Legendary (19 page)

“I am relieved you are here with us, my friend.” Arthur placed his hands on Lancelot’s shoulders, smiling.

Lancelot hugged Arthur like a lost brother before motioning his giant blond-haired friend closer. “Sire, may I present Percy Wincott, Sir Percival reborn.”

Percival stepped forward, bowing to Arthur. “Though I don’t have my memories of the past, I am happy to serve you in any way I can.” His Southern accent was smooth, like his quiet voice and whiskey-colored eyes.

“Wait a second…” Aliana stepped away from Galahad, amazed. “You’re American! How is that possible?”

Percy hit her with a mega-watt, country-boy smile and a shrug of his broad swimmer’s shoulders. “Not really sure, but I am pleased to meet you.” He held out his hand.

She returned the smile, shaking his offered hand. “I’m Aliana Fagan, nice to have another Southerner in the pack.” She felt the strength in Percy’s grip, but his hand was gentle with hers.

Arthur pulled Percy’s attention from Aliana. “How is it you do not have your memories, yet you are acquainted with Lancelot, Percy?”

He straightened and let out a sigh. “That’s a long story for another time, your Majesty. And it might be best if we got moving to a safer location.”

Galahad’s jaw clenched and he slid burning eyes onto Aliana. “Why did you leave our side when we told you to stay with us?”

“I’m sorry, but that thing was coming right at me!”

Dagg came to rest on her shoulder while Arthur and the other two men surrounded her. Gone was the easy mood from moments ago.

“We would have handled it,” Arthur reprimanded her gently. “You put your life at risk. If Lancelot had not shown up when he did, you would have been taken prisoner or worse, killed.”

Aliana scoffed, rolling her eyes and throwing her hands into the air. She pushed past the arrogant men.

“Did you guys not see that I actually managed to fight off that nasty thing—without a weapon—by myself?” She turned to Lancelot, hoping to get some support.

“Yet you still almost met the business end of a sword,” Lancelot said, his heavy British accent making his words seem harsher. “You did, however, have some nice moves and you kept your head instead of panicking.”

“Either way, Aliana,” Galahad said, “next time we tell you to stay beside us, make sure you do.”

“Okay, I know it wasn’t my best decision, but I reacted. I know in a fight I’m the weaker person, and I was trained to get the hell out if I’m in a bad situation.” She glared at all of them, daring them to tell her she’d done the wrong thing. Her decision might not have been the smartest, but it wasn’t the wrong one either. One thing was for sure, she was getting tired of these guys always assuming they knew best and that she couldn’t defend herself. Her fists balled, shaking with anger and waning adrenaline, as she bent down to retrieve her pack.

“What’s done is done,” the little Dragon said after Aliana had straightened. “Arguing will get us nowhere. We need to get out of these woods and to a safe place.”

The four men exchanged a look but nodded in agreement.

11

Hot damn! When Lance told me about the Destined One, I sure as hell never expected her to be like this! As cool as she is, I’m even more stoked to meet the king and Sir Galahad. They feel so familiar, like Lancelot did when I met him. But I’m nervous. How can I possibly be what they need me to be when I don’t remember anything? I’ll just have to prove to them that they can rely on me.
~Percy

“H
OW
D
ID
Y
OU
G
ET
H
ERE
this morning?” Lancelot asked Aliana.

“I drove. My car is parked near the south entrance.”

“The green Mini Cooper?” Lancelot asked.

Warily, Aliana nodded. “How did you know?”

“I’ve watched these forests for decades. I know when people come and go,” Lancelot answered, barely bothering to favor her with a glance.

“Yeah, that’s not a weird thing to say.” She stopped and looked at him. “What are you, like, double-oh creepy?”

Percy chuckled as Lancelot glared.

Clearing his throat, Arthur laid a hand on Aliana’s shoulder. “We need to keep going.”

