Page 38 of The Sword & the Stone

What a goddamn mess. A bunch of battle-hardened warriors, felled by a slip of a girl who probably had no idea the havoc she was wreaking on our black hearts. I almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. The Fates certainly had a twisted sense of humor.

"So what now?" I asked. "We all just stumble around like lovesick fools, panting after Arthur?"

Lancelot's jaw clenched. “Or maybe we leave the decision up to her.”

I barked out a harsh laugh, the sound grating. "Right. And how do you propose we do that? Draw lots for her favor? Fight each other for the privilege of warming her bed?"

Lancelot's eyes flashed, his hand twitching like he wanted to hit me. For a moment, I thought he might actually challenge me. Part of me relished the idea, eager for any outlet for the roiling emotions churning inside me.

Then he exhaled, the tension draining from him. "No. We let her choose, if and when she's ready."

I looked away, staring into the dancing flames. "And if she doesn't choose either of us?"

He was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was rough with barely suppressed deadness. "Then we accept it. We swallow our pride, and we continue to serve her as we swore to do."

Sleep was a long time coming that night, my mind awhirl with dark thoughts and darker desires. When I finally drifted off, chestnut curls and eyes that shimmered with golden magic haunted my dreams.

I woke some time later to the sound of chattering teeth. The fire had burned down to embers, casting the cave in deep shadow. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, then I saw her curled in on herself, shaking like a leaf.

I'd removed my shirt and boots, warming them by the fire hours ago, but the chill in the air was beginning to nip at me too.

Cursing under my breath, I rose and made my way to her side. Her skin was like ice, lips tinged an alarming shade of blue. Without a second thought, I stretched out beside her, pulling hertrembling body flush against mine. She let out a small, pitiful sound, burrowing into my chest like a kitten seeking warmth.

I cocooned her in shadows, wrapping them around us both like a living blanket. It was instinct, an unconscious manifestation of my need to protect her, to chase away anything that would cause her harm or discomfort.

Slowly, her shivering eased, but I found myself reluctant to let her go. It felt so right, holding her like this. Our bodies molded together.

I held Arthur close, savoring the way her soft curves pressed against the hard planes of my body. The chill had finally left her, replaced by a delicious warmth that seeped into my bones. Her breath puffed against my neck, each exhale a caress that sent shivers through my body. My cock was painfully hard.

Though I knew I should pull away and put some distance between us before I did something foolish, I was weak. Too intoxicated by her nearness to resist. My shadows continued to wrap around her.

Slowly, Arthur began to stir, a sleepy murmur escaping her lips. I tensed, bracing myself for her reaction when she realized the position we were in. But to my surprise, she only nestled closer, her face tucking into the crook of my neck.

"Percy," she whispered. "I'm sorry if I worried you. But…thank you...for keeping me warm."

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly tight. "It was nothing," I rasped, the words feeling inadequate. How could I explain the depths of my fear when I thought I'd lost her? The desperation that had clawed at my gut as I watched her go into the water?

Arthur shifted, pulling back just enough to meet my gaze. In the dying firelight, her eyes glimmered like molten gold, stealing my breath. "It wasn't nothing. You saved my life. Again."

Her small hand came up to rest on my chest, right over my pounding heart. The heat of her palm seared me, brandingme with her touch. She had to feel the thundering beneath her fingertips, the way my pulse raced at her nearness.

"I forgive you, you know," Arthur murmured, her voice soft but filled with conviction. "For your nightmare, for your shadows lashing out. I know you didn't mean to hurt me."

I stiffened, shame and self-loathing rising like bile in my throat. I'd tried so hard to bury the memory of that night, to lock it away in the darkest recesses of my mind. But it haunted me still, the image of her sprawled on the ground, eyes wide with fear as my shadows whipped around her.

"I'm a monster," I gritted out, trying to pull away. I didn't deserve her forgiveness, her understanding. I was a broken, twisted thing, unfit to even be in her presence.

But Arthur held fast. Her hand slid up to cup my jaw, forcing me to meet her gaze. "No," she said fiercely. "You are not a monster, Percival. You’re a powerful warrior who faced something that would break most souls in half. I won’t pretend to know what you went through, but I can see the pain in your eyes. People don’t just have those kinds of nightmares without having seen something to put them there."

I leaned into her touch, helpless to resist the soothing warmth of her skin against mine. Her words washed over me, a balm to the festering wound that was my shame. I wanted so badly to believe her, to accept the absolution she offered.

"You don't know the things I've done," I whispered hoarsely. "The blood on my hands. On my family’s hands. If you did, you wouldn't be so quick to forgive."

Arthur's thumb stroked along my cheekbone, a feather-light caress that sent sparks skittering down my spine. "I know enough. I know that you're loyal and brave, that you'd lay down your life for me and the others without hesitation. That's the man I see when I look at you, Percy. Not a monster, but a knight…myknight."

Something cracked open inside my chest, a dam bursting under the pressure of too many pent-up emotions. Before I could second-guess myself, I surged forward, capturing her lips in a searing kiss.

Arthur gasped against my mouth but didn't pull away. Instead, her fingers slid into my hair, nails scraping deliciously against my scalp as she deepened the kiss. I groaned, my shadows surging out to wrap around us both, cocooning us in a writhing mass of darkness.

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