Page 27 of Queen Takes Camelot: Gwen
Bors lay unconscious in my arms. Lance had fucked him savagely until they’d both collapsed against me. He wasn’t able to lift his head yet, or even roll to the side to give me room to breathe. Not that I minded in the slightest.
I’d known they must be suffering out in the world. Fully aware that I lived—but for some unknown reason, unable to call them to my side. That uncertainty had been their torture. Afraid that any moment I would be captured or killed by Arthur before they ever even saw me in this life.
Of course, my torture was the same. Afraid Arthur would kill them before I was free of Elaine’s geas. Afraid she might find Lance first. I hadn’t really feared for myself, but I also hadn’t understood the deep, personal suffering they each endured all these lifetimes. Especially Bors.
I’d never known that he’d drowned as a child. Had the original Guinevere known? Somehow… I didn’t think so. She’d never been allowed to get this close to Bors. To know his heart and fears. The only person he’d ever had in his life to rely on was Lance. At least he’d been able to take care of him all these years, even if they’d feared to indulge very often.
Turning enough to see Mordred’s face, I asked him, “Do you have something like this that torments you?”
His dick was still inside me, though I’d felt him come along with Lance and Bors. We’d all climaxed like dominoes, unable to hold back the overwhelming emotion pouring from them both.
“Nothing so dramatic as drowning,” he said lightly, though I felt an echo in his bond of soul-deep pain.
I wriggled out from beneath my Bloods’ dead weights so I could more fully face him. “Tell me. Please.”
“I’m destined to die alone.” A wry smile twisted his lips. “That’s all.”
But it wasn’t all. I felt a heavy sense of overwhelming failure in his bond.Personalfailure. As if he blamed himself for every horrible thing that Arthur had ever done. “You were never the one who was supposed to kill him and free us.”
He shrugged slightly. “If we ever live long enough to see Camlann again, then we shall see who walks away.”
“You haven’t faced him on the battlefield since the first time?”
“Never. I’m always dead before then. It’s a relief, honestly. I’d rather die first than see what he does to you.”
“The first battle…do you remember what happened?”
He closed his eyes a moment, as if he was pulling up the memory to look at it from all angles. “His heart,” he finally ground out. “I’m trying to pierce his heart. No. Actually, I’m trying to tear it out.” Opening his eyes, he laughed and shook his head. “Fat lot of good an eagle’s talons did against dragon hide.”
His golden eyes were shadowed, burnished and aged like an antique coin buried for centuries. I tried to bring some of the spark back to his eyes. “Let’s try to rip his heart out when he’s a man, then.”
He snorted. “Easier said than done. He knows he’s vulnerable as a man. It’s the same reason he always managed to have Lancelot sent away from court when he committed his most outrageous sins against you, my queen. He couldn’t risk Lancelot formally challenging him before witnesses.”
“Because he knew Lance would win,” I said slowly, nodding.
Groaning, Lance lifted his head and blinked at me blearily. “Nobody has ever defeated Lancelot du Lac with a sword, but he’s arrogant enough after so many generations of this curse that he probably thinks he can.”
I didn’t realize Bors was awake until I felt the chiding sting of his teeth on my shoulder, though he didn’t break the skin. “You were supposed to feed on me, my queen. We need you strong.”
I nuzzled against Mordred’s neck, reached back and found Lance’s arm to tug around me like a blanket, and wriggled my ass back against Bors’ groin. His dick stirred. Again. Making me smile. “I did.”
“Bullshit,” he retorted, snapping his teeth playfully against my ear.
I closed my eyes and drank them in. My three Blood. Alive. Together at last. All I wanted to do was touch them. Hold them. Love them. As long as possible. Before…
I swallowed hard and curled Lance’s arm tighter to my chest.
This time… I would hold them. Forever.
12
Gwen
The ghastly white branches of Shara’s heart tree gleamed in the soft glow from my necklace. In the complete darkness of Isador Tower’s basement, the soft, pearly light from my crescent moon was welcome. I suspected I would need even more light before this journey was complete, so I didn’t try to tamp down my light.
Let this be a warning to Arthur or whoever we encounter. Camelot shines again.
I took several deep breaths to center myself and set my mind on where I wanted to go. Newgrange, the massive round stone tomb. I pictured the gleaming stones shining in the moonlight. Mordred had shown me pictures of the entrance, blocked by a heavy stone carved in spirals.