“All righty then, this isn’t going to be awkward at all.” Aliana shook her head, leading the party to the real world. Even though she knew she risked having Galahad and the others gang up on her again, she asked the question that had been nagging at the back of her mind. “I thought Mordrid was still trapped in whatever prison Merlin sent him to. How was he able to summon those black knights and—” she shivered involuntarily “—talk to us through one of them?”

The knights exchanged looks, their brows creased with worry. Arthur turned his eyes to Dagg and asked, “Is it possible that Mordrid has escaped?”

Rubbing his chin with his claw, Dagg answered, “It is impossible to say for sure. Merlin cast the spell to trap him, so only he would know for certain if Mordrid has escaped, but…”

“But what?” Aliana asked when the Dragon hesitated.

“His black knights seemed very weak. I suspect they would’ve been much harder to kill if he was free. And he would have surely sent more than six.”

Everyone took in the Dragon’s words quietly, and a silence followed. Percy was the first to speak again. “Since we have no way of knowing for sure if he’s gotten free, all we can do is hope for the best and be ready for the worst. At least till we find Merlin and get the answers.”

Arthur nodded with a small, approving smile on his lips. Lancelot took over the conversation, giving Arthur and Galahad tips on how to assimilate to the modern world. Aliana took the opportunity to ask Percy, “How does the whole being reborn thing work?”

“Not really sure. The only explanation Lance and I’ve come up with is that Titania somehow knew when we would be needed, so her prophecy made sure we would be here when that happened.”

Aliana nodded, trying to piece together this new information with everything else she’d learned. Something about Lancelot didn’t feel quite right to her. There was too much about his story that was unknown. Her gut warned her to be careful how much trust she put in him until she knew more. She desperately wanted to ask Dagg what else he knew about the knight, but she couldn’t do it in front of the guys. Besides, the little Dragon had curled around her neck ten minutes earlier and was currently having a nap.

She almost sighed in relief when she spotted her green Mini. Smiling, she fished her keys from her bag. Looking up, she saw a large, black SUV parked a few yards from her small car.

“I’m guessing that’s yours,” she said over her shoulder to Lancelot.

“Yes. Sire, I have clothes for both you and Galahad to change into.” He stepped to his car and pulled the tailgate open.

“Clothes?” Arthur asked, his eyes roving over Lancelot and Percival’s outfits.

“Yes. I’m afraid what you’re wearing now would draw too much attention.”

“Right, well, while you guys do that, I need to call my cousin and let him know I’m alive.” Aliana turned from the guys as they all disappeared behind the SUV.
Things are going to get very interesting,
Aliana thought as she dialed Owen’s cell.

He answered after the first ring. “Where are you?” His voice was tight, his accent thicker than normal. “You all right? What the bloody hell took you so long to ring me?”

“I’m fine, Owen. I just got back to my car.” How the hell was she going to explain all of this to him?

“You said you were going to ring me this afternoon.”

“Sorry, I got a bit side-tracked.” She glanced at the SUV that hid her new friends and smirked at the understatement.

Owen let out a sigh. “I’m just relieved you’re okay. How soon until you’re back home?”

Aliana meant to answer, but her eyes drifted to Galahad as he stepped into view. The handsome knight wore nothing but a pair of faded jeans.

“Oh Mama,” she crooned, forgetting everything but the well-sculpted knight before her. His shoulders were wide and strong, his chest covered with a light dusting of dark hair that tapered off above a set of abs most men would kill for. She knew he was powerful, but seeing him like this, he just seemed like so much
more.

“Aliana, can you hear me?”

She swallowed. “Um…” Was someone talking to her?

“Aliana!”

She snapped her eyes away from Galahad. “Sorry, what were you saying?” Her face warmed while butterflies tilted her stomach side to side.

“I asked how long until you will be back in London.” His worry seemed to be quickly turning to annoyance.

Closing her eyes, she shook her head, trying to clear away the vision of Galahad half naked—an impossible task. “I’m getting ready to leave now, so you can stop worrying. I’m afraid I’ll have to skip dinner tonight, but I’ll call you soon. Bye.” She hung up, not letting her cousin respond.

