! The warriors came because of Eirianwen, not for you."

"I don't need them here for me. I don't care about their loyalties as long as it's to the Unseelie. I am a stranger to most of them. They have no reason to trust me."

"You are their king!"

"No, I'm not. Their king is dead, and I don't plan on staying. I'm acting as a caretaker, a way of unifying the power in the land and its people, so they are strong enough to destroy the Autumn Court. I'm not claiming kingship beyond what I already have."

Merlin took a long drink and fought the urge to lose his temper. "Bleddyn, it's not going to be as simple as you think. Don't you miss this place? Don't you care about it?"

"Do you care about Glastonbury?" he retorted. "That place is full of ghosts and pain for you. That is what this place is like for me. Everyone I know, apart from Eirianwen and Bran, is dead, Merlin. This place is the past, not a future." Bleddyn pushed his hands through his hair. "You saw for yourself the way the land, the animals, and the people reacted to me using my birthright. If I claim full kingship, it will be even worse. Everything is forced to obey me. There's no free will unless I give it. I know myself well enough to know I would abuse it to keep people safe. I love and hate that you can argue with me. I would never want to take that choice away from you in a fit of anger."

"You love that I argue with you? Is that the reason you love Rosa so much? I swear that girl is the personification of pig-headed. The way she attracts danger terrifies me."

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