Page 29 of To Charm a Dark Prince

He bowed his head and led her to the door before heading down the hallway, walking beside her. More of those strange armor-people stopped and bowed as they passed. She couldn’t help but glance nervously at them.

“Do they trouble you?”

“They’re…weird.” She didn’t want to insult Mordred any more than she already had. “But everything is weird here.”

“They will not harm you. They are all of my making and obey me in all things.” He didn’t sound proud or thrilled about it.

“You created them?”

“I cannot trust the other denizens of Avalon not to slit my throat in my sleep.” He grimaced, the bitterness thick in his tone. “But I am unable to maintain the keep by myself. Nor would I truly wish to.”

“I suppose it’d get lonely being here all by yourself.”

He went silent for a long moment. “Indeed.”

“What about the other two guys who were with you?”

“Hm? Ah. Galahad and Lancelot. There is one other who is here, Percival. The others are off hunting magic and keeping the peace. Their situations are…complicated. I would prefer to explain it another time.”

That was fair. He was telling her a lot, and she supposed he was right. She was already pretty overwhelmed. Galahad and Lancelot. Percival and the knights of Arthur. It was all so surreal, it almost felt like a dream. It was, despite the predicament she had found herself in, damn exciting. “Do you, like—have a round table and everything?”

“What? I have a table that is round, if that is what you are asking me. Oh! Yes. The silly stories.” He chuckled. “No, they are my knights, and I am their prince.”

“I figured all the stories were made up.”

“The best stories are.”

She stifled a yawn. Poorly.

“And as if on cue, here we are.” He stopped at a single door. There were two more of those weird armored people standing outside of the room, each one holding a spear. “The guards can fetch you anything you may need.”

“You don’t happen to have, like…indoor plumbing, do you?” Man, a shower sounded fantastic.

“You needn’t go outdoors to use the privy, if that is what you mean. And if you desire to bathe, the servants can fetch you hot water.” He opened the door and gestured for her to go in first.

That’d be a nope. “I can wait. I think I’m too tired for all the fuss.” She stepped inside. The room was beautiful if…well, really archaic. There was an enormous bed covered in fur blankets. Fabric draped from the four posters, likely to help insulate the space and keep more warmth inside. A fire was lit in the much-more-moderately-sized hearth by the wall. It felt…cozy, all things considered.

“Will this suffice?”

“I. Um. Yeah. Thank you.” It was much nicer than a jail cell, that was for sure. Even if she would kill for Wi-Fi and her phone. She could at least tell everyone she was alive. But there was no chance of any of that.

“Of course. Sleep well, my lady.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles again.

“Y—you too.”

He bowed and left the room, shutting the door with a click. All at once, she realized exactly how exhausted she was. It had been a wild “day.” Or two days. Whatever.

Stripping off the clothes, she folded them and draped them on the chest at the bottom of the bed. She figured she probably wasn’t going to burst into flames in her sleep while wearing the iron necklace, but if that happened, the whole room was going to go up in smoke anyway. And sleeping in that much fabric was going to be uncomfortable. She found a slip in a wardrobe and pulled it on over her head.

Climbing under the covers, she sank into the plush mattress. It didn’t exactly have springs, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as she was afraid of. She was also way too tired to care.

Avalon. Elementals. An iron Crystal. Dragons, and monsters, flying swords, and talking armor.

As she fell asleep, her thoughts circled one thing more than the rest, however.

Mordred, the Prince in Iron.

NINE

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