She knew she shouldn’t, but she stole another peak at Galahad. Her phone nearly fell from her hand. Arthur stepped beside him with his back to her, saying something that had Galahad cracking a slow smile as he pulled on a dark green T-shirt. Aliana’s eyes drifted to Arthur. The muscles and faint scars on his back and shoulders rippled as he pulled a crimson shirt over his head. It clung to him like a second skin, covering his golden body. Aliana’s eyes drifted lower. The dark jeans he wore shaped his backside as if they had been made just for him. She had seen plenty of hot guys before, but none of them held a candle to these warriors.

“Dear God above.” The phone slipped from her hand. Shocked back to reality, she fumbled, barely managing to grab the device before it hit the ground.

Galahad’s eyes found hers and he smiled like the Cheshire cat. Aliana spun around, trying to cool her suddenly burning cheeks.
Damn my pale skin! I’m probably red as a tomato.

She sucked in a breath and turned, watching the guys approach. Lancelot was the shortest, just less than six feet, while Percy stood inches taller than even Galahad. Percy wasn’t what you’d call classically good looking, but there was a quirky kind of cuteness to his long face and large smile. In contrast, Lancelot’s olive skin and unusually pale eyes gave him an air of mystery. That mystery was what made her slightly worried.

Clearing her dry throat, Aliana said, “Well, you two seem more the part in those clothes.” She reached out, pulling away a loose string hanging from Galahad’s sleeve.

Before he could say anything, Lancelot spoke. “Aliana, you will join us in my car while Percy follows in yours.”

She shook her head. The cheek of this guy! “Sorry, cowboy, nobody but me drives my car.”

“We don’t have time for this,” he said. “There is still great danger for you.”

She rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. “Then why don’t one or two of you join me in my car?”

The four big guys looked between her and the very tiny Mini like she had lost her mind. It wasn’t really that she had a problem with people driving her car. Her problem was the way these guys kept telling her what to do, treating her like she had no mind of her own and expecting her to jump at their decree.

“I do not know about these things,” Galahad said. “But I am not sure how
you
manage to get in that tiny box, much less any one of us.”

The others chuckled while Aliana bit back a frustrated growl, but this Southern girl wasn’t done yet. With a sweet-as-pie smile, she stepped closer to the guys, her hands hanging loosely at her side. Percy was the only one with the good sense to give any hint of being nervous.

“You know, I think you’re right.” She stared up into Galahad’s blue eyes and pointed her finger at each of the knights. “Not a single one of your tough-guy, know-it-all egos would even come close to fitting through the door.” With a huff, she tossed her keys to a stunned Percy, swinging her bag over her shoulder as she pushed past them and turned to lean against the black SUV. “Well, are you guys gonna get a move on or just stand there all day looking like the Lost Boys?”

Lancelot was the first to recover, ushering a confused Galahad and an unbelieving Arthur to the car. Aliana hid her smirk as they climbed in, and Dagg chuckled in her ear.

“And how long have you been awake?” she asked the Dragon.

“Longer then I’m sure you wish I was.”

Aliana slid into the back seat next to Galahad while Arthur frowned and climbed into the front. She gazed out the tinted window, giggling as she watched Percy fold himself into her car. It really was too small for him.

She looked up, meeting Arthur’s golden gaze in the side mirror. The king offered her a small smile before he turned confused eyes toward his seat belt. Aliana glanced at Galahad, who wasn’t doing any better.

“Here let me.” Taking the buckle from Galahad’s hand, she clicked him in. Lancelot started the engine, causing the other two ancient knights to jump. Aliana hid her snigger behind her hand while Dagg jumped onto the center of the dashboard.

“So, Lancelot, how are you still alive?” Aliana asked as they started the long drive back to the city. When he didn’t answer, she tried again. “You and Percy look younger than Arthur and Galahad. How is that?”